We make sure our customers are taking the opportunity to get their energy efficiency improvements wherever possible on a fully funded basis. We will guide you through the process from the initial paperwork and survey all the way to installation and beyond (we’ll even give you a 2 year warranty on the parts and labour for an air source heat pump for example).
We identify if you qualify for funding via normal HHCRO rules. We work directly with the Energy Savings Trust to identify benefit and credit types via the Department of Work & Pensions. We’ll also guide you through the application process for Local Authority Flexibility if that’s what’s needed.
Below is an example of what the typical steps are for our customers, in this case where an inefficient boiler is being replaced with a brand new air source heat pump.
Our qualified surveyor will carry out an initial survey on your property.
We'll calculate the funding levels available to you, keeping you informed every step of the way.
Carried out by a qualified retrofit surveyor.
The cost of any new measures will be assessed, keeping you informed every step of the way.
Installation of a brand new air source heat pump.
ECO is a programme which helps you make your home more energy efficient without facing big upfront costs. Instead, it allows you to access funding available through the big energy companies via accredited installers. ECO4 is the 4th phase of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
Energy efficiency measures available through ECO help to make homes more energy-efficient, tackling fuel poverty and making energy more affordable for users. This includes measures for fabric, service and renewable installation options.
Check out the table below for a more in depth view on ECO, what’s available and whether you may qualify for funding.
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government energy efficiency scheme in Great Britain to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty.
The scheme began in April 2013, and over time it has been amended. The latest changes to the scheme occurred in July 2022 with the launch of “ECO 4”
ECO energy efficiency measures contribute to the target and commitment agreed by the UK government in line with the International climate change agreements of Kyoto (1997) and Paris (2016) to reach net zero by 2050.
This ECO policy is formed from two obligations, the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO) and Local Authority Flexibility Scheme (LA Flex). The process can be very complicated and difficult to arrange – that’s where we come in.
We’ve been putting people and energy efficiency grants together since ECO started in 2013. Every single person involved in the customer experience is a CES employee, from surveyors and admin staff right the way through to the installers.
All measures handled under one roof!
The Energy Company Obligation places a requirement on the biggest energy suppliers to install energy-saving measures in people’s homes.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) regulates the monopoly companies which run the gas and electricity networks. It takes decisions on price controls and enforcement, acting in the interests of consumers and helping the industries to achieve environmental improvements.
Under the scheme, energy companies can determine which measures they offer to install, how much funding they provide and the installers that do the work.
The current big six energy suppliers are:
ECO is prioritised to low-income and vulnerable households. To benefit from the scheme, applicants must either own their house, or have the permission of their landlord. This includes social housing tenants.
You may be eligible for ECO if you receive the Warm Home Discount (which helps fuel-poor homes), or if you receive one of the following benefits:
You may also be eligible for ECO funding if you live in social housing that has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D or lower.
The HHCRO scheme (“Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation”, also known as “The Affordable Warmth Obligation”) offers support to eligible applicants to enable them to reduce the cost of heating their property through the installation of energy efficient measures.
The grant scheme is focused initially on vulnerable and low income households in a bid to reduce UK instances of fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is defined as a household that is not able to adequately heat their property at an affordable cost. As a guide fuel poverty is said to occur when more than 10% of a household’s income is spent on heating the home to an adequate level. Recent increases in fuel prices has led to a sharp increase of the number of UK home owners in this predicament.
If you are a home owner or live in private rented accommodation, and are in receipt of any of the following benefits you will qualify for HHCRO funding:
If you receive Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment Support Allowance one of the following must also apply:
If you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit one of the following must also apply:
Flexible Eligibility, often shortened to LA Flex, is a part of the UK Government’s new phase of the Energy Company Obligation Scheme – ECO4.
Councils have the power to widen the eligibility criteria for ECO, allowing them to tailor energy efficiency schemes to their respective area.
This allows more residents, in addition to those claiming benefits, to qualify for ECO funding, often on the basis of low incomes, health, age or area, giving councils the ability to support specific communities.
LA Flex must define criteria that proves residents are either living in fuel poverty or are on low income and vulnerable to living in a cold home.
Local authorities can use LA Flex to help homeowners and private renting tenants benefit from the installation of home energy efficiency measures. However, the Flexible Eligibility route is not applicable for social housing tenants.
You can apply by either calling our friendly expert advisors on:
or by clicking the link below to find out if you qualify. If you are successful, you will be asked for a few details and one of our experts will call you back within 72 hours.
HUG funding is available to you whether you own or privately rent your home, subject to the eligibility criteria. Permission will also be required from your landlord if you’re in private rented accommodation.
Local authorities will be able to access HUG to support low income households by upgrading the energy efficiency of properties off the gas network in England.
The £150m of funding intends to enable the installation of multiple measures that improve the energy efficiency of these properties.
Check out the table below for a more in depth view on HUG, what’s available and whether you may qualify for funding.
In the recent Sustainable Warmth: Protecting Vulnerable Households in England strategy, the government committed £150 million through the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) scheme to help low-income households in the worst-performing off-gas-grid homes in England become more energy efficient and cheaper to heat with low-carbon energy, contributing to both fuel poverty and net zero targets.
Through the extended scheme, tens of thousands more households on incomes of less than £30,000 will not have to make any financial contribution to energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
Delivered through the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator, this will include green home improvements such as deep insulation, heat pumps and solar panels, helping cut over 70,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year.
The HUG scheme is part of the Governments ten point plan to reduce carbon emissions in the UK and reach their commitment of net zero by 2050.
Home upgrades can help households save over £300 a year on their energy bills. This announcement is part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to pledge over £9 billion to increase the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals to work to build back greener.
To qualify for HUG funding with CES:
You can apply by either calling our friendly expert advisors on:
or by clicking the link below to find out if you qualify. If you are successful, you will be asked for a few details and one of our experts will call you back within 72 hours.
If you would like to see if you qualify for any of the above grants with us, click the link below and follow the decision tree by answering a few questions. If you are successful, you will be asked for a few details and one of our experts will call you back within 72 hours.
