Air Conditioning Grants UK: The £2,500 Heat Pump Grant Explained

Ofgem lists a £2,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant towards eligible air-to-air heat pumps in residential properties in England and Wales. These systems use the same heating and cooling technology found in many fixed home air conditioning installations.

This is not a general discount for adding cooling to one room. The installation must meet the scheme rules, including replacing an existing fossil-fuel or electric heating system and meeting the property's full space-heating needs. An appropriately MCS-certified installer must apply for the voucher and deduct it from your quote.

Official scheme eligibility does not guarantee that every installer can offer the grant. Ask the installer to confirm their relevant MCS certification, the proposed system's eligibility and current voucher availability in writing before relying on the £2,500.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government grant scheme in England and Wales that reduces the upfront cost of low carbon heating. It has offered £7,500 towards air-to-water and ground source heat pumps for several years. In late April 2026 it was extended to include air-to-air heat pumps at £2,500, for residential properties only.

An air-to-air heat pump is what most people would recognise as fixed air conditioning. An indoor unit connects to an outdoor unit and can cool rooms in summer and heat them in winter. Unlike an air-to-water heat pump, it does not heat radiators or hot water.

The scheme is installer-led. You do not apply to Ofgem yourself. An installer appropriately certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, known as MCS, applies for the voucher on your behalf and deducts the £2,500 from your bill.

Ofgem's current guidance includes air-to-air heat pumps in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and explains how an eligible installer applies for a voucher. The installer must be MCS certified for the relevant technology, not simply experienced in general air conditioning work or F-Gas registered.

Practical availability can therefore vary by installer and area. A business may install air conditioning but not hold the MCS scope needed for this scheme, or the proposed product and design may not satisfy the grant rules.

Ofgem's latest published monthly statistics are aggregate figures for all Boiler Upgrade Scheme technologies through 30 June 2026. They do not establish that a particular air-to-air installer, product or project can receive a voucher. Treat the grant as an option to verify, not a saving to deduct yourself.

The property must be residential and in England or Wales. The air-to-air heat pump must replace an existing fossil-fuel or electric heating system and meet the property's full space-heating needs. Your installer confirms eligibility for the property, product and design as part of the voucher application.

Air-to-air systems do not usually provide hot water, so the installer must also consider how the property's overall heating and hot-water needs will be met. Supplementary systems are allowed only within the scheme rules and must not use fossil fuels.

A typical single-room air conditioning installation added mainly for summer comfort should not be assumed to qualify. The £2,500 is a heating grant, and the proposed system must satisfy the full set of Boiler Upgrade Scheme requirements.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Home Energy Scotland and NI Direct list the support available in those nations.

There is currently no fully funded route to air conditioning for low-income households, which has drawn criticism during recent heatwaves. The support that does exist focuses on energy efficiency and heating rather than cooling.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is live in England and is delivered by local councils. It can fully fund improvements such as insulation, solar panels, smart controls and air source heat pumps where suitable, for privately owned homes with an EPC rating of D to G. Household income must usually be £36,000 a year or less, though certain benefits or postcodes can also qualify. Applications go through your local council via GOV.UK.

ECO4, the energy supplier obligation scheme, has been extended to 31 December 2026 while it winds down, and no successor obligation is planned. Future low-income support sits under the Government's wider Warm Homes Plan, so it is worth checking GOV.UK or your council for the latest position before assuming a scheme is open.

Separately from the grant, eligible fixed air conditioning installations are currently zero-rated for VAT because HMRC treats most fixed air conditioning units as air source heat pumps. The zero rate runs until 31 March 2027, after which those installations are expected to revert to 5% VAT.

This saving is real and available now. On a £4,000 installation that would otherwise carry 20% VAT, the zero rate avoids £800. Portable units and supply-only purchases do not qualify, and the installer applies the VAT treatment, so always check the rate shown on your quote.

The VAT relief and the grant are separate. A system can receive one treatment without qualifying for the other, so ask the installer to show the VAT position and any approved grant deduction separately on the quote.

If you want the grant, ask each installer whether they currently hold MCS certification for the relevant air-to-air technology and can apply for a Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher. Ask them to assess your existing heating, full space-heating needs, hot-water arrangements and proposed products against the scheme rules.

Compare the full quotes before deciding. The grant should appear as an installer-managed deduction only when your project and voucher are confirmed. If your priority is cooling rather than replacing your heating system, a self-funded installation may be the more relevant route.

AC Journey helps homeowners compare quotes from vetted UK air conditioning installers. We do not administer the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, decide eligibility or guarantee that a grant is available. Our installer vetting also does not by itself confirm the MCS scope needed for a particular grant-funded project.

When you request quotes, tell us which rooms you want to cool, whether the system will replace your existing heating, and whether you want the installer to assess grant eligibility. Installers can then advise on suitable systems, realistic costs, VAT treatment and whether they can offer the scheme.