Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan

There are maximum grant amounts and optional loans available for each energy efficiency improvement:

• Solid wall insulation: up to £10,000, comprising a £7,500 grant plus £2,500 optional loan.
• Electric heating: up to £5,500 loan, with a £2,500 grant available for high heat retention storage heaters when installed as part of a package of measures.
• Glazing: up to £8,000, with no grant available.
• Insulated doors: up to £4,500, with no grant available.
• Flat roof or room-in-roof insulation: up to £4,000, made up of a £3,000 grant plus £1,000 optional loan.
• Loft, floor, or cavity wall insulation: up to £2,000, comprising £1,500 grant plus £500 optional loan.

There are conditions attached to the amounts available. Read the 'important information about the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan section' below.

Funds are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Funding is reserved for homeowners when they receive a written loan offer, not on application to the scheme.

You can also borrow:

• up to £500 per improvement, including up to £375 of that as a grant, for secondary improvements
• up to £600, with up to £450 of that as a grant, for heating controls.

These secondary improvements are not available separately; you must combine them with one of the energy-efficient improvements listed above or the renewable systems below.

Examples of secondary improvements include cylinder thermostats and or hot water jackets. Contact our advisors to find out more.

Renewable systems include zero and low-emission heating, electricity generation, energy storage systems, and district heating scheme connections.

The maximum funding amounts available are:

• Heat pumps: £15,000, comprising a £7,500 grant plus £7,500 as an optional loan. Households qualifying for the rural uplift can access a £9,000 grant plus up to £7,500 as an optional loan. The heat pumps can be air source to water, ground source to water, or water source to water.
• Hybrid heat pumps (air to water): made up of a £7,500 grant plus £7,500 as an optional loan. Households qualifying for the rural uplift can access a £9,000 grant plus up to £7,500 as an optional loan. Funding is only available for the heat pump component of the system, which must meet MCS standards to qualify. Only heat pumps that provide 100% of heating requirements are typically eligible for MCS certification. The only exception is when there is a technical reason why a heat pump alone can't meet 100% of heating requirements. Before making any decisions, you should speak to your installer and obtain a written guarantee that the hybrid heat pump will meet MCS certification. The heat pump component must be whole house; this means it must provide both heating and hot water. Therefore, there must be evidence of a hot water tank or thermal store either at the property or one being installed alongside the heat pump.
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels: £6,000, of which £1,250 is a grant plus £4,750 as an optional loan. Funding is only available for this measure if taken as a package of measures.
• Solar water heating systems: £5,000 loan only; no grant available.
• Hybrid solar PV/water heating systems: £5,000 loan only; no grant available.
• Energy storage systems (heat or electric batteries): £6,000, with £1,250 available as a grant plus £4,750 as an optional loan. Funding is only available for a heat or electric battery and if taken as a package of measures.
• Wind or hydro turbines: £2,500 loan only; no grant available.
• Biomass boilers or stoves: Note that non-automated, non-pellet stoves or room heaters are not eligible. Funding up to £15,000 is available, with a potential £7,500 grant upon providing evidence that a heat pump is unsuitable for the property. The grant rises to £9,000 if the household qualifies for the rural uplift.
• Connections to a renewably powered heat network scheme: £7,500 loan only; no grant available.

Please read the 'important information about the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan section' below.

• Find out if you’re eligible for Warmer Homes Scotland. 
  Use the Warmer Homes Scotland self-assessment tool to ensure you’re not missing out on support from this Scottish Government funding scheme.
• Complete a Home Energy Check. 
  The Home Energy Check is a personalised report with suggested next steps to help you lower your energy bills and create a more comfortable home. Our advisors can go through the Home Energy Check with you, but you can save time by completing it now.
• Have any benefits award letters or certificates to hand. 
  If you receive benefits, check you know which they are and have your entitlement letter handy.
• Find out if you have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). 
  Check the Scottish EPC register to determine if your home has an EPC. Our advisors can do this for you if you wish.
• Use the Home Renewables Selector if you’re thinking of installing renewables. 
  This handy online tool helps you understand what renewable energy technologies, including low-emissions heating, such as heat pumps, might suit your home.
• Find out what's covered. 
  Read our full terms and conditions. Ensure you've read what improvements are covered and all the terms and conditions of applying.

If you choose to contact us by telephone, calls with our advisors typically last between 30 and 45 minutes, so make sure you’re comfortable and have plenty of time to chat.

You should also make sure you’re at home when you contact us. This makes things easier if our advisor has questions about your home, such as checking what radiators or windows you have installed.

Our advisors will ask questions and chat through the various energy efficiency improvements suitable for you and your home, including low-emission heating and home renewable energy systems. In some cases, we can provide a specialist to visit your home to discuss your plans in more detail.

You can also email us and receive advice electronically and at your own pace.

Once you’re ready, choose how to contact us and start your energy-saving journey with one of our friendly advisors.

Once you've spoken to an advisor and are ready to proceed with an application, they'll send you a personalised link to complete an online application form. You can only apply for funding using the application form provided to you by Home Energy Scotland.

You must complete the form yourself; installers are not authorised to do this on your behalf.

Remember, you will need a quote from an installer to support your application if you are applying for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.

Once submitted, our services delivery team will assess your application. We aim to process fully completed applications within ten working days.

Funding offers may be delayed if any of the required supporting documents are missing, incomplete, or require clarification.

Remember, you must not start any work on any installation until you have received a written funding offer from us.

You can email our services delivery team or call them at 0808 108 9414 if you have any questions about your application or have any difficulties completing the application form.

There are total funding caps for each improvement and combinations of improvements supported by grants and loans.

The total available grant funding for energy efficiency improvements is up to 75 per cent of the combined cost of the improvements up to the maximum grant amount of £7,500, or £9,000 for households which qualify for the rural uplift.

The remaining funds, up to the maximum funding cap for each improvement, can be taken up as an interest-free loan.

You can only use the Home Energy Scotland Loan to improve single-glazed windows. There is no grant funding for glazing.

Similarly, there is no loan or grant available to replace or improve existing double glazing.

If loft and/or cavity wall insulation is recommended in the EPC and can be installed, you must have this work carried out by the time you claim the funding.

You can apply for funding for these measures as part of your application.

• Your application can only fund one whole-house heating system, meaning it must provide heating and hot water to the property.
• Grant funding for new heat pumps is up to £7,500, or £9,000 if the household qualifies for the rural uplift. The remainder of the requested funding can be taken up as an optional interest-free loan.
• Replacement heat pumps are not eligible for grant funding. An interest-free loan of up to £7,500, or £9,000 if the household qualifies for the rural uplift, is available for replacement heat pumps.
• You must leave a rating and review of your installer (if listed) on Energy Saving Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder once your system is installed and before claiming funding.
• You will need to provide a suitable energy report recommending the improvements you wish to install. This can be a qualifying report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor or an EPC.

Your installer and product must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for the system that is being installed. The only exception to this are micro hydro systems. Applications for these systems will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. We recommend using an installer accredited by the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or recommended by the British Hydro Association.

• Funding is only available for energy storage systems if applied for as a package.
• A package consists of a heat pump or high heat retention electric storage heaters together with solar PV and an energy storage system. If you have already installed one or more of these improvements, you can apply for the remaining improvement(s) to complete the package.
• You can only apply for one energy storage system, for example, a heat battery or an electric battery.

You can apply for funding for an energy storage system up to a maximum of £6,000, comprising £1,250 as a grant and £4,750 as an optional loan.

• The heat network must be powered entirely or partially by a renewable energy source, and the scheme must be approved for funding under this loan scheme.
• The fuel mix must include a minimum proportion of renewable energy sources. Heat network connections are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for more information.