The government has confirmed the Warm Homes Plan as the formal successor to ECO4, with a launch date of January 2027 and a headline budget of £15bn across this parliament. ECO4 will continue to fund installations until 31 December 2026, then close. The new plan targets 5 million homes upgraded and 1 million families lifted out of fuel poverty by 2030, with insulation, heat pumps, and solar all in scope. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published full details in its biggest home upgrade plan announcement.
The £15bn figure has been quoted widely, but it bundles new money with existing programmes already running. The genuinely new grant funding is closer to £1.5bn. The rest is the consolidation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Social Housing Fund, the Local Grant, and other live programmes under one banner. We think this matters: the headline number is real, but it is not all fresh spending.
What ECO4 leaves behind
ECO4 has run since April 2022 and will close to new installations on 31 December 2026. Until then, it continues to fund insulation, heating, and ventilation upgrades for households on means-tested benefits in EPC band D-G properties. Ofgem’s ECO scheme page confirms the wind-down dates and shows the obligations suppliers still need to deliver.
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), which ran alongside ECO4, ended on 31 March 2026 and has not been directly replaced. Its insulation focus rolls into the broader Warm Homes Plan rather than being reissued as a standalone programme.
The practical implication for households who currently qualify: if you are eligible under ECO4 today, applying in 2026 is the lower-risk choice. The criteria for the Warm Homes Plan’s Local Grant strand have not been published in full and there will be a transition period in early 2027 when new applications go through a different process.
What the Warm Homes Plan actually contains
The plan is a wrapper around four main funding streams. The split is roughly as follows.
| Component | Budget | Period | What it funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) | £2.7bn | Through 2029/30 | Up to £7,500 toward eligible heat pumps in England and Wales |
| Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund | £1.2bn | Two years | ~100,000 social rented homes |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | New funding | From 2027 | Insulation, heat pumps, solar for low-income households |
| Existing programmes (consolidated) | Various | Across parliament | Includes Home Upgrade Grant successor activity |
Energy Saving Trust’s local authority briefing sets out how councils will administer the Local Grant strand. The expectation is similar to existing Home Upgrade Grant delivery: a council-led referral and survey process, with installers paid directly by the scheme.
The Social Housing Fund announcement confirms that housing associations and councils can apply for funding to upgrade around 100,000 rented homes over two years. From 2030, social landlords will also have to meet a new minimum energy efficiency standard, which is the regulatory teeth behind the funding.
ECO4 vs Warm Homes Plan: side by side
The structural change matters more than the headline budget. Here is how the two compare.
| ECO4 | Warm Homes Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Funding source | Levy on energy suppliers (cost passed to bills) | Government grants (Treasury) |
| Eligibility | Means-tested benefits + EPC D-G | TBC; expected to be broader low-income criteria |
| Measures covered | Insulation, heating, ventilation | Insulation, heat pumps, solar |
| Delivery route | Obligated suppliers contract installers | Mix of local authorities, BUS, and Social Housing Fund |
| Runs until | 31 December 2026 | Across this parliament, target year 2030 |
| Headline funding | Supplier obligation, no fixed £ figure | £15bn total (£1.5bn new) |
The other quiet upgrade is the BUS timeline. Funding had previously been confirmed only through 2028. The Warm Homes Plan extends it to 2029/30 with a fresh £2.7bn allocation, which gives homeowners more confidence to plan a heat pump install in 2027 or 2028 without worrying the grant will disappear mid-quote. Our heat pump vs gas boiler comparison covers what the £7,500 grant changes about the maths.
Who qualifies, and what’s still unknown
The honest answer on Local Grant eligibility is that the detailed criteria have not yet been published. The consultation suggests it will broadly track ECO4: low-income households, lower EPC bands, with local authority Flex-style routes for households not on benefits. The Social Housing Fund route is clearer because it targets registered providers rather than individual households.
For everything else, the existing rules apply. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme still requires an MCS-certified installer, a property built before 2025, and no existing heat pump. The Smart Export Guarantee still pays for surplus solar exports. The 0% VAT zero rate on solar, batteries, heat pumps, and insulation still runs to March 2027.
What the Warm Homes Plan does not change
A few things are worth flagging because they are sometimes misreported.
The plan does not give every homeowner a grant. The Local Grant strand is means-tested. Owner-occupiers above the income threshold continue to rely on BUS for heat pumps, 0% VAT for solar and insulation, and SEG for solar exports. See our grants hub for the full picture.
The plan does not replace the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. BUS continues with the same grant levels and the same eligibility, just with a confirmed longer funding horizon.
The plan does not directly fund EV chargers. The OZEV chargepoint grant remains a separate programme outside the Warm Homes Plan envelope.
Practical takeaway
For households on means-tested benefits, the next nine months are the window for ECO4. Apply in 2026 if you qualify; the rules and the supplier targets are known. From January 2027, the Warm Homes Plan takes over with broadly similar reach but a different delivery process, and there will be a transition period where local authorities are still standing up their referral systems.
For paying customers planning a solar and battery install or a heat pump, the picture is more stable than it looks. BUS through 2029/30, 0% VAT until March 2027, and the SEG running indefinitely all give you a working set of grants and tax breaks to plan against. The Warm Homes Plan headline does not change the maths on those installs; it changes the maths for households who could not previously afford the upgrade at all.
Frequently asked questions
When does ECO4 end and when does the Warm Homes Plan start?
Is the Warm Homes Plan really £15bn of new money?
Will the Boiler Upgrade Scheme still exist after ECO4 ends?
Who qualifies for Warm Homes Plan funding?
Why is the government shifting away from supplier obligations?
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