Eligibility Criteria
Energy Companies Obligations Scheme (Eco4)
The government’s Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) scheme, launched in 2013, was set up to ensure that bigger energy suppliers help struggling families, help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty.
It's available in England, Scotland and Wales and obliges energy companies to install energy-saving measures in homes where it's needed the most.
There is a big list of improvements that energy companies can supply. These include cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, loft insulation, room in roof insulation, replacing an old inefficient boiler or heating system and renwable energy systems.
The primary goal of the grant scheme is to support households who are unable to upgrade their homes and heating systems due to low income. This version of the ECO scheme has new minimum energy efficiency requirements - this means that if a property currently falls under EPC band E, F or G for energy efficiency, the grants must be used by installers to raise its efficency to band D or higher.
The government has slightly changed the eligibility criteria for ECO4, though they are mostly still tied to means-tested benefits.
The ECO4 report states that 46.1% of fuel-poor households do not receive benefits. To address this, the government has introduced 'ECO4 Flex' which gives participating Local Authorities the ability to refer private tenure households to the scheme. The LA would have to consider the household to be either living in fuel poverty or on a low income and vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold environment.
Eco4 Qualifying Benefits include:
- Income based Jobseekers allowance (JSA)
- Income related Employment & Support Allowance
- (ESA) Income Support (IS)
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Working Tax Credit (WTC)
- Child Tax Credits (CTC)
- Universal Credit (UC)
- Housing Benefit (new eligible benefit under ECO4)
- Pension Credit Savings Credit (new eligible benefit under ECO4)
- Child Benefit (Child Benefit income threshold limits apply)
- Warm Homes Discount
Find out if you are eligible for 100% FREE energy efficiency upgrades:
Great British Insulation Scheme Scheme (GBIS)
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) has been designed to work alongside the current ECO scheme, which is known as ECO4. The aim of the scheme is to help install energy efficient measures that can reduce your energy consumption and save you money on your energy bills. The scheme was launched in the Summer of 2023 and will run until March 2026.
The Government believes that making our homes more energy efficient is the best way of cutting household energy use and reducing heating bills. This can be achieved with the correct insulation which helps stop heat from escaping through your loft, windows, and walls.
Under the new Great British Insulation Scheme, there will be two groups with different eligibility criteria: the general group and the low-income eligibility group.
These groups will receive different levels of support. We've listed the different criteria below.
Group 1: To be eligible for a single insulation measure through the general group, you must;
- live in a home that falls within Council Tax bands A-D in England,
- live in a home that falls within Council Tax band A-E in Scotland or Wales
- have an EPC rating of D or below
This group does not include the private renter sector.
Group 2: To be eligible for a single insulation measure through the low-income eligibility group you must;
Receive means-tested benefits. Receiving one or more of the below benefits:
- Income based Jobseekers allowance (JSA)
- Income related Employment & Support Allowance
- (ESA) Income Support (IS)
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Working Tax Credit (WTC)
- Child Tax Credits (CTC)
- Universal Credit (UC)
- Housing Benefit (new eligible benefit under ECO4)
- Pension Credit Savings Credit (new eligible benefit under ECO4)
- Child Benefit Please note: If you receive Child Benefits only, you'll be asked to provide your Child Benefit Award Notice, a signed self-declaration, and evidence to support your eligibility.