Home Insulation Grants: What's Actually Open in 2026
Most ‘free insulation grant’ sites are out of date. Here’s the straight version: ECO4 is still open (to 31 December 2026), the Great British Insulation Scheme closed in March 2026, there is no ‘ECO5’ — and what you can get depends entirely on which nation you live in. Check yours in 60 seconds.
- ECO4 open to Dec 2026
- GBIS closed Mar 2026
- All 4 UK nations
- gov.uk-sourced
Free eligibility check · 60 seconds · no details needed
Which insulation grant could you get?
Answer four quick questions and we’ll tell you honestly which live scheme is most likely to apply where you live — including if none does. Nothing is submitted; no contact details are asked for.
What’s open, what’s closed — the bit most sites get backwards
Half the insulation-grant web has the two facts that matter most the wrong way round. It tells you ECO4 closed in March 2026 — it didn’t; the government extended it by nine months, so it runs to 31 December 2026 (gov.uk response, 23 January 2026). And it presents the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) as still open — it isn’t; GBIS closed on 31 March 2026 and the eligibility checker is shut. There is also no ‘ECO5’: the November 2025 Budget confirmed no successor obligation after ECO4.
We keep the status of every scheme correct, dated, and separated by nation — because a grant built on a closed scheme is worth nothing to you.
- ECO4 — OPEN in England, Scotland and Wales until 31 December 2026.
- GBIS — CLOSED since 31 March 2026. Ignore any site still advertising it.
- Warm Homes: Local Grant — OPEN in England, run by your council.
- There is no ‘ECO5’ and no ‘new April 2026 grant’ — those are invented.
Home insulation grants in 2026, by the numbers
What do you want to insulate — and what’s your situation?
Different measures are funded differently, and grants matter most for the expensive ones. Pick yours for the honest funding picture, including routes for renters and people not on benefits.
Loft insulation grants
Loft insulation is the cheapest, most-funded measure — roughly £900 to buy outright at 0% VAT, or fully funded through ECO4 or your nation's scheme if you are on a qualifying benefit and your home has a poor EPC.
Cavity wall insulation grants
Cavity wall insulation typically costs around £2,700 and is funded across several UK grant schemes, but only if a survey confirms your walls have suitable unfilled cavities in good condition.
Solid wall insulation grants
Solid wall insulation is the most expensive measure to install and the one where a grant makes the biggest difference — but it is also where poor-quality installs have caused the most damage, so who does the work matters as much as who funds it.
Underfloor insulation grants
Insulating a suspended timber floor typically costs £1,400–£2,500, and several schemes will fund it — ECO4, the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, the Home Energy Scotland Grant (up to £2,000 for floors) and Warm Homes Nest in Wales — usually alongside a wider home upgrade.
Room-in-roof insulation grants
Room-in-roof insulation treats the sloping ceilings, dwarf walls and flat sections of a habitable attic or loft conversion. It typically costs £1,500 to £10,000 and can be funded through ECO4, the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Home Energy Scotland or Affordable Warmth, depending on where you live and whether you qualify.
Park home insulation grants
Park homes are named in scheme measure lists but treated as non-standard construction, so generic insulation advice rarely fits. ECO4 (to 31 December 2026) and your nation's local scheme are the routes that matter — here is what applies and how to check you qualify.
‘Free’ isn’t always free — and quality is a real risk
Here’s the honest part every lead-generation funnel leaves out. Grant funding is often generous, but it is not always fully free: ECO4 installers can ask for a contribution on high-cost measures like solid wall, GBIS was explicitly ‘not a grant scheme’, and Scotland’s Home Energy Scotland Grant funds 75% of the cost, not all of it. And there’s a quality risk the adverts never mention: the National Audit Office found in October 2025 that around 98% of external-wall-insulation jobs under ECO4 and GBIS had defects, which triggered free TrustMark ‘Find & Fix’ audits.
So we tell you straight: get any contribution in writing, insist on a TrustMark-registered installer working to PAS 2035, and never pay upfront or start before written grant approval. Telling you when a grant doesn’t fit is part of the job.
- Real schemes are applied for via gov.uk, Home Energy Scotland, NIEAS or your council — never a doorstep seller.
- Insist on TrustMark + PAS 2035; a compliant job starts with a retrofit assessment.
- Be wary of spray-foam loft insulation — it can block mortgages and is a known mis-selling trap.
- If you had grant-funded external wall insulation, check whether it needs a Find & Fix audit.
ECO4 vs the Great British Insulation Scheme
| ECO4 Open to 31 Dec 2026 | GBIS Closed 31 Mar 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Still open in 2026 | ||
| How many measures | Whole-house (fabric first) | Single measure |
| Main route in | Benefits or council ECO4 Flex | Was benefits or council-tax band |
| Nations | England, Scotland, Wales | England, Scotland, Wales |
| Northern Ireland | ||
| Apply now? | Via supplier / council | No — use a live scheme instead |
What a typical ECO4 claim can look like
A 1930s semi-detached home in the East Midlands, EPC band E, with a household on Universal Credit. The loft is under-insulated and the cavity walls are unfilled. This is an illustrative example of how the scheme fits together — not a named customer.
Home insulation grants — your questions, answered straight
The questions homeowners and renters ask us most, answered honestly with dated, sourced facts.
Is ECO4 still open in 2026, or did it close in March?
It's still open. ECO4 did NOT close on 31 March 2026 — the government extended it by nine months (confirmed in the response published 23 January 2026), so it now runs to 31 December 2026. Any site telling you 'ECO4 closed in March 2026' is wrong. Note that suppliers may stop taking new referrals before the legal end date as they finish their obligations.
Can I still apply for the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)?
No. GBIS closed on 31 March 2026 and the gov.uk eligibility checker is shut — it now reads that the service to check for free or cheaper insulation has closed. Don't trust any site presenting GBIS as open. Depending on where you live, look at ECO4, the Warm Homes: Local Grant (England), Warmer Homes Scotland/Home Energy Scotland, Nest (Wales) or Affordable Warmth (NI) instead.
Is there an 'ECO5' or a new free-grant scheme starting after ECO4?
No. The November 2025 Budget confirmed there will be NO successor supplier obligation after ECO4 — there is no 'ECO5'. Future support in England moves to grant funding under the Warm Homes Plan (mainly the Warm Homes: Local Grant), not a new supplier scheme. Sites advertising 'ECO5' or 'new grants from April 2026' are inventing it.
Are insulation grants actually free, or do I have to pay something?
It depends on the scheme and the measure. Some are effectively free (Warmer Homes Scotland; qualifying Affordable Warmth in NI). ECO4 is often fully funded, but installers can request a top-up for high-cost measures like solid wall. GBIS was explicitly 'not a grant scheme' and general-group households often part-paid. The Home Energy Scotland Grant funds 75% of cost (up to £7,500), not 100%. Always get the funding and any contribution in writing before agreeing.
Which insulation grant applies where I live?
Your nation decides. England: ECO4 + Warm Homes: Local Grant. Scotland: Home Energy Scotland Grant & Loan, Warmer Homes Scotland, Area Based Schemes (ECO4 too). Wales: Nest (ECO4 too). Northern Ireland: Affordable Warmth and NISEP — ECO4 and GBIS do NOT operate in NI. Never rely on an England-only article if you're in Scotland, Wales or NI.
Do I need to be on benefits to get an insulation grant?
Not always. Benefit-gated routes include ECO4 (benefits route), Warmer Homes Scotland and Affordable Warmth. But there are non-benefit routes: ECO4 Flex (council referral), the Warm Homes: Local Grant income route (household income usually ≤£36,000) or its low-income-postcode route, and the Home Energy Scotland Grant which has no benefits test at all. And even if you don't qualify for a grant, insulation installation is currently 0% VAT in Great Britain.
Check your insulation grant options
We aim to reply within one working day
Tell us a little about your home and we’ll help you work out which live insulation grant fits — ECO4, the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Home Energy Scotland, Nest or Affordable Warmth — and point you to a genuinely TrustMark-registered installer if you want one. We’re an independent guide, not an installer, and we run no grant. Applying to the schemes is always free.
- 1. Tell us your situation — your nation, tenure and roughly how efficient your home is.
- 2. We sense-check the grant and tell you honestly which scheme (if any) applies.
- 3. You decide — no obligation, and no pushy calls.
- Independent guide
- gov.uk & Ofgem-sourced
- TrustMark / PAS 2035
- No obligation