Energy Company Obligation 4 Scheme
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) provides funding for insulation and heating replacement for old or broken systems or First Time Central Heating (FTCH).
This page was last updated on:
18 April 2024 16:33 PM
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) provides funding for insulation and heating replacement for old or broken systems or First Time Central Heating (FTCH).
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government energy efficiency scheme aiming to make homes more energy efficient and help reduce carbon emissions and alleviate fuel poverty. It provides funding for insulation and heating replacement for old or broken systems or First Time Central Heating (FTCH).
The ECO grant scheme is a key part of the government’s commitment and will run until March 2026. Its aim is to support low-income householders who are unable to make their homes more energy efficient or upgrade their heating systems
First things first
Before considering any funding or grants for insulation please consider the general maintenance of your property. Maintenance of your property reduces any long-term risks of decay or deterioration, can be cost effective and save energy. Defects in building structure can range from structural problems to damp issues.
The ECO funding schemes are not intended to provide assistance for general property maintenance. Before any retrofit surveys or scheme progression may occur, resolving any general building maintenance issues may be necessary. Take a look at the link to Historical England for some great information about things to look for which are also relevant to a modern home:
When considering any improvements to the insulation of a building ventilation is an important consideration. Current PAS 2035 regulation mean that changes to the way a building ventilation works may be necessary if you are accessing ECO funding. Please read these guidance leaflets for further in formation:
Under ECO4 heating and insulation improvements (loft and cavity wall) may be available. In order to obtain ECO funding the property must meet the conditions listed below.
The focus is on updating old non-condensing boilers to new condensing boilers or off gas properties. It is helpful when calling about this scheme to have made a note of your heating source, boiler age, make and model to determine if your heating system is eligible to be replaced or upgraded.
This helpful guide explains the different types of boiler that you may have:
What Are The Different Types Of Boiler?
The ECO4 scheme seeks to repair or upgrade where an existing system cannot be repaired or upgraded, certainly where the system is outdated.
ECO4 will seek greener alternatives, ruling out the installation of older systems such as coal fired, or LPG fuelled heating which produce comparatively high levels of carbon emissions.
The ECO4 scheme aims to make homes well insulated before it focuses on the installation of new heating systems. For example, a home with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Rating of ‘E’ or below would require adequate loft or cavity wall insulation before heating systems can be upgraded.
The insulation available under funding at present could be loft or cavity wall insulation. Please take a look at the following links for more information:
Loft Wall Insulation advice leaflet
Cavity Wall Insulation advice leaflet
For your property to be considered, an awareness of the existing Loft Insulation depth and whether Cavity Wall Insulation (CWI) or External/Internal Wall Insulation (EWI/IWI) is present will assist in determining your eligibility.
Currently, to consider having either External Wall Insulation or Internal Wall Insulation would mean a significant customer contribution and customers should be aware of the potential disruption that comes with this:
The culmination of these works is to ensure that your home makes on average two bands progress on the EPC, certainly focusing on those lower banded EPCs to maximise improvements.
This would aim to ensure that heating and insulation improvements are made together.
Unfortunately, new doors and windows are not currently an available as part of the ECO4 scheme.
Park homes are also not currently covered by the scheme.
Your property may have already had an Energy Performance Certificate completed, which you can check by looking it up on the government website:
Find an energy certificate – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you have completed any other home improvements, regarding your heating or insulation since your EPC was created, these are useful know to ensure eligibility for the scheme.
It is not a requirement to have and EPC however, as we can gain the relevant property details when making an application for the scheme and if, deemed eligible, a retrofit survey would be made. As stated by OFGEM:
“If there is no publicly available EPC, or the EPC has expired, that is not an issue.
Energy suppliers and the installers they work with to deliver ECO4 and GBIS projects must conduct an RdSAP assessment (sometimes referred to as an EPR) at the premises at the start of all project.”
If you do not have and EPC and would like to get one you can, at a cost, purchase one by contacting a registered EPC assessor. You can do this on the government - endorsed quality scheme for home improvements via the TrustMark website: https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner.
The ECO4 scheme aims to reach vulnerable householders living in the least energy efficient properties in the UK.
The scheme is open to those in private rented accommodation as well as to those who own their own homes (social housing residents are recommended to contact their housing provider).
Please see below the list of qualifying benefits:
· Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
· Income related Employment and Support Allowance(ESA)
· Income Support (IS)
· Pension Credit Guarantee Credit (PCGC)
· Working Tax Credit (WTC)
· Child Tax Credit (CTC)
· Universal Credit (UC)
· Housing Benefit
· Pension Credit Savings Credit (PCSC)
· Child Benefit (subject to income caps and composition)*
*ECO4 Child Benefit income thresholds (before tax and National Insurance):
Type of claimant
Number of children or qualifying young persons
1
2
3
4 or more
Single claimant
£19,900
£24,800
£29,600
£34,500
2 or more claimants
£27,500
£32,300
£37,200
£42,000
If you do not qualify for the ECO4 scheme through the above benefits entitlement method, you may qualify under ECO4 ‘Flex’ which is conditional to each Local Authority area.
Currently not all Councils have published their Statement of Intent in order to offer ECO4 Flex. Please check with your Local Council website for further information. The Statement of Intent will explain how you might be eligible. An Expression of Interest can be made to Act on Energy to register your heating and insulation needs.
If you think you might like to apply for energy related measures under the ECO4/ECO4 Flex scheme, please call us on:
0800 988 2881 or contact us at eco@actonenergy.org.uk
When you call in to register your interest, please make it clear what heating and insulation measures you already have. These include the make and model of your boiler and what insulation you know your home already has.
We need the most up to date information to help you as quickly as possible, but don’t worry if you do not know what measures your property has – we can still help.
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) was launched as a single measure scheme for insulation (loft + cavity wall), offering easy gains on a property’s insulation.
Those eligible for support under the Great British Insulation Scheme include families in council tax bands A-D in England, A-E in Scotland and Wales, with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or below.
Restrictions may apply for Private Rented Tenants.
You can find the Government’s information on this scheme by clicking the button below, which expands on the potential support offered through home energy suppliers.
Please be aware that not all measures will be fully funded, and you may have to contribute to the final cost if you choose to go ahead. Any works are done at the homeowner’s own risk and the work is an agreement between the homeowner and the contractor. Prior to starting works, please check with the installer who will make you aware of any personal contribution that might be required.
The process for all referrals is as follows:
· The installer will confirm that your tenancy type and complete a Department of Work & Pensions benefit / Flex qualifying criteria check. Collecting any necessary evidence to confirm your eligibility.
· If eligibility is approved, the installer will book and carry out the survey.
· Once the survey is complete, the installer will review the information. All cases are subject to this survey but please note that the installer has no obligation to proceed to installations if for any reason they deem the property unsuitable.
· If the works are approved to go ahead, the agreed date for installation will be booked by the installer.
Please remember that even after the survey has taken place, you are not obliged to proceed.
The exact level of funding will be determined by the installer who will advise after the technical survey has taken place. Please be aware that all works undertaken to your property are at your own risk and that you must obtain all necessary documentation from the installer pre and post install.
This is not an emergency scheme, and the process may take some time with several visits to your property throughout the process.
