Other energy efficiency schemes

A number of other schemes may be available to help with improvements to make your home more energy efficient. Some of these schemes may even be able to provide the improvements free of charge.

St Helens Borough Council Heating and Insulation Scheme

We are currently able to assist with heating and standard insulation measures (cavity wall insulation and loft insulation). The assistance is subject to meeting scheme qualifying criteria and also subject to a technical survey. Please contact us to discuss eligibility.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

ECO is the government's domestic energy efficiency programme. ECO provides energy efficiency measures including insulation and heating to low income and vulnerable households.

ECO is a legal obligation placed on energy suppliers to improve the energy efficiency of households.

For more details, visit the Ofgem website.

Renewable energy incentives

There are a number of schemes offering incentives for installing microgeneration technologies or renewable heat technologies:

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

The SEG launched on 1 January 2020 and is a government-backed initiative. The SEG requires some electricity suppliers (SEG licensees) to pay small-scale generators (SEG generators) for low-carbon electricity, which they export back to the National Grid, providing certain criteria are met. Please visit the Ofgem website for further information.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the decarbonisation of heat in buildings. It provides upfront capital grants to support the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.

Acting on behalf of property owners, installers can apply for:

• £5000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
• £5000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
• £6000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump, including water source heat pumps