Home Efficiency Grants

Home efficiency grants and schemes let you make upgrades to your property, helping it stay warmer for longer. Below, we’ll explain what each scheme offers and how to apply for the funding.

Insulation grants in Scotland

Insulation is one of the best ways to save money on our energy bills. There are several different insulation grants in Scotland to help with this, and this page will help you explore what’s available.

Home Energy Scotland Grant

The Home Energy Scotland Grant gives you money towards a variety of energy efficiency improvements. As it’s a grant, you don’t have to pay anything back. Extra money is also available for people in remote, rural or island areas of Scotland.

Homeowners can get up to 75% of the cost of insulation paid for by the grant. The most you can receive is £7,500 (or £9,000 if you’re in a remote, rural or island area of Scotland).

An optional Home Energy Scotland Loan is also offered to top up the amount of grant funding you can get.

Home Energy Scotland funding includes:

• External wall insulation grants
• Cavity wall insulation grants
• Flat roof or room-in-roof insulation grants
• Loft insulation grants
• Under floor insulation grants

To apply for a Home Energy Scotland insulation grant, call their freephone number on 0808 808 2282. A Home Energy Scotland advisor will be able to help you.

Warmer Homes Scotland

The Warmer Homes Scotland scheme offers a range of energy efficiency improvements for your home.

First, an assessor will visit you to work out which upgrades would make the biggest difference to both your comfort and energy bills. Most of the time, any improvements are offered for free. Next, the company who carried out the home visit will also organise the work for you.

You can check if you are eligible for Warmer Home Scotland on the Home Energy Scotland website. You can also apply for the scheme from there. If you’d like to discuss the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme over the phone, then call for free on 0808 808 2282 to speak to an advisor.

Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES: ABS)

Energy Efficient Scotland: Areas Based Schemes (EES:ABS) use government funding to improve the energy efficiency of homes. EES:ABS schemes are either free or heavily discounted.

Through an EES:ABS insulation scheme you might be able to get:

• External wall insulation grants
• Internal wall insulation grants
• Cavity wall insulation grants
• Under floor insulation grants

Most EES:ABS schemes are offered in a targeted area within your local council, but some are available right across the locality

Find out what EES:ABS schemes might be available in your local area. 

Green Homes Grant in Scotland

The Green Homes Grant was a UK Government scheme which gave people vouchers to pay for energy efficiency improvements to their homes. However, the scheme came to an end in 2015. So far, no Green Homes Grant replacement has been announced.

The Green Homes Grant was only available in England. In Scotland, the closest scheme available is the Home Energy Scotland Grant. Just like the Green Homes Grant, the Home Energy Scotland Grant gives homeowners money towards insulation and renewable technology.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the biggest energy suppliers have to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes. This usually involves the energy supplier offering different kinds of insulation for free. It can also mean getting a free new boiler.

You can apply for ECO funding through any energy supplier that takes part in the scheme. You don’t have to be with that supplier to get ECO funding from them. For example, you might be with ScottishPower but get ECO funding through Octopus.

The main criteria for ECO are available on the Ofgem website. Different energy suppliers have different rules about what they can offer through ECO funding, and who they can offer it to.

Click the energy companies below to find out about their ECO schemes. If we haven’t provided a link, then it’s because we weren’t able to find info about ECO on the supplier’s website. In that case, we’d suggest calling or emailing the supplier to ask about their ECO scheme.

• British Gas ECO scheme
• EDF Energy ECO scheme
• Octopus Energy/Co-Op Energy ECO scheme
• Ovo Energy (including Boost and SSE)
• Scottish Power
• Shell Energy
• So Energy
• Utility Warehouse
• Utilita

Great British Insulation Scheme (formerly ECO+)

The Great British Insulation Scheme is a UK Government initiative, delivered through Ofgem. It mainly offers single insulation measures. The Great British Insulation Scheme is open to vulnerable people and those on low incomes. In Scotland, it’s also available if your home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D-G, and your Council Tax band is A-E.

The following home efficiency measures may be available to you:

• cavity wall insulation
• solid wall insulation (internal or external)
• loft insulation
• flat or pitched roof insulation
• underfloor insulation
• solid floor insulation
• park home insulation
• room-in-roof insulation

To find out if you can get insulation through the Great British Insulation Scheme, visit the gov.uk website.

Boiler grants in Scotland

Energy efficient boiler grants are offered across the UK through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme. Boiler funding (in Scotland) may also be available through Warmer Homes Scotland.

You can check online if you qualify for Warmer Homes Scotland .  

You can find the qualifying criteria for ECO on Ofgem’s website. Different energy suppliers might have slightly different criteria, so make sure to check with them.

Home Energy Scotland can also help you work out if you are eligible for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme. To speak to an advisor, call for free on 0808 808 2282.

If you’re looking for grants to get a greener replacement for your boiler, then check out our renewables funding section.