What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)?
Is your boiler ready to retire? Now’s a great time to switch to a greener, more energy-efficient heating system – and you could get £7,500 towards it with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government initiative to encourage homeowners in England and Wales to replace old, inefficient gas or oil boilers with a low-carbon alternative. It’s part of the broader push to lower carbon emissions and move towards cleaner, more sustainable energy use in our homes. They’ve warned that around half of all homes will need to have a heat pump by 2040 if the UK is to meet its environmental targets.
What is the BUS grant?
Depending on the type of system you choose, you could receive a one-off grant of up to £7,500. The most popular option is an air source heat pump, and you could get £7,500 towards one. The same amount is available for ground source heat pumps and £5,000 is available for biomass boilers, although these are only available in rural areas and under certain conditions.
Rather than asking you to pay the cost of a heat pump upfront and claim the money back later, the scheme works by paying the grant straight to your installer. So, when you choose a certified installer like us, we’ll apply for the grant on your behalf, and the cost is automatically taken off the amount you pay for installation.
Why upgrade to an air source heat pump?
Old boilers are often inefficient, especially if they’re more than ten or fifteen years old, and they rely on fossil fuels, which are both costly and bad for the environment.
Heat pumps run on electricity instead of gas. They are seen as the best way of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide from home heating, which accounts for 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions.
Air-source pumps take warmth from the air outside to heat your home, lowering your monthly energy bills and improving your carbon footprint. Extra solar power can be used to run your air source heat pump. Instead of drawing power from the grid to run the pump, you’re using clean, free electricity from your solar panels.
Ground-source heat pumps, which draw heat from the ground, are typically more expensive and less commonly used, because they need either a deep hole drilled into the ground or long pipes buried across a large area of land.
Eligibility for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
You’ll be eligible for the scheme if you’re a home or small business owner, your home or business is in England or Wales and the property has an energy performance certificate (EPC) less than 10 years old.
As long as your EPC doesn’t have recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation, you should be eligible for the grant. If it does, then you may need to get the insulation work done before applying. For new builds, chances are your home already meets the EPC standard, and if you own a listed property, you may have EPC or insultation exemption – so worth checking out in more detail beforehand. We can help you with this when we carry out our free site survey.
Why choose EE Renewables
If you’re thinking about making the switch, finding the right installer is key. We’re MCS-approved installers of Vaillant UK air source heat pumps, which means we’re approved to carry out installations under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and we have years of experience.
We offer a personal, honest service. That means no jargon, no hard sell, and no rushing you into a decision. We’ll talk you through your options, check if your home is eligible and apply for the grant on your behalf.
The BUS scheme won’t be around forever, and with energy bills high, now’s a great time to take advantage of it! Contact your local energy experts at sales@eerenewables.co.uk.