Home Energy Efficiency Grants

• Energy Efficiency Schemes:
  • ECO4
  • ECO4 Flex
  • Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)
• Advice when allowing installers into your home
• Other Energy Incentives and Schemes
  • Smart Export Guarantee Scheme
  • Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Action on Energy is a partnership of councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, including Fenland District Council, that provides communities with advice and support for improving home energy efficiency. The partnership aims to save you money on your energy bills through providing funding opportunities, guidance and resources for home energy improvements.

Find out more information and check eligibility requirements on the Action on Energy website.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4), ECO 4 Flex and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4) is a government energy efficiency scheme administered by OFGEM and funded by large energy suppliers.

Its aim is to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty by improving the energy efficiency of homes occupied by low income, fuel poor and vulnerable households.

If eligible, you could qualify for any of the improvements listed below. This is not the full list and other improvements might be available depending on the installer.  This scheme intended to provide multiple measures that when combined will improve the energy efficiency of your home, often referred to as a 'deep retrofit' or 'whole house approach'. 

Improvements include:

• Loft insulation
• Gas boilers
• Pitched roof insulation
• Electric boilers
• Flat roof insulation
• Biomass boilers
• Room in roof insulation
• Heating controls
• Cavity wall insulation
• Electric storage heaters
• External wall insulation
• Solar PV panels
• Internal wall insulation
• High performance external doors
• Floor insulation (solid or suspended floors)
• Window glazing
• Air source heat pumps
• Draught proofing
• Ground source heat pumps

Eligibility

You may be eligible for funding if you receive one of the following benefits and satisfy the relevant income requirements, where applicable:

• Child Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Guarantee Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Tax Credits (Child Tax Credits and Working Class Credits)
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Pension Credit Saving Credit
• Income Support

You must also be an owner-occupier or private renter of a home deemed to be energy inefficient.  This is determined by the rating on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of your home. You can check your rating on the government website. If you do not have an ECP then one can be done as part of the application process.

Eligible homes will have an EPC rating of:

• D, E, F or G for owner-occupied homes
• E, F or G for privately rented homes

For rented homes both the landlord and tenants must agree to participate.

How to apply

Fenland District Council is not responsible for, nor participates in, the ECO 4 scheme.  You are responsible for choosing an installer and carrying out checks to ensure you are satisfied with the installation company. Your chosen installer must be TrustMark registered and be authorised by one of the participating energy companies to undertake this work.

You can find a registered installer on the TrustMark website. The Ofgem website explains which energy companies participate in the scheme.

If I don't receive a qualifying benefit

If you do not receive a qualifying benefit then you might still qualify through ECO's flexible eligibility, known as ECO Flex.  Fenland District Council does participate in this scheme, which allows residents on low income or with certain health conditions impacted by cold weather, access to the same measures as the main ECO scheme.  The eligibility criteria are detailed on our ECO Flex Statement of Intent (PDF, 200 KB).  

Our role in ECO Flex is to assess the eligibility of a household. We are not involved in, nor responsible for, issuing the funding, appointing contractors or installing the works.

If you think you may be eligible via one of the ECO Flex routes, please contact our My Fenland Team on 01354 654321 and ask to speak to the Environmental Projects Officer about making an application.  If we think you qualify for ECO Flex then we can make a referral to an installer on your behalf. They will then contact you to book a survey. 

The ECO4 Flex Process

Step 1:  Householders contact Fenland District Council to discuss eligibility. If appropriate they can be signposted to a list of known registered installers.

Step 2: Home visits are conducted by installers or their representatives. If a property is suitable for upgrades an application form is fully completed and signed by the householder. Evidence supporting the application is gathered as outlined in the application form.

Step 3: The application form and scheme eligibility evidence (PDF's or photos taken on mobile phone or tablet) are submitted by your installer or lead generator to Fenland District Council. Householders are advised to contact their installer directly if they wish to enquire about their application status. Fenland District Council cannot provide updates on applications.

Step 4: Fenland District Council assesses the application and eligibility evidence. If the applicant qualifies, a completed Local Authority Declaration is signed and returned to the installer. 

Step 5: The installation company carry out the installation(s), leaving the resident with contact details and any warranties or guarantees as required. 

Step 6: If the householder is not satisfied with installation, they should firstly contact the installer. If issues are not resolved they should seek advice from Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline. Fenland District Council is not responsible for the ECO Flex scheme and cannot therefore assist in complaint resolutions regarding ECO funded installations.

Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) Flex

The Great British Insulation Scheme is a government energy efficiency scheme also administered by Ofgem. The scheme complements the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme. Unlike ECO4's 'whole house' approach, this scheme will mostly deliver single insulation measures such as cavity wall and loft insulation.

You may be eligible for this scheme if you are living in a home whose council tax band is rate A to D and have an EPC rating of D to G. 

Please contact us if you think you meet these criteria. If we think you may be eligible, we will make a referral for you and follow the same process as explained above for ECO Flex.

If you are not happy with the installation

Firstly you should complain directly to the installer. If you don't know who your installer was, email the ECO team at OFGEM to request this information at ECO.SAR@ofgem.gov.uk.

If the installer fails to remedy the issues then you should follow OFGEM's complaints procedure. Alternatively, you could try contacting Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline (especially if it's a trading standards issue) on 0800 144 8848.

All ECO4/GBIS (including ECO4/GBIS Flex) installers must be TrustMark registered and accredited by a scheme provider. TrustMark is a government endorsed quality scheme. They have guidance around resolving disputes and explain how the installers accreditation scheme provider might also be able to help to resolve any issues.

Fenland District Council cannot help resolve disputes around poor quality ECO4 installs. This is because the installers are not contracted by the council, therefore we have no authority over them.​

Funders of ECO4, Eco Flex and GBIS Flex

The government has made it a requirement that large energy suppliers provide funding to pay for energy efficiency improvements to your homes. The funds are passed directly to the private installer who must be a PAS2030/TrustMark accredited company to be able to install energy efficiency measures in your home.

Administration of ECO4, ECO Flex and GBIS Flex

Ofgem administers the scheme on behalf of the Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNEZ).  Ofgem's duties include allocating targets to obligated suppliers, monitoring supplier progress and deciding whether they've achieved their obligations, reporting to the Secretary of State, auditing, ensuring compliance and preventing and detecting fraud. DESNEZ sets the overall policy for these schemes.

Flex onboarding for installers

Currently we are not onboarding installers for Flex.

Advice when allowing installers into your home

Only allow workmen into your home if you have a pre-arranged appointment. We recommend you always request to see company ID when a surveyor or contractor visits your property.  Make sure they leave you with their contact details in case you want to check the status of your application after they leave because we may not have access to this information.

It is your responsibility to carry out the following checks:

• Do you need planning permission or building regulations approval? Certain types of insulation such as external wall insulation or fitting Solar PV or an Air Source Heat Pump might need planning permission and building regulations approval. As a homeowner/landlord it will be your responsibility to apply for this.
• All installers working on these schemes must be Trustmark Registered. 
• Find out if the installer is a member of a competent person scheme related to electrics or insulation work, like the MCS, NICEIC, CIGA or Stroma schemes. If they are then they will be able to self-certify their work, rather than needing to get building regulations approval from your local council.
• Make sure they are Gas Safe registered. By law all engineers installing gas boilers must be on the Gas Safe Register.
• Check if they provide any guarantees or warranties on the installation. Make sure you are provided with this and any other associated paperwork upon completion of an install.
• Read warranty information carefully. Extended warranties often need to be registered. In the case of Air Source Heat Pumps you may need to have the unit regularly serviced or the warranty might be invalidated.
• Ask your installer to explain to you how to operate your heating and where to get help and/or repeat instructions if you need them at a later date.

Other Energy Incentives and Schemes

Smart Export Guarantee Scheme

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is designed to ensure small-scale generators are paid for the renewable electricity they export to the national grid. You may be eligible to apply if you have one of the following:

• Solar PV panels
• Anaerobic digestion
• Wind turbine
• Micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP)
• Hydro

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The government is offering grants to homeowners to install low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps, through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. These grants can help with the upfront cost of low carbon heating technologies.

The scheme is open to domestic and small non-domestic properties in England and Wales.

You can get:

• £7,500 towards the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
• £5,000 towards the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
• £7,500 towards the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump

For more information, visit the Government's website.