Boiler Upgrade Scheme: What Your Customers Should Know

Energy bills are on the rise with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. With that comes an increase in gas prices, putting more pressure on both residential and commercial homes in the UK. Customers are now exploring different options that could help save money when it comes to energy consumption.

If you are a service business offering boiler servicing, installations or upgrades you could be having a discussion with your customer on how they could save more money by availing of government grants including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The government is now providing grants encouraging property owners to install low-carbon heating systems through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The grants will help property owners overcome the upfront cost of low-carbon heating technologies.

The scheme is available to domestic and small non-domestic properties in England ad Wales and will run to 2025. It’s an opportunity to upgrade people who are running on an old system, saving them money and helping your business gain more customers in the process.

The grant offers each property:

• £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
• £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
• £6,000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump

 

What you need to communicate to your customers

You, as the installer, will be the one to apply for the grant on behalf of your customer as it is an installer-led scheme.

Your customer must be a homeowner or small business owner located in England or Wales. The property must have been issued with an Energy Performance Certificate in the past 10 years to be eligible, except for listed buildings where the property has an insulation exception, or custom-built homes where eco-friendly building regulations have been followed.

Remind customers that now is the ideal time to upgrade as VAT has been scrapped on heat pumps for the next 5 years. Grants are also capped based on available funds and will be given on a first-come, first-served basis so make sure your customers don’t miss out!

The grant is not available for:

• Social housing
• New build properties (apart from certain self-builds)
• Properties that have already had government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler

The process

1. Customer will contact you (MCS certified installer) regarding the scheme
2. You advise if the applicant is eligible for the grant
3. You provide a quote for the installation
4. You apply for the grant on behalf of your customer
5. Your customer confirms that you are acting on their behalf when they receive an email from Ofgem
6. Ofgem may contact your customer to carry out checks on the installation either by phone or a visit to the property