Boiler Upgrade Scheme £9,000 Grant: What It Means for Oil and LPG Homes
Since 21 July 2026, homes off the gas grid that heat with oil or LPG get £9,000 towards a heat pump instead of £7,500. Here's who qualifies, how to claim, and how long the higher rate lasts.
Since 21 July 2026, off-grid households on heating oil or LPG can claim £9,000 towards a heat pump, £1,500 more than the standard grant.
Key facts: the BUS grant for oil and LPG homes
The £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is aimed at the homes that have the most to gain from a heat pump: those off the gas grid, burning heating oil or LPG. Around 1.7 million UK homes heat this way, most of them rural, though the grant itself only covers England and Wales. The extra £1,500 changed the sums enough to show up in the figures straight away. Applications from oil and LPG households rose 81% in the month after the increase, helped along by oil prices climbing after the 2026 Middle East conflict.
If you're on oil or LPG and weighing up a heat pump, this page covers what the grant pays for, the conditions, and the deadline most coverage leaves out. For the wider picture on types, costs and whether one suits your home, see our Heat Pumps UK guide.
What Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government grant that cuts the upfront cost of replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump. Your MCS-certified installer applies for it and takes it off your quote. You never handle the money. You pay the balance.
It covers England and Wales, has been running since 2022 and is administered by Ofgem. There is no means test. These are the current grant levels:
| What you install | Grant |
|---|---|
| Air source (air-to-water) heat pump | £7,500, or £9,000 for off-grid oil and LPG homes |
| Ground source heat pump | £7,500, or £9,000 for off-grid oil and LPG homes |
| Biomass boiler (rural, off-grid homes) | £5,000 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Heat battery | £2,500 |
What Changed on 21 July 2026?
| Current heating | Grant before 21 July | Grant from 21 July | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil, off the gas grid | £7,500 | £9,000 | +£1,500 |
| LPG, off the gas grid | £7,500 | £9,000 | +£1,500 |
| Mains gas boiler | £7,500 | £7,500 | No change |
| Electric, coal or other fuels | £7,500 | £7,500 | No change |
Off-grid households are the most exposed to fuel price swings. Oil and LPG follow global markets and have no price cap, while gas and electricity bills are capped by Ofgem. The government sent leaflets to around 200,000 heating-oil households ahead of the change.
Demand followed. July was the scheme's busiest month on record with about 8,150 applications. August brought roughly 7,500, the second-highest, and a record 3,238 air-to-water vouchers paid, up 40% on August 2025.
Important: if you have mains gas central heating, the grant is £7,500 and hasn't changed. The £9,000 rate is only for homes off the gas grid that currently heat with oil or LPG.
Around 200,000 heating-oil households were sent a leaflet about the higher grant. If you didn't get one, an installer can still confirm whether you qualify.
Who Qualifies for the £9,000 Grant?
You need to meet all of these:
The EPC insulation rule has gone. You used to have to clear any loft or cavity wall insulation recommendations on your EPC before you could get the grant. That condition was removed in April 2026. Insulation is still worth doing, because it means a smaller, cheaper heat pump. Our insulation guide covers what to do first.
The Deadline Most People Miss: 31 March 2027
The scheme runs to 2029/30, but the extra £1,500 does not. The £9,000 rate applies to voucher applications submitted between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. After that, oil and LPG homes go back to £7,500 unless the government extends it.
Your installer can only apply for the voucher once you've had a survey and accepted a quote, and the run-up to a deadline is when installers are busiest. Working back from 31 March, the sensible plan is to get quotes this autumn and have a survey booked before Christmas. If your oil boiler is on its last legs, don't wait for it to fail in February.
How to Apply, Step by Step
You don't apply yourself. The installer does it. Here's the order things happen in:
Your installer handles the whole BUS application. You pay the net cost after the £9,000 comes off the quote.
Does the £9,000 Add Up?
Could you get the £9,000 grant?
Get a quote from the installer we work with, which is registered for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, or compare MCS-certified local installers. Either can confirm your eligibility and apply for the grant.
Check My Eligibility →A typical air source heat pump installation costs £8,000 to £15,000 depending on the size of the house, the installer and how much of the existing system can stay. With £9,000 off, many oil and LPG homes are looking at a net cost between nothing and £6,000. Our heat pump costs guide breaks down where the money goes.
Running costs have moved in the heat pump's favour too. Under the October 2026 price cap, gas rose about 8.7% to 7.97p/kWh while electricity went up less than 1% to 26.32p/kWh, thanks to the VAT cut on domestic electricity. Oil and LPG stay uncapped. On a heat pump tariff such as Octopus Cosy, a heat pump can undercut both, and more so with solar panels covering part of the daytime load. The October price cap breakdown has the detail.
| Heating system | Typical annual fuel cost | Price volatility |
|---|---|---|
| Heating oil | £1,200–£2,000+ | High. No price cap |
| LPG | £1,500–£2,500+ | High. No price cap |
| Heat pump (smart tariff) | £575–£1,200 | Lower. Ofgem capped |
These are illustrative ranges for a typical three-bedroom house. To see your own numbers, use the heat pump savings calculator, and read are heat pumps worth it? for the cases where the answer is no. If the remaining cost is the sticking point, the Warm Homes Loan Scheme is designed to finance the balance after the grant at a subsidised rate, once lenders launch.
Scotland: A Different Scheme With Similar Support
The BUS doesn't cover Scotland. Scottish homeowners use the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan instead: a grant of up to £7,500 towards a heat pump plus an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500. Rural and island homes get a £1,500 uplift, taking the grant to £9,000. Call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 before you commit to an installer, because you have to apply before work starts.
Pairing a heat pump with solar panels improves the savings, because your own daytime electricity runs part of the heating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
Source: UK Government: Thousands of homes eligible for £9,000 off a heat pump. Find a certified installer through our free quote tool.
Published July 2026, updated 2 October 2026. Grant figures and eligibility are based on UK Government announcements and Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics to August 2026. Running cost figures are illustrative and reflect the October 2026 Ofgem price cap. Check the current rules at gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme before you commit. Cool Power Co is an independent comparison site and is not affiliated with Ofgem, DESNZ or any installer.
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