ECO4 Scheme Explained: How to Get Free Insulation and Heating in the UK

ECO4 stands for Energy Company Obligation 4. It is a government scheme in Great Britain that legally requires the larger energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency improvements in low-income and fuel-poor households. Ofgem runs it and publishes the list of suppliers taking part. It does not run in Northern Ireland.

The scheme started in April 2022, following ECO3, and after a nine-month extension confirmed by the government in January 2026 it runs until 31 December 2026. ECO4 takes a "fabric first" approach, meaning insulation comes before heating system replacements.

ECO4 works on the whole home rather than one measure at a time, and the assessor designs a package to lift the EPC rating. Use our EPC improvement planner to see what upgrades your property needs.

There are three routes to eligibility: the benefits route for owners and private tenants, the social housing route, and the ECO4 Flex route through your council.

Benefits route

You qualify if you or someone in your household receives one of these benefits and your home has the right EPC rating: D, E, F or G if you own it, or E, F or G if you rent it privately.

Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit or Savings Credit), Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Housing Benefit, or Child Benefit. Child Benefit only counts below a household income limit: £19,900 to £34,500 for a single parent and £27,500 to £42,000 for a couple, rising with the number of children. Tax credits ended in April 2025.

A private tenant needs the landlord's permission for the work. Social housing rated E, F or G can qualify on the property alone, with no benefit needed; your council or housing association arranges it.

ECO4 Flex route

If you do not receive qualifying benefits, your local council can refer you through ECO4 Flex. The most common route is a gross household income below £31,000. The others are a set of low income proxies, a referral on health grounds, and targeting set by the council. The EPC rules are the same as the benefits route, D to G for owners and E to G for private tenants, except that the low income proxy route needs E to G for owners too. Flex is for private housing only, so social housing is not covered by it.

ECO4 Flex is worth exploring even if you think you will not qualify through the main route. Contact your council's energy or housing team to ask. Some councils are proactive about identifying eligible households, while others require you to approach them.

Use our ECO4 and grant eligibility checker to see in a minute which funding routes are open to you.

ECO4 takes a whole-house approach. An assessor visits your property, identifies all the improvements needed, and the installer carries out the full package. Here is what the scheme can fund.

The "fabric first" principle means the assessor looks at insulation before heating, so expect loft and wall insulation to come ahead of a new boiler where they are missing.

ECO4 does fund air source heat pumps and solar panels in some homes, usually as part of a package, but if you own your home and simply want a heat pump, the separate Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the direct route. Windows and doors are rarely funded.

The annual savings depend on which measures are installed and your property type. The government measures what homes actually used before and after each measure. Here is what those measured savings mean for a typical 3-bed semi using 11,000 kWh of gas a year.

Savings from several measures do not simply add up, because each one works on a smaller remaining bill. The bigger gain for many ECO4 households is a warmer home. Use our insulation savings calculator for figures specific to your property type.

There is no single government application form. The process works through installers and energy suppliers.

Step 1: Check your eligibility. Use our grant eligibility checker or confirm that you receive one of the qualifying benefits listed above, and look up your rating on the GOV.UK EPC register. If unsure, contact your energy supplier or local council.

Step 2: Contact your council or an energy supplier taking part. GOV.UK suggests asking your council whether it is taking part, or contacting a participating energy supplier directly; Ofgem lists them. Installers and agents may also contact you. If you are not sure an offer is genuine, check with your council or the supplier they say they represent.

Step 3: Property assessment. A qualified assessor visits your home to survey its current condition, measure insulation levels, check the heating system, and determine which measures are needed. They produce a retrofit assessment based on PAS 2035 standards.

Step 4: Installation. Once approved, the installer carries out the work. This may involve multiple trades (insulation, heating, ventilation) and can take several days to several weeks depending on the scope. The installer manages the full process.

Step 5: Post-installation check. After completion, the installer should arrange a post-installation inspection and provide documentation including any warranties. A new EPC should be commissioned to confirm the improvement.

ECO4 is aimed at owner-occupiers, private tenants and social housing. A privately rented home qualifies if it is rated E, F or G and the tenant receives a qualifying benefit or is referred by the council. The landlord must consent to the work and may be asked to contribute to the cost, depending on the installer and the measures involved.

For landlords facing minimum EPC requirements, which the Warm Homes Plan raises to band C by October 2030, ECO4 can cut the cost of the work. If your tenant qualifies, the scheme could fund solid wall insulation or a boiler upgrade that would otherwise cost thousands. If the work would pass the £10,000 cap, Landlord Planner, our sister site for landlords, explains the EPC exemptions.

Landlords can also access the separate Boiler Upgrade Scheme for heat pump installation, and benefit from 0% VAT on insulation and renewable energy measures until 31 March 2027.

ECO4 Flex was introduced to help households who are fuel-poor but do not receive qualifying benefits. Under Flex, your local council can declare you eligible through one of four routes set by Ofgem:

Route 1, household income: Gross annual household income below £31,000, adding up every adult who lives there. The threshold is the same whatever the size of the home or where it is.

Route 2, low income proxies: Meeting at least two of a set of low income indicators, such as living in one of the most deprived areas, getting a low income Council Tax reduction, or having a child eligible for free school meals. On this route an owned home must be rated E to G.

Route 3, health referral: A referral on health grounds, for a household member with a condition made worse by living in a cold home.

Route 4, council targeting: Targeting designed by the council for its own area.

Whatever the route, the home must be rated D to G if you own it (E to G on the proxy route), or E to G if you rent privately, and social housing is not covered by Flex. Councils decide whether to take part and how actively they promote it, so it is always worth asking your council's housing or environmental health team.

All ECO4 work must comply with PAS 2035, the UK standard for retrofitting domestic buildings. This means a qualified retrofit assessor must survey your property before work begins, a retrofit coordinator must oversee the project, and all installers must be TrustMark registered.

In practice, quality varies. Some installers deliver excellent work. Others cut corners, particularly on ventilation (which must be addressed when insulating a property to prevent condensation problems). Here is what to look for:

Before work starts: You should receive a clear explanation of what will be installed, how long it will take, and what disruption to expect. The assessor should check for damp, asbestos risk, and ventilation needs. If they do not mention ventilation, ask. See our guide on loft insulation lifespan to judge material quality.

During installation: Workers should protect your home, clean up daily, and communicate about progress. Loft insulation should reach 270mm. Cavity wall insulation should fill all cavities evenly. Wall insulation should include a vapour control layer where required.

After completion: You should receive a handover pack with details of what was installed, any warranties, and care instructions. A new EPC should be arranged. If you are not satisfied with the work, raise concerns immediately with the installer and, if unresolved, contact TrustMark's dispute resolution service. A thermal imaging camera can confirm insulation coverage after installation.

ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026. The Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, brings supplier obligations to a close, so there will be no ECO5. Support for low income households moves to government grants run through councils: the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England now, and from 2027/28 a single low income scheme that the government intends to create by merging it with the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.

If you think you might qualify, apply now rather than waiting. The work has to be installed by 31 December 2026, not just approved, and the council run schemes that follow do not offer identical coverage. Insulation installed under ECO4 keeps working long after the scheme ends.

ECO4 is not the only funding available. Depending on your circumstances, you may also qualify for:

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS): £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, or £9,000 until 31 March 2027 for homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas, for owners in England and Wales replacing fossil fuel or electric heating. Read our full BUS guide. This can be combined with ECO4 insulation.

0% VAT on energy efficiency measures: Insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps installed in residential properties qualify for 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. This applies even if you are paying for the work yourself.

Warm Home Discount: A £150 discount on your winter electricity bill. In England and Wales it goes to households on Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit, and Scotland has its own rules. It is separate from ECO4 and usually applied automatically by your supplier.

Use our grant eligibility checker to see all available funding for your situation. If you are considering a heat pump alongside ECO4 insulation, our heat pump calculator shows the combined cost after all grants.

Once your home has been insulated and upgraded through ECO4, a few additional steps maximise the benefit.

Get a new EPC. The improvements will significantly change your rating. A new EPC documents this, which matters if you sell or rent the property. Use our EPC improvement planner to estimate your new rating.

Learn your heating controls. Many households have the right equipment but use it inefficiently. If you received new heating controls, spend time understanding the programmer and thermostat.

Monitor your energy usage. Compare your bills before and after to confirm the savings are materialising. Check our average energy bills guide to benchmark against typical households.

Address remaining heat loss. ECO4 may not cover everything. Draught-proofing, secondary glazing, and chimney balloons are cheap additions you can do yourself to squeeze out further savings. Read our guide to improving your EPC rating for the full list of options.

ECO4 eligibility from GOV.UK and the ECO4 Order 2022, Schedule 1. Scheme administration and Flex routes from Ofgem (ECO4 and GBIS Flex local authority guidance, version 3.0). End date from the government response Extending the ECO4 end date. Measures installed from the DESNZ Household Energy Efficiency statistics, June 2026. Measured savings from DESNZ NEED Impact of Measures 2026. Installation costs from Energy Saving Trust, 2026. Gas boiler cost from the DESNZ Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026 to 2030 summary business case, footnote 8. Installer standards from TrustMark.