ECO Flex eligibility routes
There are 2 key criteria that need to be met to access an ECO grant:
- A gross household income of less than £31,000. Evidence will be required.
- A medical professional has identified an occupant whose health conditions may be adversely affected by living in a cold home
Heating and insulation measures
The aim of ECO is to reduce household energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.
If you and your home meet the criteria, then you might get support to:
- install central heating when you have no boiler or radiators
- replace storage heaters or coal fires with gas central heating
- replace a non-condensing combi boiler with a modern combi boiler
- replace a heat only boiler with a modern combi boiler
ECO4 won't provide for loft or cavity wall insulation on their own.
You will need to be able to prove ownership if you are an owner occupier.
It is important to note that eligibility for ECO doesn't necessarily mean that an energy supplier or installer will decide to install energy efficiency measures in your home.
Energy efficiency improvements
The amount of ECO funding that your property will attract is dependent upon the improvement made to your original Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
The EPC rates your property from an A to a G, with G being the least energy efficient. You can find your EPC (if you have one).
These are the improvements in the EPC your energy efficiency measures need to achieve to access ECO funding:
- if your existing EPC is an F or G then it needs to be able to be improved to a D
- if your existing EPC is a D or E then it must be able to be improved to a C
- private landlords can only access ECO to replace an old heating system with a renewable heating system if the existing EPC is an E, F or G
- social housing tenants need to be in receipt of a means tested benefit
What next?
If you think you meet the criteria outlined in points 1 to 4, you can find a Trustmark approved contractor near you to carry out a survey for the improvements you need.
Or, if you already have the name of a contractor, use the advanced search and enter the name of the contractor in the 'business name' box, then click on 'find tradespeople' to see which measures they provide.
You are responsible for choosing an installer to carry out the survey of your property to assess which heating and insulation measures may suit your property.
Once the contractor has assessed your property, they will be able to give you a quote to carry out the works and explain how much ECO funding is available.
If you wish to proceed with the works, the contractor will talk to you about which of the eligibility routes you should apply through.