Boiler Upgrade Scheme in Cambridge — The Grant in Six Points
Last reviewed: 2 October 2026
Six things every Cambridge homeowner and landlord should know about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme before getting heat pump quotes, from what it pays to how it interacts with Greater Cambridge planning and the county's free retrofit scheme.
1. It pays a fixed £7,500 towards an air source heat pump
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government grant for replacing fossil-fuel or electric heating in England and Wales with low-carbon heating. For an air source heat pump that heats radiators and hot water, it is worth £7,500, a flat amount regardless of what the job costs.
Other values, for completeness:
- Ground source heat pump: £7,500
- Air-to-air heat pump (blows warm air, no radiators): £2,500
- Biomass boiler (rural and off-gas only): £5,000
- Heat pump replacing oil or LPG: £9,000 on applications made between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027
A typical Cambridge installation lands between £10,000 and £13,000 before the grant, so the grant usually pays for more than half.
2. Your installer handles the paperwork
Only an MCS-certified installer can apply. They submit the application to Ofgem, Ofgem checks it and contacts you to confirm you agreed, and a voucher is issued. Once the heat pump is commissioned, the installer redeems the voucher and deducts the £7,500 from your final invoice.
Your part is limited to signing the quote, answering Ofgem’s confirmation email, and providing evidence of ownership if asked. Details are in our step-by-step application guide.
3. Since April 2026, there is no EPC hurdle
New rules in force from 28 April 2026 removed the requirement for a valid Energy Performance Certificate with no outstanding insulation recommendations. That used to catch a lot of Cambridge’s older housing: the gault-brick terraces of Romsey, Mill Road and Newnham Croft have solid walls that EPC software routinely flags for insulation, which is often impractical in a conservation area.
The same changes made air-to-air units eligible, put MCS certification into law, and extended the scheme to 2030.
4. Landlords qualify — and Cambridge has a lot of them
Private landlords can claim on exactly the same terms as owner-occupiers. In a city where a large share of homes are privately let — to students, researchers and young professionals — that makes BUS one of the most practical ways to meet future energy-efficiency expectations for rented homes.
Some things don’t qualify:
- homes owned by the council or a housing association
- new-build homes bought from a developer (self-builds are fine)
- hybrid systems that keep a gas boiler alongside the heat pump
- a property that has already received BUS support for a heat pump
There’s no means test at all. The eligibility guide covers edge cases like annexes, flats and listed buildings.
5. Heritage rules affect timing, not the grant
Cambridge City Council has 18 conservation areas, and South Cambridgeshire villages such as Grantchester and Great Shelford have their own. Planning for both councils runs through Greater Cambridge Shared Planning.
Living in a conservation area doesn’t stop you claiming £7,500. It can mean you need planning permission if the outdoor unit would go on a wall or roof facing the road, and every listed building needs listed building consent for external work. Because an air source heat pump voucher is only valid for a limited time once it’s issued, it’s sensible to secure any consent first and have the installer apply afterwards. Our planning guide sets out when consent is needed.
6. Check the free route before the discounted one
If your household income is low and your home has an EPC rating of D to G, you may be able to get a heat pump, insulation or solar panels at no cost through the Warm Homes: Local Grant. Across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough this is delivered by the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership, led by Cambridge City Council, which secured £8.5 million. Information and referrals go through Action on Energy Cambridgeshire.
The two schemes can’t both pay for the same heat pump. If you qualify for the free route, use it. ECO4, the older energy-supplier scheme, stopped taking new applications on 31 March 2026.
Where to go from here
- Work out your likely bill after the grant with Cambridge heat pump prices.
- Check you qualify with the eligibility checklist.
- Know what happens after you say yes: how to apply.
See what a heat pump would look like in your Cambridge home
The mechanism is the same in every UK home; the design is specific to yours. Our team carries out a free in-home survey including a full room-by-room heat-loss calculation, identifies the system size and configuration that fits your property, and provides a written quote with the £7,500 BUS grant already deducted.
You'll see the actual figure you'd pay — not an estimate — and the projected efficiency for your specific install.