Having a functional and efficient boiler reduces energy costs significantly. However, high upfront costs often stop homeowners from boiler replacement. But worry not, there are several energy efficiency grants available for UK households to help you replace your old boiler with a new energy-efficient one.
If your energy costs are getting higher, it’s older and breaks down frequently, you should contact a reliable installation company that can upgrade your boiler with government grants. AFGG is also a trustworthy installer who charges their customers nothing but charges the energy companies for upgrades installed at their property.
In this article, we will be diving deeper into the details of how you can replace your boiler with government help available for low-income households.
Signs Your Boiler Needs Replacement
Before you apply for a boiler replacement grant, it’s important to ensure your boiler needs replacement or can not be repaired. Below are a few of the signs you might need to replace your existing boiler with a more efficient boiler:
- Frequent Breakdowns.: If you see your boiler is breaking down frequently, often needs parts changes, and regular visits from professionals are increasing your costs. This can be a sign it’s time to get rid of your existing boiler.
- High Energy Bills.: older boilers are often non-condensing type, which means they have 60-70% energy efficiency compared to modern boilers which are >90% efficient. Poor boiler insulation and heat loss due to worn-out components can also be a reason for high energy bills. This means your boiler’s only solution is to be replaced.
- Uneven Heating.: if some of your rooms are extremely hot while others are too cold, this might be due to inconsistencies in water pressure or the failure of boiler components. This can be a sign for you to replace your boiler.
- Lifespan of Boilers.: the lifespan of old gas boilers is normally 10-15 years, if your boiler’s ages ranges within these limits, you should consider replacing your boiler.
If your old boiler is showing these signs of deterioration, you should contact AFGG and get your boiler replaced.
Government Grants Available for Boiler Replacement
There are several government grants available which will help you replace your boiler with a new condensing boiler if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Below are the available government grants for boiler replacement:
Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)
Energy Company Obligation aka ECO4 is a government backed grant. Energy companies provide funding for multiple energy efficiency improvements in low-income and low-energy-efficiency households in the UK. This scheme specifically targets households who are at risk of fuel poverty or living in vulnerable conditions.
These grants focus on the whole house approach and provide all types of energy efficiency measures to improve the energy performance ratings of UK households.
Here are the measures installed under the ECO4 scheme:
- Free Boiler Grants: The ECO4 scheme provides free boiler replacements to eligible households. However, the eligibility is decided by multiple factors.
- Air Source Heat Pumps.: The ECO4 scheme also provides air source heat pumps to vulnerable households which includes air-to-air and air-to-water heat pumps. This is specifically designed for off-the-gas grid homes.
- First-time Central Heating Grants.: households living in vulnerable conditions without a central heating system can avail of first-time central heating grants through the ECO4 scheme.
- Insulation Grants.: homes requiring insulations to help their central heating systems perform better can avail of loft, cavity wall, or other insulation measures to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
If you are eligible, you can avail all of the energy efficiency measures mentioned above.
Eligibility Criteria
To get the free boiler grants under the ECO4 scheme, here are the requirements you need to fulfil before applying for your boiler replacement.
- Benefit Recipient
- Homeowner or Tenants With Landlord’s Permission
- Boiler Installed Before 2005 (Non-condensing)
- Gas Metre Installed before April 2022
- EPC Rating D or Lower
This is a simple eligibility criteria set to avail of boiler replacement grants.
Application Process for Free Boiler Grants Under ECO4
The application process is quite straightforward, just enter your postcode in the eligibility box provided at the top of this page. Once you enter the postcode, you will be able to confirm your eligibility. Following that, you can fill out the contact form so our team can contact you. After you provide your information, our experts will perform a survey to ensure the energy efficiency of your home and apply for the grant on your behalf.
Once approved, we at Apply for Government Grants will send our safe gas-approved heating engineers to install your boiler as soon as possible. That’s how easy it is to get your boiler replaced.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
The boiler upgrade scheme is another government initiative to help vulnerable households with energy efficiency measures. This scheme also focuses on those who are at risk of fuel poverty or struggling to keep their homes warm. Even if homeowners struggle to pay their energy bills due to inefficient heating systems and can’t replace them due to high upfront costs. BUS grants provide you partial funding for your heating system replacements such as boiler replacements.
Under this scheme, often old boilers are replaced with air-source or biomass boilers. These measures are not only highly energy efficient but also reduce the carbon footprint. The usual funding of £7500 is provided for heat pumps while £5000 is funded for biomass boilers. This significantly reduces the upfront cost of replacing your boiler.
Eligibility Criteria
Here are the simple eligibility criteria which can help you qualify for BUS grants:
- The property must be located in England or Wales.
- BUS applies only to retrofitting properties with existing fossil fuel or electric heating systems.
- The property should have a valid Energy Performance Certificate issued within the last 10 years.
You can apply for this scheme through a reliable installer.
Benefits of Boiler Replacement
There are several benefits of boiler replacement for UK households. Here are a few of them to help you make an informed decision:
- Improved energy efficiency and reduced bills: new condensing boilers are up to 90% energy efficient. Replacing old boilers with newer ones can reduce your energy bills significantly.
- Enhanced safety and reliability.: old boilers often carry the risk of safety issues and are less reliable as compared to the latest technology boilers. Condensing boilers are insulated and more reliable in terms of safety.
- Lower carbon emissions and improved air quality.: upgrading your boilers to new condensing boilers will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and you will no more be contributing to the climate change
- Increased property value and comfort: getting new boilers will make your property more comfortable and increase its value significantly.
These are just a few of the benefits you can expect from boiler replacement through government schemes. Followed by the ultimate benefit of no upfront costs.
Conclusion
To wrap up the discussion, you can get help to replace your old boiler through multiple government schemes available. However, these schemes do have eligibility criteria to meet. If you do not meet their requirements, you can contact your local council. So the local authority can tailor the criteria as per your requirements and help you avail these grants.
In this article, we have covered two major government schemes currently available for low-income households in the UK. if you are willing to replace your non-condensing boiler and act as a responsible contact Apply for Government Grants today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you apply through the ECO4 scheme, you can get a boiler grant even if you are not on benefits. ECO4 flexibility allows local councils to tailor eligibility criteria for deserving households. However, you need to meet the low-income criteria and your home must need to replace the heating system.
The ECO4 scheme operates in two groups, one is the benefits group and the other one is a general group. However, you need to have a council tax band of A-D for England and A-E for Scotland and Wales to qualify without benefits.
Yes, individuals over 60 years of age can get help with a new boiler through the ECO4 scheme. This scheme is specifically designed for vulnerable and those-in-need households. Homes with old persons, health issues, and women expecting are prioritised for these grants. However, if you receive the pension credit or universal credit, you can qualify through the benefits group. While, if you do not receive these or any benefits, you can qualify through a general group or by contacting local councils.
Yes, back boilers have been declared illegal since 2005. If you have a back boiler installed at your property, you are legally obliged to replace it. These boilers can be dangerous for safety and cause health issues as well. So, if you have one installed, you should replace it immediately. Worry not, upfront costs can be set off via government grants.
