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Heat pump grants are an effective measure to encourage households to shift towards electrified heating solutions, and away from unreliably priced fossil fuels. In the wake of the 2026 oil crisis, that lack of reliability is felt by one country in the UK more than the others: Northern Ireland. Here we argue that the government should bring forward its proposed heat pump grant to avoid households being locked into another year of expensive oil.
61%
of homes in Northern Ireland are primarily heated by oil, compared with 3% in England, 6% in Scotland and 8% in Wales
0.15%
of homes in Northern Ireland have a heat pump installed
15x
the number of heat pumps in Wales compared to Northern Ireland, where no grant currently exists
In England and Wales, the government introduced the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) as a successor to the GB-wide Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). When it was introduced in May 2022, the BUS offered £5,000 towards the cost of an air source heat pump (ASHP) or £6,000 towards the cost of a ground source heat pump (GSHP), provided the installation replaced existing fossil fuel heating systems. This was increased to £7,500 for both technologies in October 2023.
The grant has led to a noticeable and sustained increase in the number of heat pumps being installed each year in England and Wales. Throughout RHI, an average of 1,000 heat pumps were installed per month, excluding the peak resulting from the scheme’s closure. The uplifted BUS, meanwhile, has resulted in an average of over 4,000 heat pump installs per month.
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Scotland has its own heat pump scheme, which also succeeded the RHI. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme (HESGL) launched in December 2022, and offered households £7,500 in grant funding, alongside a further £7,500 interest-free loan, with an additional £1,500 uplift to both available for rural and island homes. As with the BUS, the introduction of this scheme has led to a higher and more sustained rate of heat pump installations.
Northern Ireland is the only one of the four constituent countries not to have a dedicated heat pump grant available. It also has a chequered history when it comes to low-carbon heating schemes. Northern Ireland’s RHI, which was run separately to the GB one, led to the ‘cash for ash’ scandal, whereby the incentive for biomass boilers was greater than the cost of fuel. This resulted in an early closure of the scheme in 2016, the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2017 and 2020 and a public inquiry, which concluded in 2020.
Northern Ireland residents can benefit from the Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP), which funds a range of energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies through annual programmes delivered by energy suppliers and other organisations. This has included support for heat pumps, but only as one of several eligible measures. However, it has not done so consistently, as NISEP is not a dedicated low-carbon heating scheme and heat pump support is not guaranteed in every funding round.
The lack of support is demonstrated in the numbers installed. Northern Ireland lags GB significantly, with heat pumps being almost 10 times more common in England and more than 15 times more common in Wales. Just 0.15% of homes in Northern Ireland have a heat pump.
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The war on Iran has resulted in stark increases in the price of fossil fuels across the world. Regulation provides some protection from electricity and gas prices, but households with oil and LPG heating were hit immediately. Northern Ireland is the most exposed nation in the UK, as more than 60% of homes in the country rely on oil for heating, compared with 3% in England, 8% in Wales and 6% in Scotland.
In England and Wales the government has responded to the latest crisis by increasing the BUS to £9,000 for households relying on these fuels for heating, starting from 21 July. In Scotland, although the HESGL hasn’t increased, nearly 90% of the households dependent on oil or LPG are already eligible for the scheme’s uplifted support.
In Northern Ireland, while direct financial support is available to oil-heated households, there has been no clear commitment to support a wider transition away from oil heating. This may help consumers manage current energy costs, but it does not protect them from future fossil fuel price shocks or support the country's longer-term climate commitments.
Reporting from the BBC suggests that new green heating grants may be introduced in 2027 by Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy. While it's encouraging that support may be on the way, Regen argues that the best time to support households is now. By doing so when the unreliability of fossil fuels is most evident, the government could help protect consumers, accelerate progress towards climate targets and drive forward Northern Ireland's heat pump market.
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