The £7,500 Heat Pump Grant — Questions Bristol Homeowners Ask
Last reviewed: 2 October 2026
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes £7,500 off an air source heat pump for almost any Bristol home that owns its heating. These are the questions people ask most, answered with the rules as they stand in October 2026.
How much is the grant?
| Heating system | Grant |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (air-to-water, feeding radiators) | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump | £7,500 |
| Air source or ground source replacing oil or LPG (applications 21 July 2026 – 31 March 2027) | £9,000 |
| Air-to-air heat pump (warm-air units, no radiators) | £2,500 |
| Biomass boiler (rural, off-gas homes only) | £5,000 |
The grant is a fixed sum, not a percentage. On a typical Bristol installation priced at £10,000–£13,000 it covers well over half the cost.
Do I have to apply myself?
No. Your MCS-certified installer applies to Ofgem, which runs the scheme, and takes the grant off your invoice. Ofgem then emails you to confirm that you agreed to the application. Reply to that email promptly: if you don’t, the voucher can be cancelled.
You never receive or pass on the money, and you shouldn’t pay a deposit that assumes the grant before the voucher has been issued.
Is it means-tested?
No. Income, savings and benefits play no part. A family in a £1 million Sneyd Park house qualifies on exactly the same terms as a pensioner in a Bedminster terrace. What matters is the property and the heating system it replaces, which our eligibility guide covers line by line.
What changed in 2026?
New regulations took effect on 28 April 2026:
- No EPC needed. Until April, you needed an Energy Performance Certificate under ten years old with no outstanding loft or cavity insulation recommendations. That rule has gone. It used to trip up many of Bristol’s solid-walled stone terraces, where EPCs routinely flagged insulation that is impractical or restricted in a conservation area.
- Air-to-air heat pumps became eligible for £2,500.
- MCS certification for installers became a legal requirement of the scheme rather than a scheme rule.
- The scheme now runs to 2030, so there is no rush to beat a closing date.
Then from 21 July 2026, homes switching from oil or LPG became entitled to £9,000 until the end of March 2027. In the Bristol area that mostly means rural pockets around Long Ashton, Leigh Woods and the Thornbury outskirts that were never connected to Wales & West Utilities’ gas network.
I rent my house out in Bristol. Can I claim?
Yes. Private landlords are eligible on the same basis as owner-occupiers, and Bristol has one of the largest private rented sectors outside London. Social housing — homes owned by the council or a housing association — is excluded, because separate funding covers it. Bristol City Leap’s £25 million retrofit of council homes in Henbury, Brentry, Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston is one example of that separate route.
Does living in a conservation area or listed building affect the grant?
Not the grant itself. With 33 conservation areas covering roughly 30% of the city, plenty of Bristol homes sit in one. You can still claim £7,500. What changes is planning: an outdoor unit on a wall or roof facing the road needs permission in a conservation area, and any external work on a listed building needs listed building consent. Get that consent in place before the installer applies for the voucher, so the voucher doesn’t run out while you wait. Our planning guide explains when consent is needed.
Can I get a heat pump free instead?
Possibly. The Warm Homes: Local Grant pays the whole cost of insulation, solar panels or a heat pump for low-income households in privately owned homes with an EPC rating of D to G. In Bristol, the council delivers it through Bristol City Leap’s Bright Green Homes project, and homes on or off the gas grid can apply. If you might be eligible, check this first. You can’t use both schemes on the same heat pump, and the free route obviously beats a £7,500 discount.
ECO4, which used to fund some heat pumps through energy suppliers, closed to new applications on 31 March 2026.
What doesn’t the grant cover?
- Hybrid systems that keep a gas boiler alongside the heat pump
- New-build homes bought from a developer (self-builds can claim)
- Insulation, windows or draught-proofing, even if the installer recommends them
- A second heat pump on a property that has already had BUS support
What should I do next?
- Check the eligibility guide to confirm your home qualifies.
- Get a survey and quote from an MCS-certified installer. The grant should be shown as a line on the quote.
- Read how the application works so you know what Ofgem will ask you to confirm.
For the full picture of what you’d pay after the grant, see heat pump costs in Bristol.
See what a heat pump would look like in your Bristol home
The mechanism is the same in every UK home; the design is specific to yours. Our team carries out a free in-home survey including a full room-by-room heat-loss calculation, identifies the system size and configuration that fits your property, and provides a written quote with the £7,500 BUS grant already deducted.
You'll see the actual figure you'd pay — not an estimate — and the projected efficiency for your specific install.