You Can Now Get A £6,000 Grant To Swap Your Old Boiler For A Heat Pump

Between the cost of living crisis and rising inflation, everyone’s feeling the squeeze – not helped by the fact energy bills have a vice grip on our pockets right now.

To help alleviate some of the stress, the government has launched a grant which offers households thousands to help cover the cost of switching from a gas boiler to an environmentally friendly low-carbon heating measure.

Homeowners can receive up to £6,000 to switch to a ground source heat pump and £5,000 for an air source heat pump.

The grant also promises to put £5,000 towards a biomass boiler for rural households.

While the grants are only designed to cover part of the cost of installation, the subsidised options should work out greener and cheaper than gas boilers, resulting in a shrunken energy bill going forward.

Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the difference between these options and my current setup? 

Air pump heaters use wind-generated energy to create a liquid that runs through a heat exchanger, while ground source options absorb energy from underground heat sources. Meanwhile a biomass boiler uses sustainable solid fuel like wood pellets.

All of them are designed to work like a conventional gas boiler, and all of them use much less carbon.

OK, and... the cost?

Well, it depends on the size of your home.

According to Energy Saving Trust, air source heat pumps typically cost £7,000-£13,000 to install, and ground source ones go for around £14,000-£19,000 (though these can be more efficient).

Manually-fed biomass options run in the £4,000-£10,000 range, according to Greenmass.

The government grant is designed to cover enough of the cost of installation to compete with regular gas boiler costs, which can run up to £2,500 – aside from the grant, the rest of the cost will come out of your own pocket.

Once installed, though, the greener options could save you around £700 a year on energy bills (and help the planet, too – score). You don’t have to pay the grant back, either.

So how do I apply?

Technically, you don’t – you’ll have to check if the company you choose works with the grant, and they’ll put in an application on your behalf.

The grant only applies in England and Wales, and it’s solely for people who are replacing an existing oil, gas, or electric heating system.

The grant doesn’t extend to hybrid pumps, and it’ll end in 2025.

The cost of installation is still bound to be pretty hefty, but it’s worth taking into account if you’re after an upgrade anyway.

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