UPDATE: As of Tuesday 27 June 2023, it won’t be possible to apply for funding solely to cover the cost of energy storage systems or solar panels alone. To get funding for these installations, they must be installed alongside a heat pump or high heat retention storage heater. Find out more here.

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There’s good news for some homeowners in Scotland.

In December 2022, the Scottish Government announced changes to its Home Energy Scotland scheme. It means that eligible homeowners in Scotland can now apply for standalone grants for home energy efficiency improvements.

A grant is free money that you don’t have to pay back. And some homeowners will be able to apply for up to £9,000 to put towards making their home more energy efficient.

We’ve been following this news closely, and you can now use Snugg to estimate how much you could receive with a Home Energy Scotland grant.

The Scottish Government says that it introduced the changes to reduce household emissions more quickly and help end Scotland’s contribution to climate change.

What is the Home Energy Scotland scheme?

Home Energy Scotland was set up in 2008. It’s an independent government body that helps people in Scotland create warmer homes, reduce their energy bills and lower their carbon footprint.

As well as operating a network of regional advice centres across Scotland, it offers financial support to help eligible homeowners make their homes more energy efficient.

What’s changed?

As of 2 December 2022, Home Energy Scotland now offers grants for eligible homeowners in Scotland.

Previously, the ‘Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback offer’ required a cashback element to be taken at the same time as an interest-free loan. But the new ‘Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme’ offers a grant which can be taken alone or alongside an interest-free Home Energy Scotland Loan.

Homeowners in Scotland can now apply for:

• A grant of up to £7,500 to install a heat pump. If the household is eligible for a rural uplift, the grant value is increased up to £9,000.
• An optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500 towards the remaining cost of a heat pump installation.
• A grant of up to £7,500 to cover up to 75% of the combined cost of some other eligible home energy efficiency improvements.* If the household is eligible for a rural uplift, the grant value is increased up to £9,000.
• An interest-free loan of up to £6,000 for battery storage systems.

A rural uplift has been introduced for households in Remote Rural and Island areas, as well as off-gas Accessible Rural areas, as defined by the Urban Rural Classification. This uplift is worth £1,500 per household.

*Solar installations and replacing old oil/LPG boilers with more modern, efficient models are excluded.

Should you apply to the scheme?

Before applying for a Home Energy Scotland grant, you’ll want to see whether your home would benefit from installing a heat pump, battery storage system or other home energy efficiency improvements.

You can do this quickly and for free by using Snugg’s home energy efficiency planner.

The planner will help identify the types of improvements you might want to make. And it will estimate costs and savings, helping you decide whether it makes sense to apply for a Home Energy Scotland grant.

What if you’ve already applied to the old scheme?

If you applied for a Home Energy Scotland Loan before 2 December 2022 and haven’t yet received a funding offer, your application will be assessed in one of two ways.

If you’re eligible for a higher-value grant or loan under the new scheme, you’ll be offered funding under the new rules.

If you’re eligible for a smaller grant than you’d have been offered under the previous scheme, you’ll be offered funding under the previous rules.

What’s Snugg’s verdict?

At Snugg, we believe that making your home energy efficient should be simple and affordable. So we welcome Home Energy Scotland’s new changes.

The new grants are more generous than the previous scheme. And the heat pump support is more generous than that available to homeowners in England and Wales. 

In particular, the changes recognise challenges faced by rural and island homeowners who often have to pay more for tradespeople and supplies.

We think this is great news for homeowners across Scotland, and we’d like to see equivalent schemes across the rest of the UK improved to the same degree.

‍Use Snugg to see if you’re eligible to get a Home Energy Scotland grant and how much you could receive.