UK & Ireland Heat Pump Grants 2026: BUS and SEAI Explained

Grant rates change during 2026 — every figure in this guide was verified as of September 2026. Both the UK and Irish schemes changed materially this year — confirm the current values at gov.uk and seai.ie before applying.

What heat pump grants exist in the UK and Ireland in 2026?

Two flagship schemes dominate: England and Wales run the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) — a £7,500 voucher toward an air- or ground-source heat pump, rising to £9,000 for oil- and LPG-heated homes from 21 July 2026 — while Ireland's SEAI grants doubled on 3 February 2026 to reach €12,500 for a house. Both are installer-led: the installer's certification (MCS in the UK, SEAI registration in Ireland) is the gateway to the money.

The strategic context differs. The UK scheme now sits inside the Warm Homes Plan launched in January 2026 — roughly £13–15 billion to upgrade five million homes by 2030 — and is funded through 2029/30. Ireland's increase came under the National Residential Retrofit Plan and applied retroactively to applications already in flight.

For homeowners the practical difference is timing: the UK voucher is deducted upfront from the installer's invoice, while Ireland pays out after the completion paperwork is filed. Neither scheme funds new fossil-fuel boilers — the grant landscape on both islands now points one way.

How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme worth after the July 2026 changes?

2026 brought three practical improvements beyond the amounts. The EPC requirement was removed on 28 April 2026 — no energy performance certificate is needed to apply. Installers must now deduct the grant from the quoted price upfront, and the scheme has been extended to 2030; it covers domestic and small non-domestic properties up to 45 kWth.

Two exclusions matter. Biomass remains eligible only in rural off-gas properties. And solar thermal is not BUS-funded — solar water heating instead benefits from 0% VAT on energy-saving materials (including solar thermal, heat pumps and controls) until 31 March 2027, then 5%. The VAT relief needs no application at all and directly shortens the payback period of a solar water heater. The two routes are complementary rather than competing: a solar water heating system bought at 0% VAT and paired with a grant-funded heat pump covers summer hot water and reduces the pump's runtime.

How much are SEAI grants in Ireland after the February 2026 increase?

Since 3 February 2026, an Irish house switching from fossil heating can combine SEAI supports of up to €12,500:

Air-to-air heat pumps attract a lower maximum of €7,500 for every dwelling type. The flat €1,200 solar water heating grant makes Ireland one of the few English-speaking markets with a live, nationwide solar thermal grant.

For Irish households the macro context adds urgency: as an EU member state, Ireland falls under ETS2, which extends carbon pricing to heating fuels from 2028 — heating oil and gas get structurally more expensive just as the grant for leaving them peaks.

Who is eligible — and why do MCS and SEAI registration matter?

In the UK, the money follows the installer: only an MCS-certified installer can apply for a BUS voucher, and the products fitted must be MCS-certified too. MCS plays the same gatekeeping role that Solar Keymark plays in continental European subsidy schemes — independent certification that the product performs as declared and the installation meets standards. Export manufacturers certify in parallel for each market's gate; Solimpeks, shipping to 96+ countries, maintains Solar Keymark certification (DIN CERTCO/Kiwa) across its collector and PVT ranges for exactly this reason.

Irish eligibility rules are stricter on the building side:

• The home must have been built and occupied before 2021 (heat pump and solar water heating grants).
• The dwelling must meet a heat-loss indicator threshold (HLI ≤ 2.3 W/K·m²): homes built before 2007 need a technical assessment unless a valid BER already shows this, and poorly insulated homes may need fabric upgrades first.
• Works must be carried out by an SEAI-registered installer, with grant approval in place before installation begins.

On the UK side, eligibility is deliberately light since the April 2026 reform: no EPC condition, any domestic or small non-domestic property up to 45 kWth, with the £9,000 tier reserved for oil- and LPG-heated off-gas homes.

How do you apply in each country?

England & Wales (Boiler Upgrade Scheme):

1. Get quotes from MCS-certified installers.
2. The installer applies to Ofgem for the voucher on your behalf — you confirm consent.
3. The voucher is issued; the installation is completed and commissioned to MCS standards.
4. The installer redeems the voucher and deducts the grant from your invoice.

A practical note on quotes: because the voucher value is fixed, the meaningful comparison between MCS installers is the net price after the grant and the modelled running costs — ask each bidder for the heat-loss calculation their quote is based on.

Ireland (SEAI individual grants):

1. Check the home qualifies (built and occupied before 2021, heat-loss indicator) and, for homes built before 2007 without a qualifying BER, book the technical assessment.
2. Apply to SEAI and receive grant approval before works begin.
3. Have an SEAI-registered installer complete the installation.
4. Arrange a post-works BER and submit the completion paperwork; the grant is paid out.

What deadlines and changes come next?

• 31 March 2027 is the date to circle twice in the UK: the £9,000 oil/LPG uplift ends, and the 0% VAT window on energy-saving materials closes, reverting to 5%.
• ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 with no ECO5 to follow — the successor is the council-administered Warm Homes: Local Grant.
• The core BUS is funded to 2029/30, so the standard £7,500 has a longer runway than any single deadline.
• Scotland runs a separate Home Energy Scotland grant-and-loan scheme with a rural uplift — confirm the current Scottish amounts against the official Home Energy Scotland pages before advising households there.
• Ireland's increased rates arrived without an announced end date, but levels are reviewed under the retrofit plan — the seai.ie grant tables are the reference.

Unlike Germany's BEG, which cuts rates on a published six-month schedule, the UK and Irish schemes change by announcement: the £9,000 uplift and the VAT window are the only hard deadlines currently on the calendar, and both reward acting before spring 2027.