February 15, 2025

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Home living innovation

Green Homes Grant – Which?

What is the Green Homes Grant?

It’s a government grant for homeowners in England to help pay for certain energy-efficient home improvements.

More than 600,000 homes are expected to benefit from the grant, which will pay at least two thirds of the cost of some energy-saving renovations. The maximum amount available is £5,000, or £10,000 if you get certain benefits.

The scheme is open until March 2022. The government department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has said that the energy efficient home improvements will help households save hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.

If you’re struggling to pay your gas and electricity bills, help is available. Find out about other home grants, including Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Home Discount.

Also take a look at our tips to save money on your energy bills.

What does the Green Homes Grant cover?

You must install either insulation or low-carbon heating to qualify for the vouchers. These are called ‘primary’ measures under the scheme and include:

You can apply for top-up insulation if you don’t already have the maximum recommended amount. But the vouchers can’t be used to replace existing insulation or low-carbon heating.

To have low-carbon heating installed, your home will need to have cavity or solid wall insulation and loft insulation (where applicable). You can have these installed as part of a package.

Low-carbon heating must be for heating your home or domestic hot water and replace a fossil fuel system. You cannot apply for vouchers for outdoor heating or swimming pools. 

You can only apply for a biomass boiler if you live in a rural area. It must have a valid emissions certificate and burn only authorised fuel.

If you install one of the improvements in the list above using the scheme, you can then also get vouchers for a ‘secondary’ energy-saving measure from the list below:

  • Double glazing, triple glazing or secondary glazing (only when you’re replacing single glazing)
  • Energy-efficient doors (only if you are replacing doors fitted before 2002)
  • Hot water tank thermostat or appliance thermostat
  • Hot water tank insulation
  • Smart heating controls, zone controls, thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs)
  • Draught proofing

When is the Green Homes Grant available?

Homeowners and landlords have been able to apply for the vouchers since the end of September 2020, when the scheme launched. In January 2021, over 58,000 had applied and nearly 11,000 vouchers had been issued. Another 11,000 were being processed and 35,000 needed more information or clarification from the applicant, according questions in the House of Lords.

The vouchers began to be issued in November 2020.

The scheme will close at the end of March 2022. It was originally set to close in March 2021 but the government extended the scheme on 18 November 2020.

BEIS says that the scheme was extended to allow households to take advantage of it, help homeowners and traders plan their home improvements and workloads, and support jobs.

Vouchers are valid for three months from when they are issued. To qualify, work must be scheduled to be completed, and the voucher redeemed, before the voucher expires. You can apply to extend your voucher at any time before it expires.

All vouchers expire on 31 March 2022 and cannot be extended beyond this date.

Who qualifies for the Green Homes Grant?

You must be a homeowner in England to qualify for the vouchers.

Homeowners include owner-occupiers, social and private landlords and park home owners.

New-build homes aren’t eligible.

Is the Green Homes Grant means-tested?

All homeowners can apply for funding for at least two thirds of the cost of eligible home improvements, up to a total value of £5,000.

Some homeowners will qualify for vouchers covering the total cost of home improvements, costing up to £10,000. For this, you will need to receive at least one of the following:

  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • Income-based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Income Support (IS)
  • Pension Guarantee Credit
  • Working Tax Credit (WTC)
  • Child Tax Credits (CTC)
  • Universal Credit (UC)
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Carer’s Allowance
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
  • Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • Contribution-based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Housing Benefit

How much can I get in home improvement grants?

The vouchers will pay for at least two thirds of eligible measures, up to the value of £5,000.

For example, if you wanted to install insulation costing £4,000, you would pay £1,320 and the government would give you a voucher for the other £2,680.

How much of a grant you can get for ‘secondary’ energy-efficient improvements depends on the amount you’ll get for the ‘primary’ measure (insulation or low-carbon heating).

For example, if you get £1,000 of vouchers for loft insulation, then you would be eligible for up to £1,000 of vouchers towards a secondary measure (such as double glazing or hot water tank insulation).

Those on the lowest incomes won’t have to pay anything towards their home improvements and could get vouchers of up to £10,000. You’ll need to receive certain benefits to qualify (see above).

Does the Green Homes Grant apply to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales?

No, it’s available to homeowners in England only.

Can I choose any trader to do Green Homes Grant work?

Traders must be TrustMark approved or MCS registered to be able to do work in your home covered by the Green Homes Grant scheme. You’ll need to choose from the government’s list of accredited traders in your area.

By mid-November 2020 1,190 companies were registered to carry out Green Homes Grant work, according to BEIS. However, we’ve heard reports that some homeowners have struggled to find a trader in their area. BEIS told us that more companies are registering every day, including national businesses which have ‘substantial capacity to carry out work across the country’.

TrustMark is a government-endorsed scheme for tradespeople that vets their technical competence, customer service and trading practices. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certifies that low-carbon technologies that generate electricity and heat, and installers of them, meet quality standards.

Also check that any trader you use is a Which? Trusted Trader to ensure you’re using a firm that’s reputable and reliable.

TrustMark and MCS both have lists of traders registered with their schemes so you can double check.

Can the Green Homes Grant be used for solar panels?

Solar thermal panels are eligible for funding as part of the Green Homes Grant. Also called solar water heating, this uses panels on your roof to heat water to use around your home.

Find out how much solar water heating costs.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that produce electricity aren’t eligible for vouchers. Find out more about solar PV panels, including how much they cost and how to get paid for electricity you produce.

Does the Green Homes Grant include boilers?

No, the Green Homes Grant won’t provide vouchers for boilers. However, vouchers are available for installing other types of low-carbon heating.

The types included are air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps and solar water heating. You must be installing a new low-carbon heating system, rather than replacing an existing one.

If you’d like to replace your gas or oil boiler, check our boiler reviews

Is the Green Homes Grant for double glazing?

You can get a voucher towards double glazing for your home, but certain conditions apply.

You must be installing insulation or a renewable heating system as well in order to qualify for vouchers for double glazing. This is because the scheme is split into ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ measures. You must install one of the first to be eligible for support for the second.

Double glazing vouchers are only for homeowners replacing single glazing. If you want to replace existing double glazing, you won’t qualify.

How to apply for Green Homes Grant vouchers

Homeowners will need to complete an online application form,  available through the government’s Simple Energy Advice service.

You can also be able to apply by post or phone if you can’t access the internet.

First, you’ll need to choose from the list of ‘primary’ measures (insulation and low-carbon heating), get quotes from accredited traders and have the work and quote approved before you can get a voucher.

You must choose from a list of registered tradespeople in your area to do the work. Check that the supplier is a Which? Trusted Trader to make sure you’re getting an honest and reliable service.

Vouchers will start to be issued from November. You must be approved for a voucher before work can begin.

How do I pay for home improvements with Green Homes Grant vouchers?

The government’s Simple Energy Advice service will confirm whether the home improvement you apply for is eligible for vouchers to cover some of the cost. It will also confirm the chosen trader to complete the work and this will be stated on the voucher.

Applying for a voucher doesn’t guarantee that you will get one. Wait until you have been issued a voucher before you commit to starting any work.

You’ll get a different voucher for each measure. It is only valid for the measure and the property you applied for. It must be used by the person named on it.

The installer might ask for a deposit. It cannot be more than the amount you expect to pay towards the home improvement. For example, if your voucher covers two thirds of the cost of a £3,000 insulation installation, then you cannot be asked to pay more than £1,000 deposit. However, the installer also should not ask for a bigger deposit than they would ordinarily.

If you are eligible for up to £10,000 of vouchers as part of the low income scheme, you should not be asked to pay a deposit unless the measures will cost more than £10,000.

When the work is complete, you must redeem the voucher. To do this, you will need to confirm the work is complete, that you have received any necessary documents from the installer, pay your share of the costs and provide a dated copy of the invoice from the installer. 

The trader or installer will then be paid directly by the government. You must redeem the voucher before it expires in order to qualify for the government support.

Can I get the Green Homes Grant for home improvement work done already?

No. Vouchers will only be issued for work that is set to begin after the scheme opened. You should wait until you have been issued with a voucher before any work starts.

Do the vouchers cover installation and labour?

Green Homes Grant vouchers cover contractor costs including labour, materials, scaffolding, waste removal and VAT. Professional services to make sure your installation complies with standards are covered too, such as design drawings, structural engineers, modelling to estimate payback time and costs of damp specialists.

The vouchers also cover work that is necessary for the eligible measure to be installed. For example repairing and treating damp or vital structural improvements. For low carbon heating the pipes, pumps, valves, heating system controls and new high capacity radiators or underfloor heating are covered.

But the vouchers do not cover EPCs, building surveys, training costs, asbestos removal, additional buildings insurance or design, repair or replacement that’s not linked to the eligible work. You can’t claim for furniture storage or alternative accommodation costs during work at your home.

Heat pumps and solar thermal: can I get Green Homes Grant vouchers and RHI payments?

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) gives financial support to people who use certain renewable technologies to heat their homes, including heat pumps and solar water heating.

Whether or not you will be eligible for RHI payments if you received Green Homes Grant vouchers depends on how much of the cost of your low-carbon heating they covered.

You won’t be eligible for RHI payments if Green Homes Grant vouchers covered the whole cost of your heating system and its installation.

You will be able to join the RHI scheme if vouchers only paid for part of your renewable heating system.

If you do so, your RHI payments will be reduced by the amount of the grant that went towards your renewable heating system. BEIS told us that how much is deducted ‘will depend on individual circumstances and will be spread evenly across the lifetime of the RHI – up to seven years’.

Find out more about the RHI scheme and how to apply.

You should apply to the Green Homes Grant first and tell Ofgem when you apply to it for the RHI. You’ll need to provide invoices and receipts of costs when you apply for the RHI, so that Ofgem can factor these into your RHI payments.

Installing low-carbon heating with the help of Green Homes Grant vouchers doesn’t guarantee that your system will be eligible for RHI payments. BEIS said it ‘will ensure consistency with existing policies, for example the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, but it will be up to households to make sure they meet the eligibility requirements of one or both schemes once they are published’.