Energy Grants Available in Lancashire for 2026: Complete List

Lancashire homeowners can still get real help with energy upgrades in 2026, but the biggest sums go to lower-income households. The Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund up to £16,600 of efficiency work plus £16,600 of low-carbon heating for eligible homes, though Lancashire’s funding for 2026/27 is already committed. Most other homeowners can get the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant towards a heat pump, and grants can’t be stacked freely: no two schemes can pay for the same measure. Here is every grant worth knowing about, with specific details on how to claim them from a Lancashire address.

What Energy Grants Are Available in Lancashire for 2026?

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS): £7,500 towards a heat pump for homeowners replacing fossil fuel heating
• Warm Homes: Local Grant: fully funded upgrades for homes rated EPC D to G where household income is £36,000 or less, someone gets a means-tested benefit, or the home is in an eligible postcode; delivered in Lancashire through Cosy Homes in Lancashire, which has committed its 2026/27 funding
• ECO4 Scheme: insulation and heating upgrades for households on qualifying benefits, funded by energy suppliers until 31 December 2026
• 0% VAT: no VAT on insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries until 31 March 2027
• Warm Home Discount: £150 off your electricity bill, usually applied automatically if you get Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit
• Disabled Facilities Grant: up to £30,000 from your council for adaptations, including a suitable heating system
• Smart Export Guarantee (SEG): ongoing payments for solar panel owners who export surplus electricity to the grid

Eligibility varies by scheme. Benefits recipients are eligible for the widest range of support, including ECO4 and the Warm Home Discount. Homeowners not on benefits can still get the BUS grant, SEG payments and 0% VAT, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant if household income is £36,000 or less or they live in an eligible postcode. Contact your local council’s energy advice service or an MCS-certified installer to check which grants apply to your property.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500 for heat pumps

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the main incentive for Lancashire homeowners switching from gas or oil heating to a heat pump. It pays £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler in a rural home off the gas grid, and £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump. Until 31 March 2027, homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas get £9,000 for a heat pump (GOV.UK).

Who qualifies: any owner of a home in England or Wales that is replacing fossil fuel heating (gas, oil, electric or LPG). There is no income test, and since April 2026 an EPC isn’t strictly required. Most new builds are excluded, though self-builds can qualify. You can claim once per property. Landlords can also apply for rental properties.

How to apply: you don’t apply directly. Your MCS-certified installer applies on your behalf on the Ofgem website, and the grant is taken off your quote and invoice. The voucher lasts three months for an air source heat pump (six for ground source), so time it with your installation date.

Use an MCS-certified installer who covers your area, and get more than one quote: installation lead times vary between firms.

ECO4: insulation and heating upgrades until December 2026

ECO4, the Energy Company Obligation, funds insulation and heating improvements for lower-income households through energy suppliers. It was extended by nine months and now ends on 31 December 2026, with no successor scheme (Ofgem).

ECO4 can fund loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, floor insulation, heating system upgrades, and in some cases solar panels. Suppliers decide which homes they fund and may ask for a contribution, so treat it as a possibility rather than a plan.

To qualify, you typically need to meet two conditions. First, someone in the household gets a qualifying benefit: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Benefit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. Second, an owner-occupied home must be rated EPC D, E, F or G (E, F or G if you rent privately, with your landlord’s permission) (GOV.UK).

With the scheme closing at the end of 2026, check with a supplier or your council soon if you think you qualify.

ECO4 Flex: when you don’t receive benefits

ECO4 Flex is a route into ECO4 for households that do not receive qualifying benefits but are still considered vulnerable or in fuel poverty. Your local council refers you, using criteria it publishes.

Under ECO4 Flex, councils can refer households with a combined gross income under £31,000, or where someone has a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, limited mobility or a weakened immune system made worse by a cold home, and they can use other criteria too (Ofgem).

If you think you might qualify through the Flex route, contact your local council’s housing or energy team. They can issue a declaration letter that your ECO4 installer needs to proceed, but installations must be finished by 31 December 2026.

0% VAT on Energy-Saving Measures

Since April 2022, the UK government has applied a 0% VAT rate to the installation of energy-saving materials in residential properties. This covers solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, batteries (since 1 February 2024) and other qualifying measures.

Compared with the 5% rate due back on 1 April 2027, the zero rate saves £300 on a £6,000 solar panel installation and £500 on a £10,000 heat pump. The 0% rate is applied automatically by your installer – you do not need to claim it separately.

The relief runs until 31 March 2027, when the rate is due to return to 5% (HMRC). It applies whether or not you also receive a grant such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme or ECO4.

Great British Insulation Scheme (closed) and the Warm Homes: Local Grant

The Great British Insulation Scheme, which funded insulation for homes in council tax bands A to D, closed on 31 March 2026 (GOV.UK).

For lower-income households, the Warm Homes: Local Grant now does that job and more: it funds insulation, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps for homes rated EPC D to G where household income is £36,000 or less, someone gets a means-tested benefit, or the home is in an eligible postcode (GOV.UK), with caps of £16,600 for efficiency work plus £16,600 for low-carbon heating (DESNZ guidance).

In Lancashire the grant is delivered by the councils’ joint scheme, Cosy Homes in Lancashire. Its 2026/27 funding is fully committed, so it isn’t taking new applications; you can still enquire, and application forms will go out again in March 2027 (Cosy Homes in Lancashire, checked September 2026).

Greater Manchester Combined Authority Green Programmes

Homeowners in the ten Greater Manchester boroughs (including Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and Manchester) get the Warm Homes: Local Grant through the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s own GM-wide scheme instead.

It uses the same three eligibility routes (income under £36,000, a means-tested benefit, or an eligible postcode) for homes rated EPC D to G, and private landlords must be supporters of the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter (GMCA).

Owner-occupiers, private landlords and tenants apply through the GMCA Retrofit Portal.

Lancashire County Council and District Council Grants

Individual Lancashire districts sometimes offer their own energy grants or top-up funding. These vary by area and budget year.

Contact your specific district council to ask about current availability. Council programmes tend to have limited budgets that are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Disabled Facilities Grant for energy adaptations

The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is available through your local council and can fund adaptations to help disabled residents stay warm and comfortable. While primarily used for mobility adaptations, it can also cover heating improvements where a disability makes a person particularly vulnerable to cold.

It pays up to £30,000 in England (GOV.UK), and some councils add discretionary top-ups. It is means-tested for adults but not for children. Applications are made through your local council’s environmental health or housing team, and an occupational therapy assessment is usually required.

How to Maximise Your Grant Entitlement

You can often combine grants, as long as each pays for a different measure. For example, a Lancashire homeowner could have insulation funded through ECO4, then use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme towards a heat pump and 0% VAT on solar panels. ECO4 is the exception to watch: its money can’t be blended with other government grants, so the ECO4 work has to be finished before other funded work starts, or wait until after (Ofgem). Plan your improvements in the right order and apply to each scheme separately.

Start by getting an EPC assessment if you do not already have one. This costs £60 to £120 and gives you the baseline data needed for most grant applications. Then work through the list above, starting with the grants that have the most generous funding or the shortest application windows.

Can I get multiple energy grants for the same property?

Yes, if they fund different measures and each scheme’s rules allow it. The Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme can’t both pay for the same heat pump, and ECO4 money can’t be blended with other government grants: other funded measures have to go in before the ECO4 project starts or after it’s finished. No two grants can pay for the same measure.

Do I need to pay anything towards ECO4 work?

Often not, but sometimes: energy suppliers decide how much of the cost to fund and may ask you to contribute (Ofgem). Only agree to work once you have a written contract, and be wary of any company asking for a fee just to check your eligibility.

What if I do not qualify for any grants?

Even without grants, you get 0% VAT on most energy-saving installations until 31 March 2027, which saves 5% against the rate due back after that. From September 2026, the government’s Warm Homes Loan Scheme also lowers the interest rate on loans for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps from participating lenders, and banks, building societies, credit unions and specialist lenders were all invited to take part (GOV.UK). It is also worth checking whether your local credit union offers affordable energy improvement loans.