What insulation grants or schemes exist?

Insulation support in the UK is a patchwork that changes regularly and is heavily targeted by scammers, so knowing the legitimate starting points matters more than knowing any particular scheme's name.

Safety

Step by step

1. Start from an official source.GOV.UK's help-with-energy pages, your own energy supplier's website, or your local council. Schemes change and close, so any list elsewhere goes out of date quickly — including this one.
2. Understand the Energy Company Obligation.The main long-running scheme in Great Britain, funded by a levy on energy suppliers and delivered through them. It is generally targeted at households on certain benefits and at homes with poor energy ratings.
3. Check the devolved schemes.Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own programmes with different names, criteria and delivery bodies. If you are not in England, start with the devolved government's own energy advice service.
4. Check with your own supplier first.Suppliers have obligations to deliver measures and their own referral routes. It is the safest first call and costs nothing.
5. Look at local authority schemes.Councils run their own programmes, often with wider eligibility than the national ones and sometimes covering households not on benefits. Genuinely under-used.
6. Understand the flexible eligibility route.Councils can refer households that do not meet the standard benefits criteria but are in fuel poverty or have a relevant health condition. Worth asking about specifically, because it is not well publicised.
7. Get an assessment before assuming anything.Which measures you qualify for depends on the property as well as the household — wall type, loft depth, existing measures, EPC rating. A survey establishes what is actually applicable.
8. Know that grants are usually partial.Some measures are fully funded for eligible households and others require a contribution. Get the figure in writing before agreeing to anything.
9. Treat any cold call as a scam.Legitimate schemes do not cold-call, doorstep, or press for a decision. Anyone asking for an up-front payment or bank details on an unsolicited call is not genuine. This sector is heavily targeted.
10. Verify independently.Look the organisation up yourself and ring a number you found, not one you were given. Check certification such as TrustMark and the relevant installer scheme registration.
11. Check the installer is properly certificated.Grant-funded work must be done by installers registered under the relevant standards, which also gives you a guarantee. Ask for the registration and check it.
12. Understand the guarantee.Cavity wall and solid wall insulation should come with an independent guarantee. Keep the paperwork — it matters if there is a problem later and when you sell.
13. Consider whether the measure suits your house.Cavity wall insulation is not appropriate for every property — exposed locations and certain wall conditions can lead to damp. A grant is not a reason to install something unsuitable.
14. Do the cheap things regardless.Draught-proofing, loft hatch sealing, topping up loft insulation and pipe lagging cost little and are not worth waiting for a scheme to cover.
15. Get an EPC if you do not have one.Many schemes use the EPC rating in their criteria, and the report itself lists recommended measures in order of value. Useful even without a grant.

Tips

• Start at GOV.UK or your own energy supplier. Every other route should be verified back to one of those.
• Ask your council about flexible eligibility specifically. It covers households outside the standard benefits criteria and is poorly publicised.
• No genuine scheme cold-calls or asks for money up front. Treat any that does as a scam without exception.

Common mistakes

• Engaging with a doorstep or cold-call offer — Legitimate schemes do not operate that way, and insulation grants are one of the most heavily targeted areas for doorstep fraud and substandard work.
• Accepting a measure because it is free rather than because it suits the house — Cavity wall insulation in an exposed or unsuitable property can cause damp. A grant does not make an inappropriate measure appropriate.

If it doesn't work

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