Discover ways to finance your home retrofit, including through the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

Recognising that upfront expenses to improving the energy efficiency of your home might be challenging, did you know that you could potentially access free, discounted government initiatives, or get assistance from your energy supplier?

Janary 2024

Energy Company Obligation Scheme (ECO)

Launched in 2013, the Energy Company Obligation scheme aims to help low-income and vulnerable households to imorove their homes’ energy efficiency. Working in collaboration with energy suppliers, which are obligated to reduce heating costs, the scheme identifies necessary improvements based on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.

Eligible households could receive free wall and loft insulation, along with discounts on new gas boilers. Meeting the criteria involves owning or privately renting a home with an EPC rating of D to G and qualifying for specific UK benefits.

The scheme has seen 4 iterations, ECO, ECO1, ECO2 and ECO3, a brief overview can be found at the bottom of this page. The ECO3 scheme closed on 31 March 2022 and the ECO4 Order came into force in July 2022. ECO4 applies to measures installed from 1 April 2022 and will cover a four-year period until 31 March 2026.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

Property owners in England or Wales can apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant until 2028. The scheme supports the installation of low carbon heating systems, offering financial incentives such as £7,500 off air source heat pump installations, £5,000 off biomass boiler installations, and £7,500 off ground source heat pump installations. For eligibility criteria and the latest updates, visit www.gov.uk.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

If you own or plan to install renewable energy measures in your home, consider the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). This program compensates homeowners for excess renewable electricity their homes generate but do not consume. Eligible renewable technologies include solar panels, wind, hydro micro combined heat and power, and anaerobic digestion. Ensure you sign up for the SEG tariff to receive payments; otherwise, your surplus energy will return to the grid without compensation. Stay informed and enroll in SEG at the provided source for the most recent information.

Retrofit mortgages

Are you not elegeble for a grant, but need finance to upgrade your home? There are now more and more retrofit mortgages* coming onto the market, offering homeowners a way to make affordabe energy-saving improvements.

At this moment, Janaury 2024, there are a few products available:

• Halifax ‘Funding Green Home Improvements‘ or retrofit mortgage.
• Saffron Building Society offers green mortgage that rewards you for improving the energy efficiency of your home!
• Perenna, which received a government grant to launch retrofit mortgage product

*Cosy Homes Oxfordshire has no financial connection to any of these financial services. The listing is to show that there are products available, and no doubt as the need to retrofit becomes a greater national priority, more products will become available – so do go and search for retrofit mortages online, or keep checking back here every now and then.

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