What Can ECO4 Do for My Home?

What is ECO4?

ECO4 is a scheme put in place by the UK government to do 2 things. First, ECO4 is part of the governments commitments to achieving its Net Zero targets by 2050. Second, it has been designed to target the most vulnerable households in the UK, and the most fuel poor who may not otherwise have access to measures that can improve their home’s energy efficiency.

ECO4 is the fourth, and most likely final, phase of the Energy Company Obligation scheme that has been running in different phases since 2013. The funding for the ECO scheme comes from the largest energy suppliers in the UK, with £1 billion allocated to provide the measures available under ECO4 (we’ll explain more on these later).

ECO4 is in place to improve the energy performance of homes throughout the country, with measures available completely for free for eligible homes to achieve that goal. Improving the energy efficiency of qualifying homes means that they will use less energy to heat them and retain more of that energy through things like insulation. This in turn will ensure that the carbon footprint of the country goes down, as well as lower the energy bills of the most vulnerable in society.

Who can take advantage of ECO4?

ECO4 is available to a large group of people throughout the UK, who fit a specific set of criteria. The two main parts of qualifying criteria are your homes EPC rating, and whether you are on a qualifying benefit.

Your EPC rating refers to the score you have for your homes Energy Performance certificate. Put briefly homes with an EPC of D, E, F, or G are eligible for ECO4 funding, as long as the occupants are also on a qualifying benefit. These homes have been chosen as they are the least energy efficient homes in the country and the ones that can benefit most from improving their EPC. We have more information on EPC ratings and why they’re important for your home here, to help explain why the government has chosen EPC ratings and energy efficiency as their criteria for measuring ECO4’s success.

The list of qualifying benefits for ECO4 is comprehensive and specific to ensure that in the government’s own words “to help better target households which are more likely to be on low incomes”. As long as you are in receipt of one of the following benefits that you have met that half of the criteria for ECO4:

Who can’t take advantage (LA flex)

Despite ECO4 being available to a large section of households in the country, there are still even more who unfortunately don’t meet the criteria for ECO4. For example, home’s already rated C or higher on their EPC are excluded from the scheme. Naturally when you need to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit to be eligible for ECO4 then those who aren’t in receipt of one of those benefits will be excluded also.

However, there are instances where some households that don’t qualify for ECO4 under the eligibility criteria can get access to some of the ECO4 improvements. This is thanks to a part of the scheme called LA Flex.

LA Flex stands for Local Authority Flexibility Eligibility. It is a part of the ECO4 scheme that allows local authorities to make decisions that allow certain members of the public who are not in receipt of an eligible benefit to still get access to funding. This is so that as many people who genuinely need the help and support can get it. People who are under NHS referrals, people living in fuel poverty, and people who are deemed as vulnerable are often among those considered for funding under LA Flex.

Local authorities are allowed to set their own criteria to determine who should receive the funding, so an application is the best way to find out whether you would be eligible in your area.

Are you eligible for an ECO4 grant?

What measures exist under ECO4?

ECO4 offers a wide variety of measures that can be taken to improve your home’s energy efficiency and raise your EPC rating. There is also a wide range of criteria for installers to follow that determines what measures can be installed in homes, as well as the order that measures have to be prioritised to hit the goals of the ECO4 scheme.

Ensuring that homes are insulated properly is the highest priority for ECO4, with Cavity Wall, Loft, and External/Internal Wall insulation being among the most common measures installed through ECO4. There are also a wide range of draught proofing options such as improved window glazing options that could potentially be installed.

Beyond improved insulation, measures such as boiler upgrade and replacement, green heating solutions, and even solar installations are all measures that can be installed to boost energy performance and efficiency under ECO4.

Measures Breakdown

Since there are so many different measures available through ECO4 we’ve broken down some of the biggest and most common so that you have a better understanding of what you might have installed, and how it will benefit your home.

Home Insulation

Insulating your home is the best way to prevent heat loss. All homes experience heat loss to some degree, and it can be through the walls, the roof, or even the floor! By minimising the amount of heat your home loses you will reduce the amount of energy used to keep it warm and could make savings of £500 depending on your home and the type of insulation installed.

Loft insulation is designed to prevent heat escaping from your roof and should be installed in all homes. Cavity Wall insulation is designed to prevent heat leaving through the gap between interior and external walls, since not all homes have cavity walls, this isn’t always suitable. Underfloor insulation is designed to ensure that heat doesn’t escape underneath your floorboards if you have a home with a suspended floor. Again, this doesn’t apply to every home in the country, and isn’t suitable for all homes.

Boiler Upgrades

Under ECO4 you could have an old and inefficient boiler replaced for a modern, energy efficient model that has up to 98% efficiency. You could also have central heating installed in your home for the first time if it doesn’t already have it. You could also get heating controls like time and temperature controls, or smart thermostats installed.

Since not every boiler is suitable for replacement under the terms of the scheme, there is also a significant amount of scope within the allowed measures of ECO4 for your boiler to be repaired and its life extended to ensure that it operates as effectively as possible for as long as possible.

Air Source Heat Pumps

An Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) is a green, emission-free, and incredibly efficient way to heat your home that will most likely be the way the majority of homes in the UK are heated in the coming years.

ASHPs work by taking the heat from the air around them and transferring it to your home to use as heating. Designed to work in temperatures as low as -20°C depending on the model, and as much as 300% efficient, they’re a great, green way to heat your home.

Under the ECO4 scheme you could see your old, traditional boiler and heating system replaced and an ASHP system installed in its place as a renewable way to heat your home.

Solar Systems

Solar PV systems take the power of the sun and convert it into electricity for your home. Combining solar panels with battery storage to ensure that the energy generated from the sun can be used when the sun goes down means that you can utilise solar energy even at night.

Under the right circumstances, some homes could have Solar PV installed in order to boost their Energy Performance Certificate rating significantly under the ECO4 scheme.

If you are interested in finding out more about ECO4, or think you may qualify and want to start taking advantage of this great scheme and improve your home before it ends in 2026 then get in touch with us here, and we’ll can get your journey started.

Guides & Advice

ECO4 is a great scheme, but being so new it can be a little confusing. We’ve put together some guides to go into more detail about all aspects of ECO4 and help arm you with as much knowledge as possible.

The complete guide to ECO4

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), is a government energy efficiency measure for Great Britain, administered by Ofgem.

EPC Ratings: What Are They & How to Improve Them?

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Rating is an easy, at a glance way to recognise what your home’s energy performance is like.

ECO4: What is it and how is it helping us?

ECO4 has a focus on supporting those who live in fuel poor households, to reduce energy bills, boost their home’s energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions.

What Does The ECO4 Scheme Mean For Me?

ECO4 began in August 2022 and is set to run until 2026, with £1billion of funds being made available to pay for the upgrades and improvements to people’s homes.