The Short Answer
On a lower income, try the NISEP heat pump schemes first. If you're paying in full, we'd only fit one once your oil boiler is dead anyway and you want off oil for its own sake.
There's no Northern Ireland version of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, so on a decent income you'll pay for a heat pump yourself. But two schemes on the Utility Regulator's NISEP list for 2026/27 fully fund an air source heat pump for owner-occupiers on lower incomes, and one adds solar panels and a battery:
- Green Heat NI (Refresh NI, nisep@refreshni.com): an air source heat pump plus cavity wall and loft insulation, all free.
- Toasty Homes: Heat Pump and Solar Technologies (McGaffin Mechanical, 028 9099 6747): an air source heat pump, solar PV and a battery, plus cavity wall and loft insulation, all free.
Both are for owner-occupiers with household income under £28,000 (single) or £35,000 (couple or family) who are replacing no central heating, solid fuel, an oil or LPG boiler over 15 years old or broken, or older storage heaters. Above those incomes, the only help is 0% VAT, until 31 March 2027.
The NISEP Schemes That Fund Heat Pumps
The Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP) is overseen by the Utility Regulator. Each year it publishes a list of schemes, each run by a named manager with its own budget, until the money runs out. You apply to the scheme manager directly, not through your electricity supplier. If a scheme has a waiting list, get on it; NI Energy Advice on 0800 111 44 55 can tell you what else is open. NISEP also runs free insulation-only schemes and part-funded ones: see our NI insulation grants page.
Affordable Warmth Won't Fund a Heat Pump
Affordable Warmth is NI's main grant for households under £23,000, worth up to £7,500 (£10,000 for a solid-wall home), but it's insulation first, and we found no mention of heat pumps on the Housing Executive's page. If you're under that income and want a heat pump, the NISEP schemes above are the route.
What's Coming
The Department for Communities says its Warm Healthy Homes Fund will replace Affordable Warmth and is expected to become its main fuel poverty scheme for private homes from April 2027, after a consultation that closed in August 2026. Whether it will fund heat pumps hasn't been published. In our view: if your heating is limping rather than dead and your income is low, it may be worth seeing what lands in April 2027; if your boiler has failed, don't wait.
The Numbers Without a Grant
The Ofgem price cap doesn't apply in NI, and NI electricity still carries 5% VAT. Power NI's Eco Energy tariff is 32.1p a kWh including VAT (monthly Direct Debit, online billing). The Consumer Council's NI average for 900 litres of heating oil on 22 October 2026 works out at 113.75p a litre, about 10.99p a kWh of fuel.
| Heat source | Cost per kWh of heat | A year for 9,500 kWh of heat |
|---|---|---|
| Oil boiler at 85% | 12.93p | £1,228 |
| Heat pump at SCOP 3.0 | 10.70p | £1,017 |
| Heat pump at SCOP 3.5 | 9.17p | £871 |
9,500 kWh is our typical 3-bed's heat (from DESNZ's measured gas use in England and Wales). On these prices a heat pump beats oil above a SCOP of about 2.5: a well-designed one saves about £357 a year at SCOP 3.5, and a badly designed one can cost more than the oil did.
Payback is long without a grant. DESNZ's median for a 6 to 8kW install in England and Wales is about £12,200 (NI prices may differ); at £357 a year that's around 34 years. If your oil boiler is dead anyway, compare against a replacement instead, which costs about £3,300 on average on MyJobQuote's figures. The extra is about £8,900, which takes around 25 years to pay back: longer than the 15 years we allow a heat pump to last. So if you're paying in full, we think a heat pump in Northern Ireland only makes sense when the oil boiler is dead anyway and you want off oil for its own sake. Check the NISEP schemes first in case you qualify. Heat pump installs are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5%.
Northern Ireland Against the Rest of the UK
| Northern Ireland | England and Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main heat pump grant | None | £7,500, or £9,000 off the gas grid until March 2027 (Boiler Upgrade Scheme) | Up to £9,000 grant (rural and island homes) plus an optional £7,500 loan (Home Energy Scotland) |
| Free route for lower incomes | NISEP heat pump schemes, under £28,000 / £35,000 | ECO4 (until 31 December 2026); in England the Warm Homes: Local Grant; in Wales, Nest | Warmer Homes Scotland; ECO4 (until 31 December 2026) |
| 0% VAT on the install | Until 31 March 2027 | Until 31 March 2027 | Until 31 March 2027 |
What to Do
- Owner-occupier under the NISEP incomes with no central heating, solid fuel, an oil or LPG boiler over 15 years old or broken, or old storage heaters: contact both heat pump schemes and ask about waiting lists.
- Under £23,000 and happy with insulation and a boiler: ring NI Energy Advice about Affordable Warmth.
- Paying yourself: we'd judge quotes on design, not price. Insist on a room-by-room heat loss survey and a low design flow temperature: SCOP is what decides whether you save.
- Insulate first: every kWh you don't need is one you don't pay for, and it can mean a smaller unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Free heat pumps for lower-income NI homes
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme doesn't cover Northern Ireland, but NISEP schemes such as Toasty Homes can fund a heat pump for lower-income owners with no central heating, solid fuel, an oil or LPG boiler over 15 years old or broken, or older storage heaters. You apply to the scheme directly; if you're paying yourself, get free quotes from MCS-certified installers in 60 seconds.