At CS Boxall, we get a lot of calls and enquiries about the boiler upgrade scheme 2026. Someone’s seen a headline about a £9,000 grant, or their neighbour’s mentioned it, and they want to know if it actually applies to them, or if it’s one of those offers with so many catches it’s not worth the phone call.
Fair question. Here’s the honest version, no sales pitch attached. What the Boiler Upgrade Scheme actually pays out in 2026, who qualifies, and what it’s like dealing with the paperwork (spoiler: not much of it lands on you).
What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, or BUS if you want the shorthand, is a government grant towards replacing an old fossil fuel boiler with something lower carbon, usually a heat pump. Ofgem handles the applications and pays out the money. DESNZ, the government department for energy, sets the rules.
Why does it exist? Because heat pumps aren’t cheap to install, even though they tend to cost less to run day to day. The grant takes a bite out of that upfront cost so more households can actually afford to make the switch, rather than it being something only wealthier homeowners can consider.
It covers England and Wales, so if you’re anywhere from Cardiff out to the Vale of Glamorgan or Bridgend, you’re in scope.
How much can you claim in 2026?
Depends what you’re fitting. As things stand right now:
- £7,500 towards an air-to-water heat pump (the usual kind, also called an air source heat pump) or a ground-source system.
- £9,000 if your home runs on oil or LPG and isn’t connected to mains gas. This one’s temporary, live from 21 July 2026 through to 31 March 2027, and it’s only for air source or ground source heat pumps.
- £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump. Good for heating and cooling, but it won’t give you hot water.
- £5,000 towards a biomass boiler, aimed at rural, off-grid homes where a heat pump isn’t really practical.
People often assume the £9,000 applies more widely than it does. It doesn’t. You need both boxes ticked: no mains gas connection and oil or LPG as your current fuel. Got mains gas but fancy a heat pump anyway? You’re still eligible, just at the standard £7,500 rather than the higher rate.
One more thing worth flagging. None of these figures stretch to cover bigger radiators or a new hot water cylinder if your home needs them. We’ll tell you upfront if that’s likely, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Who’s eligible in South Wales
There’s no separate South Wales version of this scheme, it’s the same rules whether you’re in Cardiff or Cumbria. What actually decides your eligibility is your property and how it’s currently heated.
The £9,000 rate tends to matter most out in the more rural stretches of the Vale of Glamorgan or in older village homes that were built before mains gas ever reached them. We see plenty of this around Bridgend and Porthcawl too, houses that have run on an oil tank in the garden for thirty-odd years because that was simply never going to change. For those homeowners, this is genuinely the best the grant has ever looked.
If you’re in Cardiff, Penarth or Caerphilly and already on mains gas, don’t write yourself off. You’ll still get the standard £7,500, which goes a long way on a typical three or four-bed property.
Beyond that, the basics apply. You need to own the home, and you need to be replacing an existing fossil fuel system rather than bolting a heat pump on alongside one you’re keeping.
How the grant is actually paid
This trips people up more than anything else, so let’s clear it up. You are not paying full price and waiting for a cheque in the post. That’s not how it works.
The discount comes off before you pay anything. As an MCS certified installer, we handle the Ofgem application as part of putting your quote together, and the grant gets knocked straight off the final invoice. You just pay the reduced amount. No forms landing on your kitchen table, no chasing anyone for a refund weeks later.
Honestly, it’s one of the more painless government schemes we deal with, mostly because we’re the ones doing the admin, not you.
What changed with the April 2026 update?
The scheme had a decent refresh back in April 2026.
The change that’s made the biggest difference is that homes no longer need a specific EPC rating to apply. It used to be that certain insulation measures had to show up on your Energy Performance Certificate before you could even get in the door. That requirement’s gone now, which opens things up for a lot of older properties that would’ve been shut out before.
Air-to-air heat pumps also joined the scheme for the first time, bringing that £2,500 grant into play for anyone after heating and cooling in one unit.
And the scheme itself got a longer runway. It’s now funded until 2030, so there’s less of that “better hurry before it disappears” pressure that used to hang over these decisions.
Is a heat pump right for your home?
We won’t pretend a heat pump suits every house, because it doesn’t. Older solid-wall properties with small, old-fashioned radiators sometimes need a bit of extra work first to get the most out of one. Homes that are already well insulated tend to see the benefits much faster. It comes down to your radiators, your hot water demand, and how the house holds heat generally.
We’ve gone into this in more detail, including how the running costs actually compare to a gas boiler, in our piece on is a heat pump right for your home? Worth a read if you’re still on the fence.
Next steps with CS Boxall
If you think you’re in scope, whether that’s the standard £7,500 or the £9,000 oil and LPG rate, the next step is simply getting one of our engineers out to have a look. We’ll check your current setup, including your radiators and your insulation, and work out what size system your home actually needs. Then you get a fixed quote with the grant already taken off, so there’s no guesswork about what you’ll actually pay.
We’re Gas Safe registered and family-run, and we’ve been out fitting and fixing heating systems across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan for more than ten years now. The MCS certification and the Ofgem side of things are just part of how we work, so there’s nothing extra you need to sort out yourself.
Want to know what you could claim? Get in touch and we’ll book you in for a free survey and quote. Have a look at our air source heat pump installation page for more detail, or our boiler installation service if you’re still deciding which way to go.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in 2026?
£7,500 for most homes fitting an air source or ground source heat pump. If you’re off the gas grid and heating with oil or LPG, that rises to £9,000 between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. Air-to-air heat pumps get £2,500, and biomass boilers in rural off-grid homes get £5,000.
Do I need to replace my whole heating system to qualify?
No, just the boiler itself, swapped for a heat pump or similar. Your radiators and pipework can usually stay as they are, though we’ll mention it if anything would benefit from an upgrade alongside the new system.
Is the grant paid to me or the installer?
The installer. We claim it on your behalf and take it off your invoice, so what you’re quoted is already the discounted price. There’s nothing for you to claim back afterwards.
Does my home need a certain EPC rating to qualify?
Not any more. That requirement was dropped in the April 2026 update, so you don’t need a particular insulation record on your EPC before applying.
How long does the scheme run for?
It’s funded through to 2030 now. The £9,000 oil and LPG rate is the one with a shelf life though, currently due to end on 31 March 2027, so it’s worth getting moving if that’s the bracket you fall into.