Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan is only available for eligible properties in Scotland. If you live in England or Wales, you can access funding to make energy-efficient home improvements, like installing a heat pump, through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Homeowners and tenants can access the Home Energy Scotland Grand and Loan as long as they reside at the property where the home energy efficiency improvements are being made. Landlords, businesses or property developers are not eligible for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan.

A valid EPC is less than 10 years old. Not sure if you have one? Contact Aira today. 

To receive your grant and funding, you must have a heat pump installation quote from an MCS-certified company. At Aira, all our installers are MCS-certified and we’re also a member of the Trading Standards Institute accredited consumer code. 

The Scottish Government allocates a certain amount of funding every financial year to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan program, aimed at helping people improve the energy efficiency of their properties.

This funding is limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that once the allocated budget is exhausted, no further applications can be accepted until the next financial year. 

There’s different amounts of funding available for various home efficiency improvements like insulation, solar panels and heat pump installation. 

For those planning on improving their home’s energy efficiency with better insulation, or other heating systems, individuals can apply for a grant that covers up to 75% of the total cost of the home energy efficiency improvements. This grant can be as much as £7,500, or £9,000 if the household qualifies for the rural uplift.

For heat pump installation, individuals can also apply for an interest free loan of up to £7,500, depending on the individual’s financial circumstances. This means individuals can access up to £15,000 in funding (£7,500 grant & £7,500 loan) to install a heat pump, or £16,500 if they are eligible for the rural uplift (£9,000 grant & £7,500 loan). 

If individuals combine their heat pump installation with solar panels and/or battery storage, they can access a maximum of £6,000 in funding. £1,250 as a grant and £4,750 as an optional loan

You have the flexibility to select the duration of your loan repayment for your home efficiency improvements, provided it falls within the maximum number of years specified by Home Energy Scotland:

Under £5,000: 5 years
£5,000 - £9,999: 10 years
More than £10,000: 12 years

Repayments begin immediately after you have received your funding.

The rural uplift is available for households that meet specific criteria set by Home Energy Scotland. This criteria includes various factors like the location of the property or whether the property is in a designated rural area.

Ultimately, the rural uplift is provided to homes located in rural areas, where access to certain services or amenities may be limited compared to urban areas. To determine eligibility for the rural uplift, individuals should check with Home Energy Scotland.

Once you accept your funding offer from Home Energy Scotland, the timing of when you receive the money can vary. Typically, it takes a few weeks to process the paperwork and disburse the funds.

Replacement heat pumps are not eligible for grant funding. However, an interest-free loan of up to £7,500 is available for replacement heat pumps.

Grant funding for energy efficiency improvements is not available if you are receiving grant support from another source for the same improvement, such as Area Based Schemes funding through your local authority and Energy Supplier Obligation (ECO) funding.


Grant funding is also not available for:   

• replacement heat pumps 
• wind or hydro turbines 
• warm air units 
• solar water heating systems 
• glazing (double/secondary)  
• insulated doors
• heat network connections 

Solar panels, energy storage systems, biomass boilers/stoves and high heat retention storage heaters may be eligible for funding of up to £6,000 when certain conditions are met

You can also borrow up to £500 per improvement (including up to £375 grant) for what are known as secondary improvements. Examples of a secondary improvement include cylinder thermostats and hot water jackets.

You can also apply for up to £600 in funding (including up to £450 grant) for heating controls.

Warmer Homes Scotland is designed to help people in Scotland who are struggling to stay warm and keep on top of energy bills make their homes warmer and more comfortable by installing a range of energy saving improvements. 

The Scottish Government is offering assistance to homeowners and private sector tenants struggling to heat their home, who have lived in their home for at least six months and who meet the eligibility criteria.

The improvements offered will depend on an assessment of the home conducted by Warmworks, who will assess your home and will recommend suitable improvements, which could include insulation and heating.

Potential improvements include: 

• Wall insulation
• Loft insulation
• Draught-proofing
• Central heating (including air source heat pumps)
• Renewables

In most cases, the Scottish Government will meet all the costs.