Loading scheme
Loading scheme
Scotland runs its own scheme rather than taking part in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and it is the better deal: the same £7,500 grant, an interest-free loan of up to the same again, and an uplift for rural postcodes that nothing in England matches.
Headline award
£7,500 + £7,500 loan
A grant matched by an interest-free loan, with a rural uplift on top.
Illustrative figures.
Heat pump grant
£7,500
£9,000 in eligible rural areas
Interest-free loan
up to £7,500
Repaid over up to 12 years
Applications this year
14,600
Grant and loan combined
Median decision time
6 weeks
From application to offer
Illustrative. Placeholder figures to show what this page will hold. Real ranges arrive with the quote and performance data behind them.
What it pays
Unlike the Boiler Upgrade Scheme you apply yourself, before the work starts, and the money reaches you rather than the installer. The rural uplift applies to postcodes on the Scottish Government's remote and island list.
| Measure | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air or ground source heat pumpRises to £9,000 with the rural uplift. Matched by an interest-free loan of up to £7,500. | £7,500 | Rises to £9,000 with the rural uplift. Matched by an interest-free loan of up to £7,500. |
| Solar panelsThe grant share is smaller, but the loan covers most of what is left. | £1,250 grant + £4,750 loan | The grant share is smaller, but the loan covers most of what is left. |
| Battery storageLoan only, and only alongside solar or an existing array. | £6,000 loan | Loan only, and only alongside solar or an existing array. |
| InsulationWall, loft, floor and room-in-roof. The grant share is capped per measure. | £1,500 grant + £6,000 loan | Wall, loft, floor and room-in-roof. The grant share is capped per measure. |
| Windows and doorsLoan only. Scotland is one of the few places where glazing attracts any support at all. | £4,000 loan | Loan only. Scotland is one of the few places where glazing attracts any support at all. |
Open, with annual budget rounds
There is no published end date, which is not the same as a guarantee. Funding is set annually and can be withdrawn at a fiscal event.
Last checked against these sources on 5 September 2026.
Illustrative. Placeholder figures to show what this page will hold. Real ranges arrive with the quote and performance data behind them.
Who qualifies
Written as the published rules work rather than as the marketing describes them. If one line on the left fails, nothing else matters.
How to apply
Each step carries roughly how long it takes, because the total is what decides whether the work happens this winter or next.
Home Energy Scotland gives impartial advice before you commit to a technology. It is genuinely independent and worth doing even if you already know what you want.
You need a written quote from an MCS-certified installer to apply. Get more than one — the grant is fixed, so a higher quote costs you, not the scheme.
You apply yourself, before any work starts. Include the quote, your EPC and proof of ownership.
The offer letter sets a deadline — normally six months — for the work to be finished. Do not book installers before you have it.
You pay the installer in full, then submit the invoice and MCS certificate. The grant is paid to you, and the loan drawn down at the same time.
Combining
No scheme will fund the same measure twice. Getting the order right — insulation under one scheme, heating under another — is where the money is.
BUS does not operate in Scotland. This is the Scottish equivalent, not an addition to it.
Warmer Homes Scotland is the fully funded route for households in fuel poverty; you take one or the other.
What changed
Amounts, qualifying benefits and end dates all move. Anything you read about this scheme that predates the most recent entry here should be treated as out of date.
1 April 2024
Eligible remote and island postcodes gained an extra £1,500 on the heat pump grant, recognising the cost of getting installers to site.
1 April 2025
Longer repayment brought monthly costs below the typical bill saving for more households.
1 April 2026
Batteries no longer have to be fitted at the same time as the panels, which suits homes that added solar years ago.
Questions
No. The grant can be taken on its own. The loan is interest free with no arrangement fee, so the usual reason to decline it is not wanting debt secured against the plan rather than the cost.
No, and this ends more applications than any other rule. Approval has to come before the first invoice. There is no retrospective route.
It is decided by postcode against the Scottish Government's remote and island list, not by how rural the property feels. Home Energy Scotland will confirm it on the advice call.
No. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers England and Wales only. Scotland funds its own scheme, which pays the same headline grant and adds the loan on top.
You pay the difference. The grant is fixed and the loan is capped, so the only lever you have on the final bill is the quote itself.
Keep reading
Scotland's fuel poverty programme — a funded package, not a contribution.
Fully fundedHow it worksNot a grant — a tax relief that quietly takes a fifth off most upgrade quotes.
20% off labour and materialsHow it worksA fixed grant off a heat pump, claimed by your installer and taken off the quote.
£7,500How it worksStart with your postcode. We work from what is already recorded about the property, not from a form you have to fill in.