The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is the main government grant for replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump in England and Wales. It is worth £7,500 towards an air source heat pump and it is deducted from your quote — you never handle the money yourself.
What you get
| Technology | Grant value |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump | £7,500 |
| Biomass boiler (limited eligibility) | £5,000 |
The grant is not means tested. Income, savings and benefits status are irrelevant.
Who is eligible
You generally qualify if all of the following are true:
- The property is in England or Wales (Scotland has its own scheme — see our Scotland heat pump guide)
- You own the property — including private landlords
- The property has a valid EPC with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation
- You are replacing a fossil fuel system: gas, oil, LPG, coal or direct electric heating
- The installation is carried out by an MCS certified installer
What disqualifies you
The most common rejections are simple and avoidable:
- Outstanding insulation recommendations on the EPC. If your EPC says you need loft or cavity wall insulation, you must do it (or get an exemption) before the grant can be claimed. Check your EPC before you get quotes.
- Expired EPC. EPCs last ten years. An expired one needs redoing.
- New build properties. Most are excluded, with narrow exceptions for self-builds.
- Social housing and properties already receiving certain other government funding.
- Replacing an existing heat pump. The scheme is for moving off fossil fuels, not for upgrading a heat pump you already own.
How you apply — you do not
This surprises people. The installer applies on your behalf. The process is:
- You choose an MCS certified installer and accept a quote.
- The installer applies to Ofgem for the grant and gets a voucher.
- You confirm the application by responding to an email from Ofgem — check your junk folder, this step stalls a lot of jobs.
- The installer fits the system and redeems the voucher.
- The £7,500 is already deducted from the price you pay.
Any quote you receive should show the grant clearly as a line item, so you can see both the full price and the price after grant.
What a heat pump actually costs after the grant
Typical UK air source heat pump installations run £9,000-£16,000 before the grant, depending on property size, the number of radiators needing upgrade, and whether a new hot water cylinder is required. After the £7,500 that becomes roughly £1,500-£8,500 out of pocket.
The spread is wide because the radiator and cylinder work varies enormously between houses. Two quotes for the same property can differ by thousands purely on how much emitter upgrading each installer specifies — which is a design judgement, not a rip-off, and a good reason to compare.
Practical steps before you get quotes
- Look up your EPC on the government register and check the recommendations section.
- Sort loft insulation first if it is flagged. It is cheap, it is required, and it lowers your heat pump running costs.
- Get at least three MCS quotes and compare the design flow temperature, not just the price.
- Ask each installer whether they handle the BUS application end to end.
Read next: heat pump vs gas boiler running costs.