Free Central Heating in Wales
VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE
THE EXISTING GOVERNMENT GRANT SCHEMES ARE COMING TO AN END.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the partial removal of green levies from household energy bills in her Autumn Budget speech on November 26, 2025. This will take effect from 6th April 2026. The green levy is the vehicle that funds the ECO and GBIS grant schemes.
However, because of the time that it takes to carryout surveys, install the work and installers to receive funds, no new applications will be accepted after 24th February. This applies to ECO4 and The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).
We do not know what, if anything, will replace the existing scheme.
Ed Miliband’s (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero) flagship energy efficiency policy, which has seen its total investment increased to nearly £15 billion. Exact details have not yet been announced. We should hear more in February 2026. This is what we know so far:
- Solar & Heat Pump Grants: The government is set to allocate roughly £13 billion over the next four years for new grants specifically for solar panels, battery storage, and heat pumps.
- Targeted Support: While official eligibility details are still being finalised, the scheme aims to help millions of homeowners, with the most significant assistance for upfront costs directed toward lower-income households and social housing.
- Low-Cost Loans: In addition to direct grants, a new system of low-cost loans is expected to be launched, allowing homeowners to install green technology with no upfront costs and repaying through their energy bills over 5–10 years.
- Heat Pump Grant Extension: The existing £7,500 grants for heat pump installations will remain in place at least until the next general election.
If you are interested in having Solar Panels and an Air Source Heat Pump, please complete our enquiry form and choose the Solar Panels & Heat Pump option.
However, there is still plenty of time for yet another U-turn – watch this space.
Don’t pay for Cavity Wall Insulation!
Is Free Central Heating Systems in Wales real?
ECO3 has now finished, but ECO4 has started. Some of the information on this site is therefore out of date, but there are grants still available. The Enquiry Form is still good to use. If you want to find out more about ECO4 you can go to our sister site The Green Deal Wales. This site will be fully up to date in a couple of weeks.
Many people have said to me that free central heating “sounds to good to be true”, “it must be a con”, “what’s the catch” and so on and so forth.
So let me answer that question.
First Time Central Heating is a part of the Government Carbon Reduction Grant Scheme, which is referred to as ECO. This is the 3rd phase of ECO and so it is cleverly called ECO3 and it is administered by OFGEM. OFGEM is the industry watchdog and an official Government Regulatory Body.
Who pays for the Central Heating?
The Energy Act 2011 gave a legal obligation to the Gas and Electricity companies to reduce Carbon Emissions. This is known as the Energy Companies Obligation (hence ECO).
When you insulate a property you reduce the Carbon Emissions of that property. Gas and Electricity companies will buy those Carbon Emission savings to achieve their legal obligation. So when a free central heating system is installed the money is actually coming from one of the Gas and Electricity companies. However, the utility companies get their money back by adding a charge to every gas and electricity bill – about 5% on a gas bill and about 11% on an electricity bill. Shown as environmental costs in the infographic on the left. Care of Uswitch.
In January 2020 the Government increased the level of funding for First Time Central Heating, which means that more people will now qualify for a fully funded central heating system.
Funds are limited, so it is a matter of “first come – first served”.
How do I find out more about the Free Central Heating Scheme?
The “Free Central Heating” page will fully explain how the scheme works. It will also explain how your home qualifies. You will then need to find out if you qualify. – or of course, you can just give us a call, drop us an email or complete our online enquiry form.
There are a couple of pre-conditions which apply to every property. These are concerning insulation at your home, and they have been set by OFGEM. They relate to Cavity Wall Insulation and Loft Insulation.
If you want to have a look at these OFGEM pre-conditions feel free to follow the link below. They are quite complicated and are for us to deal with, but the link confirms that First Time Central Heating is an OFGEM, and therefore, a Government scheme.
So in conclusion, this means that the fully funded First Time Central Heating scheme is not a “con”, it is real. So lets find out if you qualify, or you can find out how the scheme works.
or call us on 0800 8 10 10 60