Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500 off a heat pump · ECO4 closes 31 December 2026
Independent UK green-home guides

A warmer home, smaller bills - and the grants that pay for it

Clear, UK-specific guides to insulation, heat pumps, solar, damp and EPC ratings - with the grants that pay for them, the real costs, and the order to do things in.

See the grants open now Start with your home
  • Grant rules checked against GOV.UK and Ofgem
  • Costs in pounds, sizes in millimetres and metres
  • No installer pays to be listed or ranked
A cutaway of a house: loft insulation, solar panels, wall insulation, windows, ventilation, a heat pump, a smart meter and a rain water butt 1Loft insulation 2Solar panels 3Wall insulation 4Windows & draughts 5Ventilation & damp 6Heat pump 7Smart meter & tariffs 8Rainwater
Tap a number: every upgrade links to its guides.

Grants and schemes open now

What each one pays and who it is for - follow a card for the full rules. Checked 7 October 2026

Open now £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme Off an air or ground source heat pump in England and Wales. £2,500 for air-to-air, £5,000 for biomass. Who qualifies → Until March 2027 +£1,500 Off-gas uplift Extra for homes heated by oil or LPG, on top of the £7,500 heat pump grant. Who qualifies → Closes 31 Dec 2026 Free upgrades ECO4 Insulation and heating for lower-income and benefit households, paid for by energy suppliers. Who qualifies → Open now Council-run Warm Homes: Local Grant Insulation, solar and heat pumps for low-income homes in England, through your council. Who qualifies →

Start with your home

Pick the one that sounds like you - each path is the order we would do things in.

  1. 1Find your EPCSee where the heat goes and what the assessor already suggested.
  2. 2Loft and draughts firstThe cheapest kilowatt-hours you will ever save.
  3. 3Then the wallsCavity, or internal versus external for solid walls.
  4. 4Then the heatingA heat pump with the £7,500 grant, sized for the insulated house.
  1. 1Know the EPC rulesWhat rented homes must reach, and when.
  2. 2Cheapest way up a bandThe measures that move a D to a C for the least.
  3. 3Grants you can useECO4 and council schemes that cover rented homes.
  4. 4Stop damp and mouldThe complaint that follows a sealed-up flat.
  1. 1Is the house ready?Insulation, radiators and space for a cylinder.
  2. 2What it costsInstalled prices and what moves them.
  3. 3Running costs vs gasWith the right tariff, and without it.
  4. 4Claim the £7,500How the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is applied for.
  1. 1What panels costA typical 3-bed system, installed.
  2. 2Getting paid for exportSmart Export Guarantee rates compared.
  3. 3Add a battery?When it pays back and when it never will.
  4. 4Size the batteryHow many kWh your home really uses.

Every part of the house

Plain explainers, honest costs and step-by-step guides, room by room and system by system.

Grants8 guides

Boiler Upgrade Scheme, ECO4, Warm Homes Plan, Scotland and Wales schemes: who qualifies, what they pay, how to apply.

EPC Ratings5 guides

What your EPC rating means, what it costs you a month, the landlord rules, and the cheapest way up a band.

Heat Pumps14 guides

Air and ground source heat pumps, sizing, running costs against gas, tariffs, hot water and biomass.

Insulation18 guides

Loft, cavity, solid-wall and floor insulation: depths, materials, costs, and the damp mistakes to avoid.

Solar & Batteries10 guides

Solar PV costs, export payments, home batteries and whether they pay back in a UK home.

Damp & Ventilation7 guides

Condensation, black mould, extractor fans, PIV and MVHR - air that stays fresh in a sealed-up home.

Smart Energy7 guides

Smart meters, smart heating controls and the time-of-use tariffs that cut a heat pump's running cost.

Retrofit8 guides

Planning a retrofit in the right order: windows, draughts, period homes, Passivhaus and zero-carbon homes.

Water & Waste6 guides

Rainwater harvesting, water-saving fittings and greywater for UK homes.

Eco Materials2 guides

Low-carbon insulation, lime, timber, natural paints and the materials that let old walls breathe.

Glossary20 guides

Plain-English definitions of the terms in quotes, surveys and grant forms - BREEAM to U-values.

The series

Anatomy of a zero-carbon home

What actually goes into a home that needs almost no energy to heat: the fabric, the airtightness, the ventilation, the heat source and the power it makes for itself - and which parts an ordinary UK house can borrow.

Read the guide
  1. 01Fabric and insulation
  2. 02Airtightness and windows
  3. 03Fresh air without heat loss
  4. 04Low-carbon heat and hot water
  5. 05Making its own power

Where most readers start

The big guides each section is built around.

British eco-friendly house with solar panels and insulation work Glossary What is a green home Discover what makes a green home in the UK, including key features, energy performance, and eligibility for government grants and… hybrid heat pump unit with gas boiler and thermal store tank Heat Pumps Hybrid heat pump system: how it works and when a thermal store tank is needed A hybrid heat pump combines electric heat pump and gas boiler, optimizing home heating efficiently and cost-effectively. Cross-section of insulated house wall showing layers Insulation How home insulation blocks heat flow and what it does in a house Insulation slows heat transfer in homes by blocking conduction, convection, and radiation, improving comfort and reducing energy use. technician installing solar battery unit outside home Solar & Batteries Solar battery installation: what to expect, blackout use, and Enphase fit Understand each step of solar battery installation, blackout functionality with grid-tied inverters, and Enphase system compatibility.

Green building, in plain English

BREEAM, Passivhaus, U-values, SAP - the words you meet in quotes, surveys and grant forms.

Air source heat pumpBREEAMBiomassCode for Sustainable HomesEmbodied carbonEPCFuel cellGreen tariffGround source heat pumpLEEDMicro hydroMicro windPassivhausPrefab homesSAP ratingSolar PVSolar thermalU-value
The whole glossary →

New and updated

Smart Energy · 5 minNest Thermostat Energy Dashboard: 3 checks to diagnose no data display Insulation · 12 min50mm XPS boards around cold slab edges: compatibility and installation tips Smart Energy · 5 minBleeding radiators: how trapped air reduces heat and wastes energy Retrofit · 6 minWhole house retrofit in the UK: the practical order to follow for success Grants · 5 minCondensing boilers with local installers Glossary · 9 minSolar thermal: how sunlight heats water and powers home heating systems Glossary · 7 minSolar PV: what it stands for, how panels and systems work together Glossary · 5 minWhat is passivhaus

How we check what we publish

1Official sources first

Grant rules, EPC bands and building regulations come from GOV.UK, Ofgem and the scheme operators - and every guide says when it was checked.

2Ranges, not headlines

Costs and savings are given as ranges with what moves them: house type, insulation, tariff and where you live.

3Fabric first

We put insulation and draught-proofing before the kit, because a heat pump or panels on a leaky house wastes the grant.