Government announces additional £1.5 billion to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
21 December 2023
On 18 December, the government announced the allocation of an additional £1.5 billion in funding to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) until 2028.
The BUS provides upfront capital grants to support the installation of low-carbon heating systems in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. This includes include air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, and biomass boilers.
When the BUS launched in April 2022, the scheme was allocated an initial budget of £450million. The additional £1.5 billion in funding from the government will help install another 200,000 heat pump installations, making low-carbon heating more affordable for thousands of homeowners across England and Wales.
Our CEO, Ian Rippin, said:
“We are enormously pleased to see the Government pledge an additional £1.5 billion of funding to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme this week.
“The increase of the grant amount to £7,500 back in October made heat pumps affordable for more people. However, this came at the cost of reducing the number of overall vouchers the Government would be able to provide. This weeks’ announcement means that more homeowners across England and Wales can install low carbon heating with help from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
“The increase equates to an additional 200,000 vouchers, which will go a long way to supporting Government ambitions to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028.
“With the Future Homes Standard consultation published last week showing clear signals from the Government that heat pumps are the only feasible choice for UK consumers to decarbonise their homes, and today’s doubling down on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, there has never been a better time to invest in your low-carbon future by installing a heat pump.”
We recently caught up with one of our contractors, Nick Salini, Director of heat pump contractor Thermal Earth Ltd, to find out his thoughts on the increased funding:
“It’s great news to see the Government announcement of additional funding for the BUS. Increasing the available vouchers will help drive demand for heat pumps and the growth in the industry we all hope to see over the next few years.
“We have no doubt that heat pumps are the future for heating our homes and buildings, this extra financial commitment will encourage more homeowners and heating engineers to move away from the installation of fossil fuel-based heating systems.”
Click here to find out more information on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, including how to register if you are an MCS certified installer.
You can also find a Boiler Upgrade Scheme registered contractor by visiting our ‘Find a Contractor’ tool here.