£5,000 grant to replace boilers with low-carbon sources from 2022

Householders will be able to get a £5,000 grant to replace their gas boilers with low-carbon heating from April 2022. The £450 million three-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been announced in the government’s long-awaited Heat and Buildings Strategy.

A target date of 2035 has been set for all new heating systems installed to be either using low-carbon technologies, such as heat pumps, or supporting new technologies like hydrogen-ready boilers – although the government does add the caveat that it must be confident of the supply of hydrogen.

The strategy emphasises that no one will be forced to rip out their gas boilers. The government says the next 14 years will see a transition away from fossil fuel boilers in an affordable, practical and fair way, so that homeowners can make green choices when replacing their old boiler.

It says the grants mean that those people who choose to install a heat pump will pay a similar amount to that of installing a traditional gas boiler. It says it will also work with the industry to bring down the cost of heat pumps so that they cost the same to buy and run as boilers by 2030. The government says it expects heat pumps to fall in price by between a quarter and a half by 2025 as the market expands and technology develops.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As we clean up the way we heat our homes over the next decade, we are backing our brilliant innovators to make clean technology like heat pumps as cheap to buy and run as gas boilers – supporting thousands of green jobs.

“Our new grants will help homeowners make the switch sooner, without costing them extra, so that going green is the better choice when their boiler needs an upgrade.

“The Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how we are taking ‘no-regrets’ action now, particularly on heat pumps, while supporting ongoing trials and other research and innovation on our future heating systems, including on hydrogen.

“We will make a decision on the potential role for hydrogen in heating buildings by 2026, by learning from our Hydrogen Village pilot. Heat pump technology will play a key role in all scenarios, so for those who want to install them now, we are supporting them to do so.”