Energy help checker 2026/27
Answer a few questions and see which winter energy help you are likely to get — Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment, Cold Weather Payment, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Warm Homes: Local Grant and ECO4 — with the amount and what to do next. Built from gov.uk rules; nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Winter 2026/27
£0
in cash or bill credit you look likely to get · 1 scheme likely. Grants for heat pumps and insulation are on top.
Not on these answers
Warm Home Discount: £150 off your electricity bill
In England and Wales the 2026/27 scheme is for people getting Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit on 23 August 2026.
Next: If you started one of those benefits after 23 August, you will be too late for this winter.
Official sourceCheck / apply
Winter Fuel Payment: £100 to £300
Enter your date of birth: you qualify if you were born on or before 27 June 1960.
Next: Most people are paid automatically in November or December 2026.
Official sourceNot on these answers
Cold Weather Payment: £25 per 7-day cold spell
Cold Weather Payments are only for people getting Pension Credit, income-related ESA, Universal Credit or Support for Mortgage Interest (with extra conditions).
Official sourceLikely eligible
Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500 heat pump grant
You own the property and are replacing fossil-fuel or electric heating.
Next: You do not apply yourself: an MCS-certified installer applies and takes the grant off the quote. Also £5,000 for a biomass boiler or £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump. You need a valid EPC.
Official sourceCheck / apply
Warm Homes: Local Grant: Free insulation, heat pump or solar
Household income usually has to be £36,000 or less — unless you live in a qualifying postcode or someone gets certain benefits.
Next: The gov.uk checker tells you if your postcode qualifies.
Official sourceNot on these answers
Energy Company Obligation (ECO4): Insulation or heating upgrades
ECO4 for private housing needs a qualifying benefit (UC, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Child Benefit or Housing Benefit).
Next: Your council may still help through the Warm Homes: Local Grant (England).
Official sourceAn eligibility guide from gov.uk rules read 30 September 2026 — not a decision. Only DWP, HMRC, your supplier or council can confirm.
What each scheme pays this winter
| Scheme | Amount | Where | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Home Discount | £150 off electricity | England, Wales, Scotland | Mostly automatic; reopens Oct 2026 |
| Winter Fuel Payment | £100–£300 | England, Wales, NI | Automatic; paid Nov–Dec 2026 |
| Cold Weather Payment | £25 per cold week | England, Wales | Automatic, 1 Nov 2026–31 Mar 2027 |
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme | £7,500 (+£1,500 off-gas) | England, Wales | Installer applies |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | Free upgrades | England | Apply on gov.uk → council survey |
| ECO4 | Insulation / heating | Great Britain | Council or supplier; closing |
Warm Home Discount 2026/27
The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 off your electricity bill; the money is not paid to you. The scheme has closed for last winter and reopens in October 2026. In England and Wales you may be eligible if, on 23 August 2026, you or your partner got Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit, your name (or your partner’s) was on the electricity bill, and your supplier is in the scheme. Prepayment customers still qualify — usually as a top-up voucher. In Scotland, the “core group” (for example Pension Credit, a disability or health extra on Universal Credit, or a child under 5 with a qualifying benefit) gets it automatically; everyone else applies to their supplier. It is not available in Northern Ireland (see Affordable Warmth).
Suppliers in the 2026/27 scheme: 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK), Boost, British Gas, E (Gas and Electricity), Ecotricity, EDF, EnergyCoop (see Octopus Energy), E.ON Next, Fuse Energy, Good Energy, Home Energy, London Power, Octopus Energy, Outfox Energy, OVO, Sainsbury's Energy, Scottish Gas (see British Gas), ScottishPower, So Energy, Square 1 Energy, TruEnergy, Tulo Energy, Utilita, Utility Warehouse. If your supplier stops trading, Ofgem appoints a new one and you may still be eligible.
Winter Fuel Payment 2026 to 2027
You can get a Winter Fuel Payment if you were born on or before 27 June 1960 and usually live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. The qualifying week is 21 to 27 September 2026. Living alone (or with no one else eligible), or getting Pension Credit, Universal Credit or income-related ESA, it is £200 if you were born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960 and £300 if born before 28 September 1946. Couples with no qualifying benefit get less each (£100–£200), and care-home residents £100 or £150. Letters go out in October or November and most people are paid in November or December 2026. If your own total income is over £35,000, HMRC takes the payment back through your tax code or Self Assessment. People in Scotland get a Pension Age Winter Heating Payment instead.
Cold Weather Payment
£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather (average recorded or forecast at 0°C or below) between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027, paid automatically. You usually qualify on Pension Credit; on income-related ESA if you are in the work-related activity or support group (or have a disability or pensioner premium, a disabled child or a child under 5); and on Universal Credit if neither you nor your partner works and one of you has limited capability for work or you have a child under 5 — or if your claim includes a disabled child amount. Check your postcode on gov.uk.
Grants to upgrade the home
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales): £7,500 towards an air or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler and £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump — plus £1,500 more until March 2027 if the home is heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas connection. One grant per property; you cannot use it for a hybrid system or to replace low-carbon heating. Warm Homes: Local Grant (England only): free insulation, heat pumps, smart controls or solar, arranged and paid for by your council, if the home is privately owned, rated EPC D–G and household income is usually £36,000 or less (or you live in a qualifying postcode or get certain benefits). Helpline 0800 098 7950. ECO4 (Great Britain) is winding down — the Great British Insulation Scheme closed on 31 March 2026 and DESNZ consulted on extending ECO4 only to 31 December 2026.
Running a business? Heat pumps for business premises also qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — see our Climate Change Levy checker and price cap tables for bills.
Sources read 30 September 2026: gov.uk Warm Home Discount (England & Wales, Scotland, supplier list) · Winter Fuel Payment · Cold Weather Payment · Boiler Upgrade Scheme · Warm Homes: Local Grant · Energy Company Obligation · Warm Homes Plan. This page is general information, not benefits advice.
Questions people ask
- In England and Wales, people who on 23 August 2026 got Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit, with their name (or their partner’s) on the electricity bill and a supplier in the scheme. It is £150 off the electricity bill, usually applied automatically after the scheme reopens in October 2026. In Scotland some people get it automatically and others apply to their supplier. It does not run in Northern Ireland.
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