Government grants to replace storage heaters exist through a handful of national schemes, but which one is open, what it covers and who qualifies shifts often enough that stating specifics here would risk being wrong by the time you read it. What stays fairly constant is the shape of how these schemes work and who they tend to help — that is worth knowing before you ring anyone.
The kind of scheme that usually applies
Most funding for replacing an old storage heater comes through the Energy Company Obligation, a long-running requirement on energy suppliers to fund efficiency measures in homes that qualify, rather than a single pot you apply to directly. Separate schemes have historically targeted homes off the gas grid, which is exactly where storage heaters are most common. Councils can also refer households into these schemes under wider eligibility rules than the national criteria alone allow.
None of that is a promise that a specific scheme is open today, or that it covers your property. Schemes close, reopen under new names and change their rules, sometimes more than once in a year.
Who tends to qualify
Eligibility usually turns on some combination of receiving certain benefits, a low household income, or living in a home a council or scheme has flagged as hard to heat — off-gas-grid properties with old storage heaters come up often for that last reason. Homeowners and private tenants can both be eligible depending on the scheme, and some also cover landlords replacing heating in a rented property. The detail of who counts changes with each scheme, so treat this as the general shape rather than a checklist to tick off yourself.
How to check what is actually available
The reliable way to check is gov.uk itself, which lists the schemes currently open and their eligibility, or your own energy supplier, who will know what they are funding this year. Your local council is worth a call too, particularly if you are on a low income but do not receive a qualifying benefit — flexible eligibility routes exist precisely for households like that. We are happy to look at a heater and say honestly whether a grant-funded replacement looks realistic for your situation, but we are not the people who decide eligibility, so the schemes themselves are where that answer has to come from.
If you do not qualify
Not qualifying for a grant does not mean the choice is between an expensive replacement or living with a heater wasting its charge. We covered what actually decides a storage heater's running cost in another article, and a unit that is simply set wrong for the weather often needs nothing more than the dials adjusting. Where a heater genuinely is failing, a modern high heat retention unit — the Dimplex Quantum range is one example — holds its charge longer and wastes less of it than an old analogue-dial heater, which narrows the gap a grant would otherwise have closed.
We can look at what you have, tell you honestly whether it is worth repairing, adjusting or replacing, and price a straight replacement against our charges page rather than a guessed figure.
If you are unsure, it is always cheaper to ask than to guess. Give us a call and we will tell you straight.