First Time Central Heating

Nexcusecobuilt offers guidance on First Time Central Heating Grants available through the UK Government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme. This initiative is designed to help households lower their energy use and carbon footprint by making energy-efficient solutions more affordable and accessible.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for First Time Central Heating Grants, you must meet these requirements:

You must be a homeowner or a tenant in a privately rented property.
The property must not have had central heating installed before.
The new system must provide space heating using a boiler linked to radiators.
The main heating system listed on the home’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) determines eligibility.
The property must have an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G (some higher band D homes may not qualify).
Those living in council housing, housing association properties, or shared ownership homes are not eligible.

Why Installing Central Heating Means a Warmer, Greener, More Efficient Home

Fitting a central heating system in your home offers a range of advantages:

Greater comfort – Enjoy a cosy home all year, with the ability to control the temperature in each room separately to suit your needs.
Better energy efficiency – Modern central heating systems are designed to use energy more efficiently, helping lower your heating costs.
Healthier, safer living – Central heating can enhance indoor air quality and reduce the risk of carbon monoxide exposure, creating a safer, healthier space for your family.

Eligible Heating Systems

Your property must either have no existing heating or be using one of these heating systems:

Electric room heaters (such as direct-acting heaters, fan heaters, or old-style electric storage heaters)
Fixed mains gas room heaters
Gas fire with a back boiler
Solid fuel fire with a back boiler
Mains gas warm air heating
Electric underfloor or ceiling heating (not connected to an electric boiler)
Bottled LPG room heaters
Solid fuel room heaters
Wood or biomass room heaters
Oil-fuelled room heaters

ECO Flex rules let local councils confirm that a household is eligible for a grant even if no qualifying benefits are received. There are four routes to qualify through ECO Flex, all of which must be approved by your local authority first.

Approved Benefits or ECO Flex

To be eligible for First Time Central Heating Grants, you or a permanent resident in your home must receive at least one of the following state benefits, tax credits, or allowances — unless you meet the criteria through ECO Flex Rules:

Pension Credit – Guarantee Credit
Pension Credit – Savings Credit
Universal Credit
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
Income Support
Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)Child Benefit (subject to maximum household income)
Child Benefit (subject to maximum household income)
Housing Benefit

Home Insulation Solutions

To be eligible for First Time Central Heating Grants, your property must have proper loft insulation and, where applicable, cavity wall insulation. If these are missing at the time of your application, the installer of your central heating system can usually arrange for them to be fitted as part of the process

ECO4 Scheme Updates

One key change between ECO3 (which ended on 31/03/2022) and ECO4 (which began on 01/04/2022) is that to qualify for a First Time Central Heating grant for a mains gas system, the property must have had a mains gas connection before 31st March 2022. If your home didn’t have a gas supply before that date, you may still be eligible for a grant to install an air source heat pump.

Why Nexus Eco Built

Being loft insulation specialists, we have helped thousands of residents by just topping up the insulation level within the loft.

Our internal installers are fully qualified and have years of experience which we value highly.

All our loft insulation jobs come with

10 year manufacturer’s guarantee
2 year workmanship warranty
TrustMark certificate for the lifetime of the installation