The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is a government energy-efficiency scheme in Great Britain, designed to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. ECO is an obligation placed on energy companies to deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic premises. ECO is not a grant scheme; it is up to the energy companies to determine which retrofit projects they choose to fund, the level of funding they provide, and the Retrofit Coordinator and installers that they choose to work with.

ECO4 measures were able to be delivered from the 1 April 2022. The ECO4 scheme will run until 31 March 2026.

ECO4 focusses on improving the least energy efficient homes and households in fuel poverty, as only properties in bands D-G can be treated. It also aims to deliver a more complete upgrade of those homes, shifting to a multi-measure whole-house retrofit approach. Furthermore, a minimum number of private tenure homes in energy efficiency rating band E, F and G must be upgraded throughout ECO4, ensuring the least efficient homes are treated.

There is a new Minimum Requirement (MR) to improve the energy efficiency rating of band D and E homes to at least a band C and band F and G homes to at least a band D. ECO4 aims to encourage the installation of various energy efficient measures such as insulation measures, first time central heating, renewable heating, and district heating connections.

ECO4 is a scheme that provides support from energy suppliers to homeowners or private tenants who are on qualifying benefits. Eligibility for the ECO4 scheme is determined through a DWP check, which verifies your benefits status. You could be eligible for the ECO4 funding if you receive any of the following benefits: Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Income-related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support (IS), Universal Credit (UC), Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit (WTC), Child Tax Credits (CTC), Pension Credit Guarantee.

The scheme is also available to those who are on a household income of £31,000 (gross) or under, who are referred by their doctor/energy provider, or a qualifying benefit to get central heating and insulation.

An Air Source Heat Pump can save you up to £260 annually
Solar Panels can save you up to £660 annually
Insulation can save you up to £225 annually

The Eco 4 grant states that you must have all the above measures installed to your property.

Grants from ECO4 are not loans; they are free and do not require repayment. As part of their obligation to the government, the energy companies bear the cost of the installations.

LA Flex, also known as Local Authority Eligibility Flexibility, helps homeowners or private tenants with the installation of home energy efficiency measures.

LA Flex is available to those who aren’t in receipt of tested means benefits but are living in fuel poverty or are on low income and vulnerable to living in a cold home. The application process for LA Flex will be carried out by ourselves on your behalf.

The Eco 4 grant is aimed to raise your EPC rating from a D,E,F AND G to a rating of C or above.

By raising your homes EPC rating to a C or above you are making your home more efficient. This means it will cost you less in heat and light.

Not only will it cost you less to live within your home, it also makes it more desirable to potential buyers if you were to choose to sell your property. Around 71% of homebuyers consider a homes EPC rating as an important part of their decision-making process, with many noting they would pay more for a home with a good EPC rating.

If you are a landlord or are considering becoming a landlord the new EPC regulations would mean that from April 2025 any rented property would need to have a certification rating of a C or above to legally let the property.

The Great British Insulation Scheme is a new government energy efficiency scheme (formerly known as ECO+). It is designed to deliver improvements to the least energy-efficient homes in Great Britain to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce energy bills.

The scheme complements the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme, yet unlike ECO4’s ‘whole house’ approach, this scheme will mostly deliver single insulation measures.

As well as supporting low-income and vulnerable households, it will also be available to those living in homes with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D-G, and within Council Tax bands A-D in England and A-E in Scotland and Wales.

The scheme will work by placing an obligation on medium and large energy companies to deliver measures that result in reduced energy usage. It is intended to run from around April 2023 until March 2026.

What is GBIS?