£2,500 off Boiler Upgrade Scheme, England and Wales
The Air-to-Air Heat Pump Grant, Rule by Rule
The air-to-air heat pump grant takes £2,500 off the fitted price when a heat pump replaces gas, oil, LPG, coal or electric heating in an eligible home. Aircova fits heat pumps across London and the South East, and we check the official rules against your home at the survey.
- £2,500 off the quote if eligible
- Eligibility checked at the survey
- Prices include VAT
Prices last checked: October 2026
The basics
What is the air-to-air heat pump grant?
The air-to-air heat pump grant is £2,500 from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, run by Ofgem in England and Wales. It is taken off the installer’s quote when a heat pump replaces fossil fuel or electric heating in a home. Aircova checks each rule at the survey before any grant appears on your price.
The scheme has paid towards air-to-water heat pumps for some time. The government added air-to-air systems in 2026, and the new grant categories took effect on 21 July 2026.
An air-to-air heat pump is the same split system we fit for cooling. An outdoor unit collects warmth from outside air and sends it through refrigerant pipes to indoor units on your walls. The indoor units then blow warm air into each room.
What the grant does not cover
An air-to-air system heats room air only. It does not feed radiators or heat a hot water cylinder, so hot water needs its own non-fossil source, such as an electric immersion heater.
The bigger £7,500 grant is for air-to-water heat pumps, which do run radiators.
The kit and the fitting are the same as our standard air conditioning installation. The difference is the paperwork, the sizing rule and the installer certification.
Eligibility
Boiler Upgrade Scheme air to air rules: who qualifies
We only state what the official sources say. Online articles disagree on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme air-to-air rules, so we went to the GOV.UK notice of approved grant categories and Ofgem’s own guidance.
The GOV.UK notice lists £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump in any property that is not off the gas grid. Off-grid homes get the same £2,500 when replacing coal, LPG, oil, other fossil fuel, a fossil fuel hybrid, or electric heating that is not a heat pump.
Your eligibility checklist
- The home is in England or Wales
- It is a residential property, as air-to-air is not eligible in non-residential buildings
- The heat pump replaces gas, oil, LPG, coal or electric heating, not an existing heat pump or other low-carbon system
- Any gas or oil boiler is fully removed, as you cannot keep a fossil fuel system alongside
- The heat pump can meet the full space heating demand of the home on its own
- The home is not a new build, apart from some self-builds
- It is not social housing, which includes shared ownership
- No public funding has already paid for low-carbon heating at the address
- The installer is MCS certified and applies for the voucher
The full space heating rule is the one most people miss. Ofgem says the heat pump must have enough kilowatt thermal capacity to provide 100% of the space heating needs. One unit in a single bedroom will not pass that test in a normal house.
Hot water is allowed to come from a supplementary appliance. Ofgem’s guidance lists immersion heaters for hot water among the parts that can stay in place.
Eligibility checker
Do I qualify? Six yes or no questions
Use this quick eligibility checker before you book a survey. If you answer yes to all six, your home is likely to fit the £2,500 heat pump grant rules. We still confirm every point in person.
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Is the home in England or Wales? | Go to the next question | The scheme does not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland |
| Is it a home you own, and not social housing? | Go to the next question | Social housing and shared ownership are not eligible |
| Is it an existing home, not a new build? | Go to the next question | Most new builds are excluded, with some self-build exceptions |
| Is it heated now by gas, oil, LPG, coal or electric heaters? | Go to the next question | Replacing a heat pump or other low-carbon system does not qualify |
| Will the old boiler or heaters be fully replaced? | Go to the next question | You cannot keep a gas or oil boiler running alongside |
| Can indoor units heat the whole home? | You are likely to qualify, subject to survey | A system for one or two rooms in a larger home will not meet the rule |
What we check at the survey
- Heat loss
- Room by room, so the kW output covers the whole home.
- Current heating
- Fuel type, and what has to come out.
- Hot water
- A non-fossil option, such as an immersion heater.
- Paperwork
- EPC reference if you have one, and proof of ownership.
Grant or no grant
- Cooling one or two rooms
- Gas boiler stays for heating
- Office or shop
- Whole home heated by units
- Boiler or heaters removed
- Existing house or flat
Sizing is where a grant job differs from a cooling job. We size every indoor unit for winter heat loss, not summer heat gain. Our BTU calculator gives a first idea for each room, and 1kW is about 3,412 BTU/h. For a firm figure, get an instant quote and we will book the survey.
Electric heating upgrade
Replacing electric heating with a heat pump
Replacing electric heating is one of the clearest cases for the grant. Storage heaters and panel heaters count as electric heating that is not a heat pump, which is one of the listed systems.
A panel heater turns 1 kW of electricity into 1 kW of heat. A modern inverter heat pump with a SCOP around 4 gives about 3 to 4 kW of heat for the same power. Our running costs guide shows what that means on your bills.
Many London flats have no gas supply, so this is often the main route to the grant there. We take the heaters off the wall, make the supply safe and fit wall-mounted indoor units in their place.
The process
How the grant voucher works, step by step
You never pay the full price and claim money back. The Ofgem guide for property owners says the installer applies on your behalf, and the grant comes to you as an upfront discount on the quote.
- Survey. The installer checks heat loss, the current heating and the grant rules at your home.
- Quote. You get a written price with the £2,500 shown as a deduction.
- Application. The MCS certified installer applies to Ofgem for a voucher, with your EPC reference if you have one.
- Your consent. Ofgem contacts you to confirm you agreed to the application.
- Fitting. The old system comes out and the new outdoor unit and indoor units go in.
- Commissioning. Pressure test, vacuum, refrigerant release and full testing in heating mode.
- Redemption. The installer redeems the voucher within its 3 month validity period.
The MCS installer rule
Every grant job must be done by an MCS installer. MCS is the scheme that certifies heat pump installers and their work.
MCS lists air-to-air heat pumps as a newly added technology. When MCS last updated its air-to-air page in July 2026, it said no installers were yet certified for air-to-air. You can check the current list with its Find an Installer tool.
We tell you plainly at the survey whether the grant can be applied to your job. If it cannot, you still get a fixed price, and it is never inflated to absorb a grant.
Separately, every engineer who handles R32 refrigerant must hold an F gas qualification. All Aircova engineers do.
Worked examples
What you pay after the £2,500 heat pump grant
These are our standard fitted prices, including VAT, with the grant taken off. The lower figure applies only if your home is eligible and the job meets every scheme rule.
Two rooms
Two indoor units on one outdoor unit. Suits a small flat heated by two units.
from£1,495
After £2,500 grant, if eligible. £3,995 before.
- Two indoor units, one outdoor unit
- Separate control in each room
- Usually fitted in two days
- Heats in winter, cools in summer
Three rooms
Three indoor units on one outdoor unit. A common size for flats and small houses.
from£2,995
After £2,500 grant, if eligible. £5,495 before.
- Three indoor units, one outdoor unit
- Wall-mounted or hidden ducted units
- Usually fitted in two to three days
- Heats in winter, cools in summer
Four rooms
Four indoor units on one outdoor unit for a larger flat or terrace.
from£4,495
After £2,500 grant, if eligible. £6,995 before.
- Four indoor units, one outdoor unit
- Each room set to its own temperature
- Fitting time confirmed at survey
- Heats in winter, cools in summer
Prices include up to 3 metres of pipe per indoor unit, a bracket, electrical connection, commissioning and VAT. Longer pipe runs, scaffolding, consumer unit upgrades and wall chasing are priced at the survey.
| System | Fitted price | Grant | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two rooms | from £3,995 | £2,500 | from £1,495 |
| Three rooms | from £5,495 | £2,500 | from £2,995 |
| Four rooms | from £6,995 | £2,500 | from £4,495 |
| Five rooms | from £8,495 | £2,500 | from £5,995 |
All of these run on a multi-split system, where one outdoor unit serves two to five indoor units. That is the usual setup for heating a whole flat or small house.
A single room unit from £2,195 is not shown with a grant. One indoor unit can only meet the full space heating rule in a very small home, such as a studio flat, and we price those at the survey.
For a full breakdown by size and brand, see our page on air-to-air heat pump cost. Our air conditioning cost guide covers cooling-only jobs and ducted systems too.
Cottage on oil or LPG
An off-grid cottage replacing an oil or LPG boiler is a listed category. Three or four indoor units usually cover the living rooms and bedrooms.
Multi-split heat pumps
Flat on storage heaters
A two bedroom flat on storage heaters can often be heated by two or three units. Freeholder consent comes first.
Air conditioning for flats
Terrace on mains gas
A gas-heated terrace qualifies only if the boiler is removed. Hot water then needs an electric cylinder or similar.
Wall-mounted unitsFAQs
Heat pump grant questions
Can you get a grant for an air-to-air heat pump?
Yes. Since 21 July 2026, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales offers £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump in an eligible home. The heat pump must replace fossil fuel or electric heating, meet the full space heating demand of the home, and be fitted by an MCS certified installer. The grant is not available for non-residential buildings.
Can I keep my gas boiler for hot water and still get the grant?
No. Ofgem’s guidance says any existing fossil fuel heating system must be fully replaced, and you cannot keep one alongside a grant-funded installation. That includes a gas boiler kept only for hot water. Hot water can come from a non-fossil supplementary appliance, such as an electric immersion heater in a cylinder. If you want to keep the boiler, the heat pump can still be fitted, just without the grant.
How do I get hot water with an air-to-air heat pump?
You need a separate, non-fossil source, because an air-to-air system only heats room air. The most common option is a hot water cylinder with an electric immersion heater, which Ofgem lists among the parts that can stay. Electric showers and point of use heaters at sinks are other choices. We talk through the options for your home at the survey.
Will the grant cover heating just one room?
Usually not. The scheme rules say the heat pump must have enough capacity to meet the full space heating demand of the property on its own. One indoor unit in a single room will not do that in a normal house or flat. A very small home, such as a studio, may be the exception. Most grant jobs use a multi-split with an indoor unit in each main room.
Do I pay the full price and claim the £2,500 back?
No. Ofgem says the installer makes the application on your behalf, and the £2,500 heat pump grant is given to you as an upfront discount on the quote. You pay the reduced price. Ofgem will contact you to confirm you agreed to the application, so look out for that message after the survey.
Are new builds or flats eligible for the grant?
New builds are generally not eligible, except for some self-builds that meet Ofgem’s criteria. Existing flats can qualify, as they are residential properties, provided they are not social housing. Shared ownership counts as social housing, so it is excluded. In a leasehold flat you will usually need the freeholder’s consent for the outdoor unit as well.
How long is the grant voucher valid?
Three months. Ofgem’s guidance says the installer must complete the work, commission the system and redeem the voucher within 3 months for air-to-air heat pumps. That is why we only apply once the fitting date is agreed. Ground source heat pumps get six months, but that does not apply here.
Can I get £9,000 for an air-to-air heat pump in an off-grid home?
No. Ofgem’s installer guidance says the higher off-gas grid amount applies to air-to-water and ground source heat pumps only. An air-to-air heat pump gets £2,500 whether the home is on or off the gas grid. Off-grid homes qualify when replacing oil, LPG, coal, other fossil fuel heating or electric heating that is not a heat pump.
Can I get the grant if I already have a heat pump?
No. The heat pump must replace a fossil fuel system or electric heating that is not a heat pump. Ofgem says it must not replace an existing low-carbon heating system. A home that has already had public funding for low-carbon heating at the same address will usually not be eligible either.
Get your fixed price
Tell us how your home is heated now and which rooms you want to heat. We will call you with a fixed price and say honestly if the £2,500 grant can apply. No pressure and no obligation.
- Reply within one working day
- Free home survey
- Price confirmed in writing
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