Record number of UK households apply for heat pump grant as increased support for heating oil homes rolled out in response to Middle East conflict. July applications up 81% against June figures.
Thousands of heating oil households have applied for a heat pump grant since the support on offer was extended following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
The UK government typically offers grants of GBP 7,500 ($10,200) for households through its boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) grant program to subsidize the cost of installing a heat pump. An increase to GBP 9,000 for households switching from heating oil to a heat pump was announced in the wake of the US and Israel conflict with Iran.
Data published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) reveal record applications for BUS grants, with 8,150 households applying to install a heat pump in July. This represented 53% growth on the previous monthly record of 5,328 applications in November 2025. Growth was driven by a sharp increase in applications from heating oil households.
From July 2026, homes classed as off-gas-grid have been eligible for the enhanced grant support. 3,037 applications for the GBP 9,000 grant were received since the change was made to the end of July, representing 37% of the monthly total.
Total July heat pump grant applications were up 81% on June 2026, and 112% on July 2025. The additional interest from households on heating oil followed a marketing blitz in June, which saw the government distributed leaflets to 200,000 eligible homes with information on how to claim the extra funding.
Extra funding for households with heating oil systems was first announced as a targeted measure for rural households, in a bid to mitigate exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Unlike households with gas boiler heating systems, which comprise the majority of UK homes, consumers using heating oil are not protected by energy regulator Ofgem’s price cap, leaving rural households more exposed to market volatility.
The GBP 9,000 grant for heating oil homes is available for households in England and Wales and will be available until March 2027. Subsidy support for energy efficiency improvements in Scotland and Northern Ireland is administered locally.
In a press release, local energy and jobs minister Martin McCluskey described households reliant on heating oil as “among the worst affected” when conflict started in the Middle East. “Installing a heat pump is the best way for people on heating oil to get certainty over their bills and avoid costly spikes in prices due to events our of our control,” McCluskey said.
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