UK heat pump grant applications reach 8,150 after oil switch top-up
UK heat pump grant applications reached 8,150 in July 2026, 53% above the old record, after the off-gas-grid grant rose to GBP 9,000 on 21 July.
Photo by Jan van der Wolf on Pexels
British households filed 8,150 applications for a heat pump grant in July 2026, the highest monthly total since the Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened in May 2022. The figure comes from official statistics published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 27 August 2026. It is 53 per cent above the previous monthly record of 5,328 set in November 2025, 81 per cent above June 2026 and 112 per cent above July 2025.
The jump followed a change to the scheme on 21 July, when the grant for off-gas-grid properties replacing oil or LPG heating rose by 20 per cent, from 7,500 to 9,000 pounds. Of the 8,150 applications, 3,037 were at the enhanced rate. That is 37 per cent of the month’s total, filed in the final 11 days.
What changed in the heat pump grant
The department set out the uplift on 26 June 2026 and it took effect on 21 July. It applies in England and Wales, covers air-to-water and ground source heat pumps in properties off the gas grid that are replacing oil or LPG systems, and runs until 31 March 2027. Biomass boilers were not included and remain at 5,000 pounds. Air-to-air heat pumps, added to the scheme on 28 April 2026, stay at 2,500 pounds.
| Technology | On the gas grid | Off-grid, replacing oil or LPG | Off-grid, other fuels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air-to-water heat pump | GBP 7,500 | GBP 9,000 | GBP 7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump | GBP 7,500 | GBP 9,000 | GBP 7,500 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | GBP 2,500 | GBP 2,500 | GBP 2,500 |
| Biomass boiler | not eligible | GBP 5,000 | GBP 5,000 |
Source: “Notice of approved grant categories and values for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme”, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, effective 21 July 2026.
The stated reason for the uplift is fuel price exposure. Households on heating oil sit outside Ofgem’s energy price cap. The June announcement said the change would “help rural households make the move from heating oil to a heat pump”, protecting them from fossil fuel price spikes. Martin McCluskey, then styled Minister for Energy Consumers, said at the time: “I know the war in the Middle East has hit households on heating oil especially hard.” The department also confirmed more than 50 million pounds of support for vulnerable heating oil customers. Leaflets went to 200,000 eligible homes in England and Wales in June.
In the announcement of the July record, McCluskey, by then Minister for Local Energy and Jobs, said: “Installing a heat pump is the best way for people on heating oil to get certainty over their bills and avoid costly spikes in prices due to events out of our control.”
The department attributes the record to “additional interest from households on heating oil”. The statistics release itself is more restrained: it reports the record, notes the 21 July scheme change and gives the 3,037 figure, without asserting cause. No official source quantifies how much of the 81 per cent monthly rise came from the uplift as opposed to seasonality or installers timing applications around the switchover date. Stripping out the enhanced tier leaves 5,113 applications, just below the old November 2025 record, so July would have been close to the second-strongest month even without it.
The monthly series behind the record
Other parts of the pipeline moved less sharply. Vouchers issued in July came to 4,203, up 17 per cent on June and 37 per cent on July 2025. Redemption applications received reached 2,698, up 4 per cent on June, and 2,862 redemptions were paid. The lag matters because an application is not an installation: the work must be commissioned within 120 days of applying, and the grant is paid to the installer once the job is redeemed.
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme, cumulative to 31 July 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Voucher applications received since May 2022 | 143,650 |
| Share of applications for air-to-water heat pumps | 98% |
| Vouchers issued (department basis) | 119,418 |
| Redemptions paid | 90,115 |
| Total value of grants paid | GBP 635,377,500 |
| Remaining budget for the year to 31 March 2027 | GBP 233,817,000 |
| Redemptions paid to rural properties | 49% |
| Redemptions paid to properties on the gas grid | 55,909 of 90,115, or 62% |
| Previous fuel: mains gas / oil / no prior system | 56% / 17% / 13% |
Sources: “Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics: July 2026”, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Ofgem Boiler Upgrade Scheme monthly scheme update, last updated 11 August 2026. Ofgem’s own count of vouchers issued, 96,951, excludes expired, revoked and withdrawn vouchers and is not the same measure as the department’s 119,418.
Median installed costs are falling in real terms. The statistics put the median nominal cost of an air-to-water heat pump installation at 12,908 pounds in the second quarter of 2026, including the grant value, and 27,232 pounds for a ground source system. In real terms the air-to-water median sits 11 per cent below the second quarter of 2023, when it was 14,545 pounds. Winss has set out what the technology involves in how home heat pumps work and what they cost.
The department published the figures alongside the rollout of plug-in solar, which became legal to buy and install in Great Britain on the same day and which it says can save households up to 110 pounds a year. Winss covered that change in plug-in solar becoming legal in Great Britain. For households weighing the upfront cost against running costs, the affordability picture is set out in making sustainability affordable for low-budget households.
The coverage of the figures in pv magazine on 28 August identified the conflict behind the price spike as the US and Israel conflict with Iran. Neither departmental release names a country: both refer only to the war, or the conflict, in the Middle East.
Background: how the Boiler Upgrade Scheme works
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened to voucher applications on 23 May 2022, taking over from the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, which closed to new applicants at midnight on 31 March 2022. Ofgem administers it on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It is installer-led: an MCS-certified installer applies on the property owner’s behalf, Ofgem contacts the owner for consent and checks eligibility, then issues a voucher valid for three months for air-to-water, air-to-air and biomass systems, or six months for ground source. Since April 2026 installers have had to deduct the grant from the upfront price rather than reclaim it afterwards.
Grants started at 5,000 pounds for air-to-water heat pumps and biomass boilers and 6,000 pounds for ground source. On 23 October 2023 both heat pump grants rose to 7,500 pounds, increases of 50 and 25 per cent. The requirement to clear outstanding loft and cavity wall insulation recommendations was removed in May 2024, permitted development rights were widened in May 2025, and the April 2026 changes added air-to-air systems and made MCS the sole certification route. The July 2026 oil and LPG tier is the latest change.
The budget for 2026/27, the scheme’s fifth year, is 400 million pounds, with funding confirmed to 2029/30 under the Warm Homes Plan published on 21 January 2026. Close to 560 million pounds was paid out across the first four years. The department’s stated objectives for 2025/26 to 2029/30 include deployment in 390,000 homes and small non-domestic buildings, carbon savings of up to 14.0 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the extended scheme lifetime, and a 20 to 25 per cent real-terms cut in the average supported air-to-water installation cost by 2030 against 2022/23. July’s 8,150 applications are the first month in which a single policy change visibly moved that trajectory.
Sources: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Ofgem; Ofgem; pv magazine
Featured image: photo by Jan van der Wolf on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
