Home Upgrade Grant

The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) is a government funded grant scheme to improve the energy efficiency of eligible homes for free.

Benefits of energy efficiency improvements

• improvements are tailored to you and your home
• your home is retrofit assessed
• installations are managed by Wiltshire Council
• these improvements could help you save money on your energy bills and greenhouse emissions
• future-proof your home for your energy independence

Apply to the Home Upgrade Grant

Register your interest using GOV.UK: Check if you are eligible for an energy grant for a home with no gas boiler (opens new window) or phone 0800 098 7950 to find out if you are eligible.

What retrofit is

Improvements, such as insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels, are installed in a process known as retrofitting, to make your home more comfortable to live in and more energy efficient.  Following a home survey and detailed designs, energy efficiency improvements will be offered to each eligible household depending on the recommendations of a qualified retrofit designer. Improvements will take a fabric first approach, which means that we will first focus on improving the home to reduce heat loss and heat demand.

Eligibility

You may be eligible for this scheme if you meet all of the following:

• you own your home
• you do not have a mains gas heating system
• your household income is less than£36,000 or you live in one of the postcode areas listed 
• your home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or below (you can check this on GOV.UK: Find an energy certificate (opens new window))

If you live in a private rented property, your landlord can apply if they own four or less properties and contribute a third of the total cost of the upgrade.

The improvements which are available

The measures which can be installed as part of this project include:

• wall and loft insulation
• hot water cylinder insulation
• digital and smart controls
• low-carbon heating technologies such as air source heat pumps (fossil fuel heating is excluded)
• renewable technologies such as solar PV
• smart measures such as smart heating controls.
• low energy lighting

What others have said

Since having loft insulation installed in my roof I have noticed it stays warmer for longer and my home feels more comfortable Sarah - Wiltshire Resident

I am really pleased with my solar PV installation. It's early days, but I am encouraged that my electricity bills have reduced, and the installation was straight forward and well designed Martyn - Wiltshire Resident

We installed an air source heat pump five years ago, it works well, we love it! We have a cosy and even temperature in our well insulated house and it provides all the hot water! Rory - Wiltshire Resident

What happens next

If you would like to apply to the scheme, please fill out the GOV.UK: Check if you are eligible for an energy grant for a home with no gas boiler (opens new window) eligibility questionnaire. If you know someone that might be interested who does not have access to the internet, they can call the Home Upgrade Grant Helpline on 0800 098 7950 and an advisor can complete the form on their behalf. They may be asked for additional information to complete your application.

If you are considered eligible, we will pass your contact details to our official contractor. You may be asked to provide further information about your eligibility and property before a home survey can be booked. The survey will inform which improvements are suitable for you and your household.

This grant is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). This Privacy notice sets out your rights and explains how your personal data will be used.

Terms and conditions

1. All applications need to meet the eligibility criteria. An energy survey (Retrofit Assessment) is required before improvement recommendations can be made for your home. Energy efficiency measures installed must be within the cost caps of the funding and comply with the Department for Energy Efficiency and Net Zero's scheme guidance.
2. Improvements are funded through the Home Upgrade Grant Scheme, phase 2, a government scheme to help reach UK zero carbon targets.
3. Savings and reductions in energy usage and carbon emissions will vary by property type, household energy usage and heating fuel type.
4. Installation work must be completed no later than 31 March 2025 to be eligible for funding.
5. The grant is limited and available on a first-come basis.

Related links

Sign up to our e-newsletter to receive information about retrofitting, grant opportunities, energy efficiency improvement projects, retrofit news, advice and support. Please select 'climate change' as one of your topics of interest.

Sign up to our e-newsletter (opens new window)

HUG FAQs (PDF) [393KB] (opens new window)

Government HUG page: GOV.UK: Apply for help to improve a home with no gas boiler (Home Upgrade Grant) (opens new window)

Warm and Well: Keep warm and well this winter

Warm and Safe: Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE): Warm & Safe Wiltshire (opens new window)

Enabling works fund (for energy improvements): Centre for sustainable energy: SSEN Enabling Works Fund (opens new window)

Grants and funding to reduce your energy bills: Centre for sustainable energy: Grants and funding to reduce your energy bills (opens new window)

Centre for Sustainable Energy: Centre for sustainable energy: My home (opens new window)

Home Energy factsheets: Centre for Sustainable Energy: Resources (opens new window)

Green Open Homes: Wiltshire Climate Alliance (wiltshireclimatealliance.org.uk) (opens new window)