The £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) Explained for 2026
The BUS is the biggest home-energy grant in the UK right now. Here's who qualifies, what an air-source heat pump actually costs after the £7,500 discount — and the honest answer on whether it pays for you.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is the single biggest home-energy incentive in the UK — a fixed £7,500 off an air-source or ground-source heat pump. It's a genuinely good deal for many homes, but not every home, and the grant alone doesn't tell you whether a heat pump will actually save you money. This guide walks through who qualifies, what you'll really pay after the grant, and the running-cost catch that decides the whole thing.
What the BUS actually pays
The BUS is administered by Ofgem via GOV.UK and covers England and Wales. The grant is applied by your installer as an upfront discount — you never handle the paperwork or wait for a rebate. The amounts in effect are:
| Technology | Grant |
|---|---|
| Air-source heat pump (ASHP) | £7,500 |
| Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) | £7,500 |
| Biomass boiler | £5,000 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Oil/LPG off-gas-grid uplift | £9,000 (temporary — see below) |
The £9,000 figure only applies to homes off the mains gas grid that currently run on oil or LPG. It's a temporary uplift ending 31 March 2027. If your home is on mains gas, your grant is £7,500 — do not expect £9,000.
Who qualifies
To claim the BUS you need:
- An MCS-certified installer fitting an MCS-certified product;
- A property in England or Wales;
- To be replacing a fossil-fuel boiler or direct electric heating system.
One important change: since the 28 April 2026 amendment, an EPC is no longer required to claim the grant. That removed a common stumbling block (homes failing on outstanding insulation recommendations). You should still want decent insulation for the running-cost case — but it's no longer a gate on the grant itself.
Scotland is different. Scottish homes don't use the BUS — they route through Home Energy Scotland, which offers a grant plus an interest-free loan. Northern Ireland has a separate market again. If you're not in England or Wales, confirm your route before assuming £7,500.
What an air-source heat pump really costs after the grant
Installed heat-pump prices vary hugely with your home's size, radiators and pipework — but as an indicative range, a typical ASHP install lands at roughly £3,000 to £7,000 after the £7,500 grant is deducted. That's a real, meaningful discount: the grant typically covers more than half the job.
The spread matters. A straightforward swap in a well-insulated home with suitable radiators sits at the lower end. A larger or older property needing radiator upgrades, a new cylinder and more pipework sits at the top — and some jobs exceed it. Always get the quote after the grant is applied, and in writing.
The running-cost catch — this is what decides it
Here's the honest part. A heat pump runs on electricity, and electricity is far more expensive per unit than gas. Under the Ofgem price cap in effect for this quarter of 2026, electricity is around 24.67p/kWh (the cap resets every quarter, and standing charges apply on top — always read your actual bill). A heat pump is three-to-four times more efficient than a gas boiler, which is roughly what it takes to offset that price gap. If your installation isn't well-designed — undersized radiators, a poorly set flow temperature — that efficiency drops, and your bills can go up.
The lever that makes the numbers work is a smart heat-pump tariff such as Cosy Octopus, which gives cheaper electricity in windows tuned for heat-pump running costs. Without a tariff like that, a gas boiler can be cheaper to run even with a £7,500 grant off the install. Verify the exact tariff rate before relying on any figure — smart-tariff rates change with 30 days' notice.
When a heat pump might NOT pay for you: a poorly-insulated home with small radiators and no appetite to change tariff is the classic case where the grant is generous but the running costs disappoint. The grant cuts the capital cost; it does nothing for your day-to-day bills. Both halves have to stack up.
How to decide, honestly
Before you commit, get clear on three things: the quoted install price after the £7,500 is deducted; a realistic estimate of your annual running cost on a smart heat-pump tariff versus your current gas bill; and whether your radiators and insulation support a low flow temperature (the single biggest driver of real-world efficiency). If all three line up, the BUS turns a heat pump into one of the best-value upgrades available. If they don't, no grant will fix that — and it's better to know before the quote than after the install.
We sell nothing and install nothing — no heat pumps, no commission, no installer referral fees. Even the "free" comparison sites get paid by whoever they send you to; we don't. We charge one small fixed fee to tell you whether the BUS actually pays for your home — including when the honest answer is to keep your boiler for now.
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Start your home audit — £100Figures in this guide are current at the date of publication and indicative only — SEG/export rates change with 30 days' notice, the Ofgem price cap resets quarterly, and grant terms change. Confirm the current numbers for your situation before you commit. This is general information, not personal financial advice.