Wales is the best-served nation for heat pump funding, and the most misunderstood. It has two separate routes: the UK-wide Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which pays £7,500 with no income test, and the Welsh Government’s Nest scheme, which can fund the whole job for eligible households.
What you cannot do is use both for the same installation. This page explains which route applies to you, and why the order you approach them in matters.
Route one: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Unlike Scotland, Wales is inside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Welsh households use it on exactly the same terms as English ones.
- £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump
- £9,000 if you are off the mains gas grid replacing oil or LPG, until 31 March 2027
- £2,500 for air-to-air, added in April 2026
- No income test, and no EPC requirement since April 2026
- Your installer applies to Ofgem and deducts the grant from your invoice
The scheme runs to 2030 and its budget rises each year, from £400 million in 2026/27 to £709 million in 2029/30. Our full guide to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers the eligibility rules and the disqualifiers that turn a signed quote into a rejected voucher.
This is the route for most Welsh homeowners, because it has no income conditions at all.
Route two: Nest
Nest, the Welsh Government Warm Homes programme, is the devolved scheme. It has run since 2011 and it is funded directly by the Welsh Government rather than through energy bills, which is a real difference from ECO4.
It does two distinct things, and the second is widely missed.
Free advice to every household in Wales. Not only to those who qualify for funded work. Any Welsh household can call for impartial advice on bills, tariffs and income, including benefit entitlement checks. Calls are welcomed in Welsh. That is worth using regardless of whether you are eligible for anything else, and it costs nothing.
Funded improvements for eligible households. For those who qualify, Nest arranges a whole-home assessment and then delivers a tailored package of improvements at no cost. That package can include a heat pump, insulation, solar panels, or a boiler repair or replacement.
Who qualifies for Nest
Broadly, Nest is aimed at lower-income households living in homes that are expensive to heat. In practice that means a combination of a means-tested benefit and a poor energy efficiency rating.
We are deliberately not publishing a precise eligibility table here, and the reason is worth stating. Nest’s criteria are set by the Welsh Government, have been revised more than once, and are assessed on your particular circumstances rather than on a checklist. A table on a website is exactly the kind of thing that goes out of date quietly and sends someone away who would have qualified.
The reliable answer is to call Nest directly on 0808 808 2244, Monday to Friday, or start from the Welsh Government’s Nest page. The call is free and the assessment costs nothing.
Two things that are stable enough to state. Private tenants can apply with the landlord’s consent. And Nest is demand-led with a fixed budget, so if you were turned down in a previous year it is worth asking again, because both the criteria and your circumstances may have changed.
Why you cannot use both
This is the point that catches people out, and it applies across UK grant schemes rather than being a Welsh quirk.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme excludes properties that have received other public funding towards the purchase or installation of the same system. If Nest funds your heat pump, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not available for it, and vice versa.
Which means the order matters:
- Check Nest first. If you qualify, the work is funded in full, which is plainly better than £7,500 off a £13,000 job.
- If Nest cannot help, use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. No income test, so it is open to you regardless.
Doing it the other way round, getting Boiler Upgrade Scheme quotes and then discovering you would have qualified for a fully funded installation, is an expensive mistake and an avoidable one.
What Nest will actually offer you
One honest caveat about how the scheme works, because it surprises people.
The package comes from the assessment, not from your request. Households hoping for a heat pump are sometimes offered insulation instead. Households wanting a new gas boiler are sometimes offered a heat pump. The assessor is looking at the whole property and deciding what will make the most difference, which is a sound way to run a fuel poverty programme and an occasionally frustrating way to be a customer.
If the assessment does not support a heat pump in your property, that is worth taking seriously rather than working around. It usually means the fabric needs attention first, which is the same advice we give on every property page.
The other schemes that apply in Wales
ECO4 operates across England, Scotland and Wales and runs to 31 December 2026, with no successor. It is funded by energy suppliers rather than by government, and for qualifying households it typically covers the full cost. Our full ECO4 guide covers both eligibility routes, including the one that works without any benefits at all. The practical deadline is considerably earlier than December, because supplier funding tightens once obligations are met.
Note that work funded through ECO is explicitly excluded from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, so the same stacking rule applies.
0% VAT on heat pump installations applies UK-wide until 31 March 2027, Wales included.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant is England only, so it does not apply here. Nest is the Welsh equivalent in function, though the two are administered quite differently.
Is a heat pump worth it in Wales?
The running cost arithmetic is the same across Great Britain, because the Ofgem price cap is. Under the cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, electricity is around 26.32p per kWh and gas around 7.97p. A gas boiler at 85% efficiency delivers heat at about 9.4p, so a heat pump needs a real-world seasonal efficiency of about 2.8 to match it.
The Welsh specific is the housing stock. Wales has a high proportion of older, solid-walled and rural properties, and a significant number off the mains gas grid on oil or LPG. Against oil, which delivers heat at roughly 12.0p to 12.8p per kWh, a heat pump wins comfortably, and those households also qualify for the £9,000 rate until March 2027.
For a solid-walled Welsh terrace or cottage, the fabric question matters more than the grant question. We work through it in heat pumps in a Victorian terrace, and the running cost arithmetic in whether a heat pump is worth it.
Frequently asked questions
These come up most often from Welsh homeowners.
Can I get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in Wales?
Yes. The scheme covers England and Wales, and Welsh households use it on identical terms: £7,500 towards a heat pump, £9,000 off the gas grid on oil or LPG until 31 March 2027, with no income test.
What is Nest?
Nest is the Welsh Government Warm Homes programme. It gives free impartial energy advice to every household in Wales, and funds home energy improvements in full for eligible lower-income households in homes that are expensive to heat.
Can I use Nest and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme together?
Not for the same installation. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme excludes systems that have received other public funding. Check Nest first, because if you qualify the work is funded in full.
Do I have to be on benefits to get help in Wales?
For Nest, broadly yes, though eligibility is assessed on your circumstances rather than a simple checklist. For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, no. There is no income test at all.
Can tenants apply?
For Nest, private tenants can apply with the landlord’s consent. For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the applicant is the property owner, so a landlord can claim but a tenant cannot.
Will Nest definitely give me a heat pump?
No. Nest designs a package from a whole-home assessment, so you may be offered insulation or a different heating measure instead. That is a feature of how the scheme works rather than a refusal.
Last updated 15 September 2026. Nest scheme scope verified against the Welsh Government’s Nest Warm Homes Programme information. Boiler Upgrade Scheme values and eligibility verified against Ofgem’s published scheme guidance, and budget figures against the DESNZ Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026 to 2030 Summary Business Case. Energy prices from the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Nest eligibility criteria are set by the Welsh Government and are revised periodically, so confirm the current position with Nest directly. Written by Ben Jardine.