The Government has announced an increase to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant for properties heated by oil and LPG. The scheme forms part of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan and provides upfront capital grants to support the installation of heat pumps in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.
The existing grant currently stands at £7,500 for air source and ground source heat pumps and the increase to £9,000 specifically for oil and LPG properties represents a recognition that these households face higher costs and have greater exposure to global fossil fuel price shocks than those on the gas grid.
The scheme is available to owner-occupiers in England and Wales replacing an existing fossil fuel heating system. The grant is applied by an MCS-certified installer and deducted directly from the installation cost , meaning households do not need to fund the full amount upfront before claiming back.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:
“Heating Oil and LPG customers have been among the hardest hit by the current crisis. The three million households relying on these fuels sit outside the energy price cap and have no equivalent protection when global prices spike.
“These households are disproportionately in rural areas, have lower incomes, and live in older, harder-to-upgrade properties.
“A £9,000 grant for these homes will be very welcome, but it may not totally bridge the gap for those who cannot afford the remaining costs or whose homes need substantial preparatory work.
“Therefore, the expansion of this scheme must be accompanied by specialist local advice for households, stronger consumer protections during the works, and targeted additional support for those who cannot meet the shortfall.
“The measure of success is not how many grants are issued, but whether the households most exposed to fossil fuel price shocks are genuinely better off as a result.”