Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026: Every Heat Pump Grant Rate Explained

If you are replacing your heating in 2026, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is the single biggest number on the table. It can take thousands off a heat pump, but the grant is also where quotes get murky: a grant that is not passed through correctly, or a price quietly inflated to absorb it, can wipe out the saving. Here are the current rates and exactly what to check on your quote.

The 2026 grant rates

The headline air and ground source figure is £7,500 off the installed price. The 2026 update added an air-to-air tier at £2,500, which for the first time brings systems that can also provide cooling into the scheme. An uplift for homes currently on oil or LPG was announced in April 2026 to open later in the year.

The scheme sits inside the government's wider Warm Homes Plan, a multi-year programme to upgrade millions of homes, so the direction of travel is more support for low-carbon heating, not less.

Who qualifies

To use BUS in 2026 you generally need:

• A property in England or Wales
• A valid EPC (the old rule requiring no outstanding insulation recommendations was removed in 2026, widening eligibility)
• An MCS-certified installer, who applies for the grant for you
• A system that replaces fossil-fuel heating (gas, oil, LPG, or electric)

New-build homes and some social housing are excluded. Your installer confirms eligibility as part of the application.

How the grant should appear on your quote

This is where homeowners get caught. The grant is applied by your installer and deducted before you pay. On a fair quote it shows as a clear, itemised reduction:

• Total installed cost of the heat pump system
• Minus the BUS grant (for example, minus £7,500)
• Equals the amount you actually pay

What a heat pump actually costs after the grant

A typical air source heat pump install runs roughly £9,000-£14,000 before the grant, so £1,500-£6,500 after the £7,500 is deducted, depending on system size, radiators, and pipework. The variation is huge, which is exactly why the quote needs to justify the gross price, not just wave the grant at you. Our heat pump quote guide breaks down what should be in the spec.

If you are weighing a like-for-like gas boiler swap instead, the calculator below gives you a quick boiler benchmark, and our boiler replacement cost guide goes deeper.

Gas boiler or heat pump in 2026?

The grant tilts the maths toward a heat pump, but it is not automatic. A heat pump works best in a reasonably insulated home with radiators sized for lower flow temperatures. If your home is poorly insulated, the honest answer from a good installer is "insulate first". A quote that promises a heat pump will slot straight in with no radiator changes and no insulation, on an old solid-wall house, deserves scrutiny.

Check your heating quote

Heat pump and boiler quotes vary more than almost any other trade, and the grant adds a layer where mistakes (or padding) hide. Upload your quote and we check that the grant is correctly deducted, the gross price is justified by the spec, and nothing essential (radiator upgrades, controls, commissioning) has been left out. It takes under a minute.