What to fit first
Most homes save the most by stopping heat getting out before changing how they make it. A smaller, cheaper heating system can then keep the home warm, and most grants pay for the same steps in roughly this order.
1. Free and cheap first
- Draught-proofing around doors, windows, letterboxes and floorboards. Cheap, quick, and often included free in insulation grants.
- Heating controls: a programmer, room thermostat and radiator valves (TRVs) so you only heat the rooms you use, when you use them.
- Turn the boiler flow temperature down to about 60°C on a condensing gas boiler. It costs nothing and the boiler runs more efficiently.
2. Insulation
- Loft insulation: aim for about 270 mm. One of the cheapest jobs for the saving.
- Cavity wall insulation if your house has a gap between two layers of brick (most built from the 1930s on).
- Solid wall insulation (inside or outside) for older homes. It costs more, so it's the one grants help with most.
- Floor insulation for suspended timber floors.
3. The heating
- Heat pump: replaces gas, oil, LPG or electric heating. Grants such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales, or Home Energy Scotland, take thousands off the price.
- Boiler replacement: grants for new gas boilers are now rare, but some schemes still replace broken or very old boilers for people on low incomes.
4. Make your own power
- Solar panels, and a battery to store what you don't use. Get paid for what you send to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee.
Before you start
- Get your home's energy certificate (EPC). Many grants depend on the rating, and it lists the improvements that suit your home.
- Use installers certified for the scheme you're applying to, usually MCS for heat pumps and solar and TrustMark for insulation. Most grants won't pay otherwise.
- Apply for the grant before work starts. Most schemes won't pay for work already done.