The Government has confirmed a change for Brits seeking to install heat pumps.
Thousands of homeowners seeking grants to install heat pumps will now receive the discount upfront. The change forms part of new rules designed to strengthen consumer protection and ensure installers pass on the full value of taxpayer-funded support. Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that installers participating in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) must now deduct the grant from the customer’s bill before work begins, rather than reclaiming the money later.
The change means households eligible for the scheme will immediately see grants worth up to £7,500 knocked off installation costs for air source and ground source heat pumps.
In a social media post, Ofgem said: “Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) installers must now deduct the grant amount from the customer’s upfront costs. This will ensure that property owners receive the BUS discount upfront.”
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants of £7,500 for air-to-water and ground source heat pumps, £2,500 for air-to-air heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass boilers in certain circumstances. The scheme has recently been extended until 2030.
The move closes a loophole that previously left it largely to installers how the grant was reflected in customer contracts. Earlier guidance stated that legislation did not dictate exactly how installers passed on the funding to customers, provided they complied with consumer protection rules.
Under the updated rules, installers are now required to show the grant as an upfront reduction on quotes and invoices, giving consumers greater certainty about the final price they will pay.
Why the rules have changed
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero consulted on reforms to the scheme last year, saying proposed changes were intended to “enhance existing consumer protections” and improve access to low-carbon heating technologies.
Industry guidance published this year said formalising the requirement would create a standard process for installers, remove barriers for consumers and provide reassurance that the grant was genuinely reducing costs.
Has there been abuse of the scheme?
There is no evidence of widespread fraud by consumers under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme itself. Ofgem told a parliamentary inquiry that as of November 2022 it had found no fraud within the BUS scheme, although it had rejected hundreds of ineligible applications worth around £3.7 million through its checks and controls.
However, the regulator has increasingly focused on compliance and fraud prevention. The latest guidance states that Ofgem “takes fraud and non-compliance within its schemes seriously” and provides dedicated channels for whistleblowers and fraud reports.
Separately, Ofgem said in 2025 that it had protected more than £2.6 million of Boiler Upgrade Scheme funding from misuse and suspected fraud through its monitoring and assurance processes.
While not directly linked to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, concerns about fraud and poor-quality work in other government-backed energy efficiency programmes have heightened pressure on regulators to strengthen safeguards. Recent investigations into insulation schemes uncovered allegations of fraudulent claims worth tens of millions of pounds and widespread installation failures.
Consumer protection concerns
Ministers have repeatedly stressed the need for stronger consumer protections as heat pump installations increase. Government consultation documents on BUS reforms said proposed changes were designed to improve consumer protections, while the original scheme required participating installers to be certified and members of approved consumer protection codes.
The latest rules requiring grants to be deducted upfront appear aimed at ensuring households receive the full benefit of taxpayer support immediately, while making quotes easier to compare and reducing the risk of confusion over how the subsidy is applied.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has become a central plank of government efforts to encourage households to move away from gas boilers. More than 100,000 applications have been made since the scheme launched in 2022, according to industry figures.