Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan

Step 1 – Contacting Home Energy Scotland

The first step is contacting Home Energy Scotland, an advice service funded by the Scottish Government. If you would like to receive advice over the phone, contact the service by calling our free phone line on 0808 808 2282. Our lines are open Monday - Friday, 8am - 8pm, and Saturday 9am - 5pm.

If you would like to receive advice over email, complete our contact form and select 'email' when asked how you'd like us to get back to you. We'll be in touch within 10 working days.

Step 2 – Receiving advice

During initial advice you will be asked questions about your property’s characteristics, occupancy behaviour and personal circumstances to determine which funding scheme you are eligible for and is best suited to your needs.

Your advisor will walk you through the scheme’s key conditions and important information and refer you to the scheme. If you prefer to receive a paper application, please inform your advisor who will organise this.

If the improvements you wish to install are recommended on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for your property and are within Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme conditions, your adviser can send you a referral to the funding application and you can continue to the application process for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme. 

If you wish to install clean heating and other renewable systems and you require a specialist recommendation report, your advisor will refer you to the renewables specialist team. You will receive a call back from a renewables specialist who will create a specialist recommendation report. After receiving the report, you can continue your application for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme.

Step 3 – Application referral

Two working days after your initial call with a Home Energy Scotland advisor, you will receive an email with an invitation link to begin the application process.
 

Step 1 – Creating an online application account

The link from the email referral will take you to the portal’s invitation page where you can register your account.

After registering, the customer portal can then be used to access your application form.

Step 2 – Filling in application form

In stage 1 of the application form, you will be asked to read and agree to the scheme terms and conditions and will be prompted to confirm that your installation works won’t commence until a written funding offer is issued by the Service Delivery Team.

The application system allows you to submit the required documents and communicate with the Service Delivery Team through the portals messaging system. Your progress will be saved in each section so you can leave and return to the form at any point if you need to gather further information or documents.

To successfully submit your application, you will need to provide the following documents:

• Suitable recommendation report for all the improvements you are applying for, including an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and/or a Home Energy Scotland specialist recommendation report.
• Itemised quote(s) from your chosen installer(s) for the improvements you are applying for.
• Any additional documents specific to the improvements you are applying for. You can refer to the terms and conditions for detailed requirements or ask our Service Delivery Team for further information.

Step 3 – Application processing time

After you have successfully submitted your application form, we will aim to process it within 10 working days.

If your application is missing required supporting documentation, or we need to request clarification on any of the provided information, the processing timescale will be extended.

You can view the status of your application and contact the team with information and queries through the portal.

Step 4 – Funding offer and installation works

After receiving a written funding offer you will need to review the details and sign the funding agreement electronically within 14 days. Your installation works can then start.

After signing your funding agreement, you will have 9 months to complete all the required installation works. 

Deposit

We can offer a deposit payment for the material costs of clean heating and renewable systems. You can claim up to 60% of the funding for each system you have applied for.

You will need to submit your drawdown claim through the online portal and confirm deposit amounts by submitting a quote or letter from your installer(s) which clearly shows the requested amounts.

Drawdown claims are not available for energy efficiency installations.

Step 1 – Claiming your funding 
    
You can claim your funding per measure as installations are completed. This is to allow individual installers to be paid without having to wait for all works to be completed.

You need to submit claim request through the online portal and provide the following documents:

• Invoice for the completed work.
• Post EPC - The post-installation EPC cannot recommend the measures which have been installed under the application.
• Payment account information should be provided in your customer portal profile before submitting your claim form.
• Renewable Installer Finder review (renewable installations only).
• MCS certificate (renewable installations only).

For some measures and circumstances further documentation may be required, you can refer to the terms and conditions for detailed requirements or ask our Service Delivery Team for further information.

Step 2 – Claim processing times

We aim to process claims within 10 working days after submitting all required claim documentation.

The processing time may take longer if we need to request additional documentation or need clarification on submitted documents.

Step 3 – Receiving the funding

Once your claim is approved, we will process your payment using BACS transfer which can take between three and five working days.

It is your duty to pay your installer after receiving funding payments to your account. Energy Saving Trust is not liable to provide funding directly to installers. We will also require you to submit proof of payment within 60 days of receiving your funding. This can be a bank statement or receipt from the installer. 
 

For any queries relating to your application or claim, you can contact the Service Delivery Team in the following ways:

• The message function on your customer portal (once you have been successfully referred).
• Email: servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk
• Telephone: 0808 108 9414 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, excluding Scottish bank holidays).

The Services Delivery Team’s working hours are 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday and they aim to respond to you within three working days. 

If you are applying for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, the installer you choose must meet specific requirements for the measures you intend to have installed.

We strongly recommend you do the following:

• Contact at least three installers for quotes to give you choice and to ensure good value for money.
• Make sure your chosen installer is fully qualified and, if possible, accredited with a relevant industry body and/or trade federation.
• Ask installers what guarantees they will provide for the quality of their work and what warranties they supply with the products.

Energy efficiency measures

Where using Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme funding to install solid wall, underfloor, flat roof or room-in-roof insulation, your installer is required to be registered with TrustMark for the measures you intend to have installed.

If you are unable to locate a TrustMark registered installer, you may use a Green Deal certified installer.

You can find installers on Trustmark’s website and on the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body website.  

For all other energy efficiency measures, there is no requirement to use a specific installer. 

Clean heating and renewable systems

Where using Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Funding to install a clean heating or renewable system, your installer and the product must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for the system they're installing (except for micro-hydro systems).

You can search for MCS-certified installers in your area and read customer reviews on Energy Saving Trust's Renewables Installer Finder. For a full list of MCS-certified installers, visit the MCS website.

Applications for hydro systems will instead be assessed on a case-by-case basis and we recommend using an installer accredited by the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or recommended by the British Hydro Association.

Heat network connections

For heat network connections, the installer of the connection must be approved by the scheme owner/operator.

• Funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and is subject to availability, or until the end of the financial year – whichever is sooner. 
• Funding is reserved for applicants once a written offer of funding has been issued, not on application to the scheme. Applications will be processed in order of submission date.
• After we receive your application, we’ll assess whether you're eligible. If your application is successful, we will send you a written offer of funding. 
• You cannot start work on any installations until you’ve received the funding offer in writing, funding cannot be granted retrospectively. 
• If you receive a funding offer this financial year you have up to nine months to carry the work out and claim funding. Applicants must inform the Service Delivery Team if an extension request is required, which will be considered by the Scottish Government on a case-by-case basis. Your offer of funding will expire at the end of the nine month claim period.
• You may be able to combine Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme funding with other schemes and incentives; eligibility is not indicative of eligibility for any other programmes of support. Visit our contact us webpage for options on how to get in touch with the Home Energy Scotland advice service for more information. 

• If you’re applying for any loan funding, we will carry out affordability and credit checks.
• If your application for loan funding is successful, you’ll need to pay an administrative fee of 1.5% of the total loan value - up to a maximum of £150 for each application.
• You choose how long to take to repay the loan – up to the following maximum number of years:
  • Under £5,000: 5 years
  • £5,000 - £9,999: 10 years
  • More than £10,000: 12 years
• Repayments begin after you have received a payment from us.

• An acceptable energy report must recommend the improvements being applied for and be included with the application. 
  • Energy efficiency improvements: Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
  • Renewables system: an EPC or a report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor.
• To see if you already have an EPC for your home, or to search for EPC assessors in your area, check the Scottish EPC register. You'll also need to get an updated EPC after you've had the work done, and before we can issue funding.
• You'll need to pay for any required EPCs, but you can add the cost of these to the loan if you want to.
• Home Energy Scotland grants and loans are not linked to other schemes, and eligibility for the funds is not indicative of eligibility for any other incentives as the eligibility criteria may differ.
• If you're planning to apply to any other financial incentive scheme, for example the Smart Export Guarantee, you should check eligibility criteria to ensure you can meet the requirements of both schemes.

Thinking of using the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme to fund a clean heating or renewables system? Energy Saving Trust has lots of information on generating renewable electricity and heating your home. We’ve also got more information on heat pumps, which could save you money and will help cut Scotland’s carbon emissions.

Conditions of applying for clean heating and renewable systems

• Your application can only fund one whole-house heating system. This means it must provide both heating and hot water to the property.
• Replacement heat pumps are not eligible for grant funding. An interest-free loan of up to £7,500 is available for replacement heat pumps.
• You will need to provide a suitable energy report recommending the improvements you wish to install. This can be a qualifying report issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor or an EPC.
• If you’re applying for a biomass boiler, you must provide evidence as to why a heat pump or high heat retention storage heaters aren’t suitable for your property. This can be issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor or your installer. 
• Your installer and product must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for the system that is being installed. The only exception to this is micro hydro systems. Applications for these systems will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and we recommend using an installer accredited by the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or recommended by the British Hydro Association.
• Once your system is installed you will need to leave a rating and review of your installer (if listed) on Energy Saving Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder, as well as supply the required documents, before claiming funding.

Conditions of applying for a heat network connection

• The heat network must be powered fully or partially by a renewable source of energy and the scheme must be approved for funding under this loan scheme.
• The fuel mix must include a minimum proportion of renewable energy sources. Heat network connections are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for more information.

• If you are making improvements to glazing, you can only use funding to improve single glazed windows. Funding is not available for replacing or improving existing double, triple or secondary glazing.  
• Grant funding is not available for glazing.  
• If you’re applying for high heat retention storage heaters you must provide evidence as to why a heat pump isn’t suitable for your property. This can be issued by a Home Energy Scotland advisor or your installer.