The short version
- £9,000 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump.
- You must be off the gas grid and currently heated by oil or LPG.
- Available from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027.
- Air-to-air heat pumps and biomass boilers do not qualify for the uplift.
- Everything else about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme works exactly as it did.
In July 2026 the government added a £1,500 uplift to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for a specific group of households: those off the gas grid, running on heating oil or LPG. For that group the grant went from £7,500 to £9,000.
Why this exists
Two reasons, and it is worth understanding both because they tell you how likely an extension is.
The first is that oil prices rose sharply through 2025 and into 2026 on the back of geopolitical instability. Off-grid households absorbed that directly, with none of the price-cap protection that gas and electricity customers get. Oil-heated homes are, on average, in older and less efficient rural housing stock, so they were hit twice.
The second is less flattering. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme was underspent by roughly £65 million as of March 2026. The budget was allocated and not claimed. Raising the grant for the group with the strongest economic case for switching is a straightforward way to move that money.
That second reason is the useful one for planning. This is an underspend being cleared within a fixed window, not a permanent recalibration of the scheme. Treat 31 March 2027 as a real deadline rather than a soft one.
Do you qualify?
You need all three:
- No mains gas connection. If gas is connected but unused, you are not off the gas grid.
- Currently heated by oil or LPG. Electric-heated off-grid homes get the standard £7,500.
- Installing an air-to-water or ground source heat pump. Air-to-air does not count for the uplift, and biomass is on a separate £5,000 track.
Beyond that, the normal Boiler Upgrade Scheme rules apply: you own the property, it is in England or Wales, it is not a new build or social housing, and the installer is MCS certified. The EPC requirement was removed in April 2026, so that is no longer a barrier. All of that is covered in our guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
What it stacks with
The £9,000 is not the only thing available, and the combination is what makes the current window unusual.
| Support | Worth | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme, oil/LPG off-grid rate | £9,000 | 31 Mar 2027 |
| 0% VAT on the installation | ~£2,000 on a £12,000 job | 31 Mar 2027 |
Both end on the same date. For an off-grid oil household looking at a £14,000 installation, the two together are worth around £11,000 — and the difference between acting inside the window and outside it is not marginal.
The running-cost case is stronger here too
Oil and LPG are the fuels a heat pump most comfortably beats. Comparing a heat pump against mains gas is genuinely close, and depends heavily on system design and tariff. Comparing it against oil or LPG is not close — those fuels cost substantially more per useful kWh of heat, and they are volatile in a way that mains gas is not.
If you have been putting off the decision because you read that heat pumps do not save money, that analysis was almost certainly written about gas-heated homes. It does not transfer to yours. Our running-cost comparison shows the arithmetic, including why the gas case is so much tighter.
Why the deadline is closer than it looks
31 March 2027 is not the date by which you need to have decided. It is the date by which the work needs to be done and the grant redeemed. Working backwards from that:
- The Ofgem application has a 120-day window — the installation must be commissioned within that period or the grant is lost.
- Before applying, you need a survey, a heat loss calculation and an agreed design.
- Installer capacity tightens as any deadline approaches. It always does.
Realistically, an enquiry made in autumn 2026 is comfortable. One made in January 2027 is a gamble on someone else's diary.
Where ByEco stands right now. Boiler Upgrade Scheme applications can only be submitted by an MCS-certified installer. ByEco is currently going through MCS and TrustMark certification, so we cannot lodge a BUS application for you yet. If you are planning work, talk to us about timing — we will tell you honestly whether we can help on your schedule or whether you are better off going elsewhere.
One honest caveat
A heat pump is not automatically right for every off-grid property. Very poorly insulated homes, properties with undersized radiators throughout, and homes with no sensible location for the outdoor unit all need looking at properly before anyone promises you a figure. The grant improves the economics; it does not change whether the building suits the technology.
A good installer will tell you if yours does not. Be wary of anyone who quotes before surveying.
Sources
Every figure on this page was checked against primary sources on 22 August 2026. Grant rules and energy prices change — if you are reading this much later, verify before acting.
- Ofgem — Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
- GOV.UK — Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Talk it through
Every home is different, and the honest answer to “is this worth it?” depends on your heat demand, your insulation and your tariff. Send us your postcode and we will give you a realistic figure rather than a hopeful one.
