A range of energy grant help is available but it often changes rapidly. The energy grants available below are current as of April 2024. For advice or help in completing any grant application or funding enquiry, please contact Arun and Chichester Citizens Advice Energy Team in the first instance.
Residents on a low income and who live in Bognor Regis or the surrounding area may also be eligible for SSEN Enabling Works funding. This can help pay towards clearing lofts, moving furniture or other work that enables the grant measures to be installed where the homeowner is unable to do this themselves. The funding application must be submitted by the installer or the organisation processing the grant application.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme - BUS
Grant description
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant provides £7,500 towards the purchase and installation of an air source or ground source heat pump, or £5,000 grant towards a biomass boiler. This grant provides a substantial contribution towards the costs of installing a heat pump or biomass boiler but does not cover the full costs involved.
Who can apply
All homeowners can apply for this grant.
Who is eligible
The homeowner must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (ECP) which can not have any outstanding recommendations for loft and cavity wall insulation. If you need insulation check to see if you are eligible to get free or reduced-cost insulation.
Application process
The application process is as follows:
- the heat pump installer must be MCS certified you can find accredited installers on the MCS website
- the heat pump installer is to be responsible for applying the voucher
- this scheme operates on a first come first served basis
- the voucher for an air-source heat pump will be valid for three months and the voucher for a ground-source heat pump will be valid for six months
- this grant replaced the Renewable Heat Incentive which closed to new applicants in March 2022, if you successfully applied for the Renewable Heat Incentive, your payments will keep coming through as normal and will continue until the end of your contract (a total of 7 years)
How to apply
Please apply via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Warmer Homes (Home Upgrade Grant) HUG
The Home Upgrade Grant is only available to properties that do not use mains gas for heating and provides energy-efficient upgrades and low-carbon heating such as solar panels/heat pumps.
Who can apply
Homeowners, tenants and landlords can apply for this grant.
Who is eligible
You are eligible for this grant if:
- your home has an EPC rating of D, E, F or G, and you have one of the following:
- total household annual income of £36,000 or less (before housing costs/bills)
- total household annual income of £20,000 or less after housing costs (mortgage/rent and council tax)
- receive a means-tested benefit
- if your home is within an LSOA (Lower Super Output Area) 1-3 postcode area you may qualify even if you do not have a low household income, letters have been sent to properties in these areas
Please note: you can check your home's EPC rating on the government's find an energy certificate service web page. Landlords with a property portfolio of more than 4 houses are not eligible for the Warmer Homes Home Upgrade Grant and park homes are no longer eligible due to the government quota for park homes already being met.
How to apply
To apply please use the Warmer Homes website.
Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Scheme
ECO4 Flex and Great British Insulation Scheme Statement of Intent
We work in partnership with other councils in West Sussex to deliver the Energy Company Obligation and Great British Insulation schemes. The Statement of Intent sets out our flexible eligibility criteria for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme from April 2022 to March 2026 and the Great British Insulation Scheme until March 2026.
Grant description
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government scheme. This scheme requires some energy suppliers to help with the cost of improving a home's energy efficiency. These suppliers will provide grants to pay the whole cost or some of the cost towards these improvements, which can include wall insulation and boiler replacements.
If you are contacted directly by an installer promoting this scheme, check they are registered with the National Energy Foundation which is helping us to administer this scheme. You can check whether an installer is on their approved list by contacting their Better Homes, Better Health helpline on 0800 107 0044 .
Who can apply
You can apply for this grant if the homeowner's annual household income is below £31,000 and someone in your house is vulnerable.
Who is eligible
The eligibility criteria for ECO is quite complex. The scheme requires a household to be on a low income and experiencing vulnerability or fuel poverty. You may be eligible if you meet one of the following criteria:
- have a household income of less than £31,000 or you receive means-tested benefits
- and the property has EPC rating of D, E, F or G (E, F or G only for rented properties)
- and someone in your household is vulnerable (under 4 or over 65 years of age; has a health condition that makes them vulnerable to the cold)
- or you may be referred by your energy company or by the CAB if you are struggling to pay energy bills
How to apply
You can apply directly through your energy supplier, see the Ofgem website for a list of ECO suppliers or contact the Citizens Advice Energy Advice Service
Great British Insulation Scheme
Grant description
The Great British Insulation Scheme is a new government scheme designed to insulate homes across the country. It aims to tackle fuel poverty, reduce energy bills and support low-income and vulnerable households.
If you are contacted directly by an installer promoting this scheme, check they are registered with the National Energy Foundation, which is helping us to administer this scheme. You can check whether an installer is on their approved list by contacting their Better Homes, Better Health helpline on 0800 107 0044 .
Energy suppliers deliver the Great British Insulation Scheme. They will assess your home, either through a desktop assessment or by arranging a visit to your home. What the energy supplier can offer you will depend on this assessment.
You'll find out after the assessment if you need to pay anything. You can decide not to go ahead if you do not agree with the evaluation or costs.
The most common measures installed under this scheme are loft insulation or cavity wall insulation, which may require a financial contribution. Other insulation measures such as solid wall insulation may be available, but the energy supplier is only likely to offer them to you with a substantial financial contribution.
Who can apply
All homeowners and tenants with permission from landlords can apply for this grant.
Who is eligible
Homeowners whose properties are in Council Tax bands A-D with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D-G. You can check your home's EPC rating on the government's find a energy certificate service webpage. Those on low incomes may get insulation for free. Those not on low incomes may be asked to contribute dependent on earnings.
How to apply
Please apply via the government website for the Great British Insulation Scheme
Solar Together Sussex
Grant description
Solar Together Sussex is a council-supported group buying scheme for solar panels. It aims to help residents generate clean electricity at home and reduce their impact on the environment. It provides high-quality solar panels and battery storage systems from accredited installers at a competitive price.
If no active scheme running, you can register your interest on the Solar Together website to be notified when the next scheme is launched. When you register online, you will be asked questions about your house, roof, and electricity usage. Once a scheme goes live you will be provided with a quote for solar panels for your property. You can ask for a no-obligation quote for battery storage too if you have, or plan to have an electric car charging point. There will be a deadline by which you must accept the quote to take up the offer.
Who can apply
Homeowners and landlords can apply for this grant.
How to apply
You can register your interest on the Solar Together website.
Our heating repair or replacement (Safe, Suitable Warm grant – SSW)
Grant description
Funding is available for a whole-house, efficient heating system where no working central heating system exists and the applicant has exhausted every other possibility of funding a new system in addition the the applicant must also be experiencing fuel poverty. we do not support funding for maintenance of the system, this is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Safe, Suitable, Warm Homes Grant does not apply to renewable energy systems, for example, heat pumps or biomass.
Who can apply
All homeowners who live in Arun District can apply.
Who is eligible
Homeowners who live in the Arun District and are in receipt of means-tested benefits or that have completed and qualified under a preliminary means test; and are experiencing fuel poverty.
How to apply
To apply for this grant please contact us
Phone: 01903 737755
Email: energy.efficiency@arun.gov.uk
Emergency help for home owners
If you own your home and have a heating/hot water system that is broken, you may be eligible for emergency help which is the loan of one or two oil-filled radiators. Contact our home energy visitor without delay. You can call us
Phone: 01903 737755
or apply online
Request home energy help