Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan: in detail

First, read the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan overview page to find out:

how much you can get as a grant
how much you can borrow as an optional loan
the energy efficiency improvements and secondary improvements we’ll fund
the renewables systems we’ll fund, including heat pumps
who can apply.

This page goes into more detail about grant and loan amounts, loan repayment periods, supporting documents you’ll need, what we can’t fund, and other important terms and conditions of funding.

Grant funding

Grant funding for energy efficiency improvements is not available if you are receiving grant support from another source for the same improvement, such as Area Based Schemes funding through your local authority and ECO funding.

Grant funding is not available for:

replacement heat pumps
wind or hydro turbines
warm air units
solar water heating systems
glazing (double/secondary)
insulated doors
heat network connections.

Solar PV, energy storage systems, biomass boilers/stoves and high heat retention storage heaters may be eligible for grant funding when certain conditions are met. Our advisors will let you know if this is the case.

Loan repayment periods

You choose how long to take to repay the loan – up to the following maximum number of years:

under £5,000: 5 years
£5,000 - £9,999: 10 years
more than £10,000: 12 years.

Repayments begin after you have received a payment from us.

Important conditions

Funding operates on a first-come, first-served basis and is subject to availability, or until the end of the financial year – whichever is sooner. First come first served applies from the date that a funding offer is made, NOT from the date you submitted your application submission. Applications will be processed in the order of submission date.
After we receive your application, we’ll assess whether you're eligible. If you’re applying for any loan funds, we will also carry out affordability and credit checks. If your application is successful, we will send you a funding offer.
You cannot start work on any installations until you’ve received the funding offer in writing. If you receive a funding offer this financial year you have up to nine months to carry the work out and claim your funding.
You may be able to combine Home Energy Scotland grants and loans with other schemes and incentives; eligibility is not indicative of eligibility for any other programmes of support. Visit our contact us webpage for options on how to get in touch with our team for more information.
Self-builders can apply for grant and loan support for low and zero emission heating, electricity generation and energy storage systems, but not for energy efficiency improvements. You will need to provide planning permission documents with your application and title deeds with your claim.
If your application for loan funding is successful, you’ll need to pay an administrative fee of 1.5% of the total loan value - up to a maximum of £150 for each application. There is no administrative fee for grant only applications.

Supporting documents - energy reports

An acceptable energy report must recommend the improvements being applied for. This report must be included with the application.

Energy efficiency improvements: Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Renewables system: an EPC or a report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor.
Electric energy storage system: a report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor.
Heat energy storage system: a letter of suitability from a Home Energy Scotland advisor.

To see if you already have an EPC for your home, or to search for EPC assessors in your area, check the Scottish EPC register. You'll also need to get an updated EPC after you've had the work done, and before we can issue funds.

The exceptions to this requirement are for:

Self-build homes - you'll need to provide planning permission documents when applying. To claim the funds, you'll need to provide title deeds instead of a post-installation EPC.
The installation of an energy storage system only and where you have a current EPC which:
- is three years old or less,
- shows the renewables system the energy storage system is connected to, and
- does not recommend any of the energy efficiency improvements required by the loan.
- Please note: Funding is only available for this measure if taken as a package of measures.

You’ll also need to declare in writing that you haven’t installed any other improvements since your last EPC was produced.

You'll need to pay for any required EPCs, but you can add the cost of these to the loan if you want to.

Home Energy Scotland grants and loans are not linked to other schemes, and eligibility for the funds is not indicative of eligibility for any other incentives as the eligibility criteria may differ.

If you're planning to apply to any other financial incentive scheme, for example the Smart Export Guarantee, you should check eligibility criteria to ensure you can meet the requirements of both schemes.

Energy efficiency improvements

Grant and maximum funding levels

There are total funding caps for each improvement and for combinations of improvements supported by grants and loans.

The total available grant funding for energy efficiency improvements is up to 75% of the combined cost of the improvements, up to the maximum grant amount of £7,500, or £9,000 for households which qualify for the rural uplift. The remaining funds, up to the maximum funding cap for each improvement, can be taken up as an interest-free loan.

Glazing

If you’re making improvements to glazing, you can only use the Home Energy Scotland Loan to improve single glazed windows. Unfortunately, it’s not available for replacing or improving existing double glazing.

Grant funding is not available for glazing.

Loft and cavity wall insulation

If loft and/or cavity wall insulation is recommended in the EPC, and can be installed, you must have this work carried out by the time you claim the funding. Or, you can apply for funding for these measures as part of your application.

Renewables systems

Thinking of using the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan to fund a renewables system? This includes zero and low emission heating, electricity generation, energy storage systems and district heating scheme connections.

Energy Saving Trust has lots of information on generating renewable electricity and heating your home. We’ve also got more information on heat pumps, which could save you money and will help cut Scotland’s carbon emissions.

Conditions of applying for renewables systems

Your application can only fund one whole-house heating system. This means it must provide both heating and hot water to the property.
Grant funding for new heat pumps is up to £7,500, or £9,000 if the household qualifies for the rural uplift. The remainder of funding requested can be taken up as an optional interest-free loan.
Replacement heat pumps are not eligible for grant funding. An interest-free loan of up to £7,500 is available for replacement heat pumps.
Once your system is installed you will need to leave a rating and review of your installer (if listed) on Energy Saving Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder before claiming funding.
You will need to provide a suitable energy report recommending the improvements you wish to install. This can be a qualifying report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor or an EPC.
Your installer and product must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for the system that is being installed. The only exception to this is micro hydro systems. Applications for these systems will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and we recommend using an installer accredited by the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or recommended by the British Hydro Association.

Conditions of applying for energy storage systems and solar PV

Funding is only available if applied for as part of a package.
A package consists of a heat pump (or high heat retention storage heaters or biomass boiler, only in place of a heat pump, when a heat pump is unsuitable and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis), solar PV and an energy storage system.
If you have already installed one or more of these improvements, you can apply for the remaining improvement(s) to complete the package. This is subject to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificate(s) being provided for the existing heat pump and/or solar PV, and an Energy Performance Certificate or Home Energy Report for the high heat retention storage heaters and/or energy storage system.
You can only apply for one energy storage system - for example, a heat battery or an electric battery.
You can apply for funding for an energy storage system and solar PV. Each technology up to a maximum of £6,000, £1,250 as a grant and £4,750 as an optional loan.

Conditions of applying for a heat network connection

The heat network must be powered fully or partially by a renewable source of energy and the scheme must be approved for funding under this loan scheme.
The fuel mix must include a minimum proportion of renewable energy sources. Heat network connections are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for more information.

Grants and loans are administered by Energy Saving Trust. Successful loans are subject to an administrative fee of 1.5%, up to a maximum of £150. There is no administrative fee for grant only applications. Work must not commence before we have made a funding offer. For certain improvements, you will need to use a certified installer.

Energy Saving Trust is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. All funding is subject to availability and terms and conditions apply.