All practical guides
The £9,000 heat pump grant for oil-heated homes: what it means in Norfolk
Since 21 July 2026 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has paid £9,000 towards a heat pump in a home heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas. The higher rate runs until March 2027.
From 21 July 2026 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £9,000, up from £7,500, towards an air source or ground source heat pump in a home heated by oil or LPG that has no mains gas connection. The higher rate runs until 31 March 2027. At the 2021 Census, 17.3% of Norfolk households heated their homes with oil alone. Across England the figure was 3.2%.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced the 20% increase on 26 June 2026. Leaflets went to 200,000 eligible homes in England and Wales that week. The minister, Martin McCluskey, tied the change to the war in the Middle East, which had pushed up the price of heating oil.
What changed
The grant is paid to the installer, not to you. It comes off the installer’s quote, and the quote and invoice should show it.
| System (from 21 July 2026) | New grant | Previous grant |
|---|---|---|
| Air-to-water heat pump, oil or LPG home with no mains gas | £9,000 | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump, same homes | £9,000 | £7,500 |
| Biomass boiler (rural homes off the gas grid only) | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| Air-to-water or ground source heat pump, any other home | £7,500 | £7,500 |
| Air-to-air heat pump (homes only) | £2,500 | £2,500 |
Only air-to-water and ground source heat pumps get the extra £1,500. Homes on mains gas stay at £7,500, and biomass and air-to-air grants are unchanged. Heat pump installations also carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
Take-up since July
Installers sent Ofgem 8,150 applications in July 2026, the most in any month since the scheme opened in 2022 and 81% more than in June. August was the second highest, at 7,486. Across the two months, 5,351 applications were for the £9,000 grant, 34% of the total. In August, 43% of the vouchers Ofgem issued were at the higher rate.
The money is not open-ended. Vouchers are issued first come, first served until the year’s budget is used up, and the budget for 2026-27 is £400 million. If you are going to switch before March, do not leave the survey until the new year.
Norfolk had already been using the scheme. From May 2022 to June 2026, 2,357 heat pump grants were paid out in the county. South Norfolk had the most, 557, and Great Yarmouth the fewest, 134.
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Who qualifies for £9,000
The scheme is run by Ofgem, and the installer must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). For the higher rate:
- The property is in England or Wales.
- It is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection.
- You own it. Second homes, let properties and business premises count.
- It is not social housing, which for this scheme includes shared ownership, and not a new build still being built. Self-builds can qualify.
- No government grant has already paid for a heat pump or biomass boiler at the address.
- The new system is sized to meet all the home’s heating and hot water on its own.
You no longer need an Energy Performance Certificate. The regulations required a valid EPC until 28 April 2026, when an amendment removed the condition.
How many Norfolk homes are on oil
The 2021 Census counted 17.3% of Norfolk households heating with oil only and 56.8% with mains gas only. The rest use other fuels or a mix. Oil is concentrated in the rural districts: 25.1% of households in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, 24.6% in North Norfolk, 24.2% in South Norfolk and 23.7% in Breckland. In Norwich it is 0.2%.
Ward by ward the spread is wider. In the Burnham Market and Docking ward, 47.6% of households used oil only.
What it costs to buy and run
The median cost of an air-to-water heat pump installed under the scheme between April and June 2026 was £12,908, including the grant. Take off £9,000 and a household paying the median would pay about £3,900. The median for ground source was £27,232, or about £18,200 after the grant. Those are national figures, and an old cottage that needs bigger radiators will cost more.
Running costs depend on the price of oil. The Nottingham Energy Partnership’s September 2026 comparison puts heat from a kerosene boiler at 11.02p per kWh, with oil at 97.02p a litre, and heat from an air source heat pump at 10.54p. At BoilerJuice’s average of 117.14p a litre on 24 September, oil heat costs about 13.31p per kWh, and the heat pump is about a fifth cheaper to run. At the lower oil price the gap is small. Our Norfolk oil heating guide sets out what a year of oil costs at different tank sizes.
What the grant does not pay for
The grant is a fixed sum off the installation. Everything else the job needs is on top, and older Norfolk houses often need some of it:
- larger radiators
- a hot water cylinder
- loft or wall insulation
- taking out the old oil tank
- a new electrical consumer unit
Ask each MCS installer to quote for the whole job before you sign. Ofgem recommends getting quotes from more than one.
How to apply
- Find MCS-certified installers on the MCS website and get quotes.
- Agree a quote. The installer confirms you are eligible.
- The installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf.
- Ofgem contacts you to confirm the installer is acting for you. If you do not reply within 14 calendar days, the application may be rejected.
- Once the voucher is approved, the installer has three months to fit an air source heat pump, or six months for ground source. The grant comes off your bill.
If a heat pump has already been fitted, it can still qualify, but only if it was commissioned no more than 120 days before the application.
Frequently asked questions
Does the £9,000 grant apply to gas-heated homes?
No. Homes with a mains gas connection get £7,500. The £9,000 rate is for homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas.
Is the grant paid to me or to the installer?
To the installer. It comes off the quote, and you pay the balance.
Do I need a new EPC?
No. The requirement for a valid EPC was removed from the scheme’s regulations on 28 April 2026. If you have one, Ofgem suggests using its recommendations to plan insulation before the heat pump goes in.
My tank is in the garden. Does the grant cover removing it?
No. Taking out the tank, and any groundworks around it, is an extra cost.
What if I do not qualify for BUS?
Heat pump installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 whether or not you get a grant. The government’s Warm Homes Plan also offers low and no interest loans for home energy improvements such as heat pumps, solar panels and batteries.
What if the leaflet does not arrive?
You can still apply. The 200,000 leaflets went to a targeted list of homes, and eligibility does not depend on receiving one.
Related
- The Norfolk oil heating guide, with kerosene prices, tank rules and annual running costs.
- Heating oil consumer rights in Norfolk, after the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2026 work on the heating oil market.
- Best Norfolk market towns.
Data sources
- DESNZ press releases of 26 June 2026 (“Thousands of homes will be eligible for £9,000 off a heat pump”) and 27 August 2026 (“Record number of heating oil households apply for a heat pump”), gov.uk
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics, August 2026, published 24 September 2026, and Boiler Upgrade Scheme guidance at gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme
- Ofgem, Boiler Upgrade Scheme guidance for property owners
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, as amended, legislation.gov.uk
- ONS 2021 Census, table TS046 (central heating), via Nomis
- Nottingham Energy Partnership energy cost comparison, September 2026; BoilerJuice kerosene prices, 24 September 2026
- Norfolk Living Guide, Norfolk Oil Heating Guide 2026
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