Energy efficiency grants for business

At November 2026 there is no single UK grant for business energy efficiency: what you can get depends on where the property is. England and Wales have heat pump and chargepoint grants, Scotland has 0% loans with cashback, and Wales has discounted green loans.

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What is open in November 2026

Energy grants for businesses are split by nation and by technology. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays toward replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump or biomass boiler in England and Wales, and business premises qualify. The Workplace Charging Scheme pays toward electric vehicle chargepoints at work. Scotland lends at 0% for energy saving work through Business Energy Scotland and adds a cashback grant. Wales lends through the Development Bank of Wales at discounted fixed rates and funds energy audits through Business Wales. In Northern Ireland, Invest NI’s Energy Efficiency Capital Grant is paused.

Much of the local help that councils gave in recent years came from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which paid for activity up to 31 March 2026. Funding since April 2026 runs through new programmes, and what your council offers depends on its own plans. Check our grant finder for the central government schemes open today, and your council and growth hub for local ones. Swoop’s platform also matches businesses with grants, and with business energy suppliers.

Schemes by nation

WhereWhat it paysStatus at 3 November 2026
Boiler Upgrade SchemeEngland and Wales£7,500 toward an air source or ground source heat pump; £5,000 toward a biomass boilerOpen. Extra £1,500 for heat pumps replacing oil or LPG heating with no mains gas, until March 2027
Workplace Charging SchemeBusinesses and other workplacesUp to £500 a socket for installations completed from 1 April 2026, up to 40 sockets across your sitesOpen, with funding confirmed until 31 March 2027
SME Loan and Cashback SchemeScotlandLoans up to £100,000 at 0%; cashback of 75% of costs, up to £20,000 for energy efficiency and £10,000 for renewable heatFirst come, first served while funds last; check with Business Energy Scotland
Green Business Loan SchemeWalesLoans at discounted fixed rates, with a term linked to the project’s paybackApply through the Development Bank of Wales
Business Wales energy audit grantWales50% of the cost of a detailed energy audit, up to £10,000Through Business Wales
Energy Efficiency Capital GrantNorthern IrelandGrant toward energy efficient equipmentPaused by Invest NI; no enquiries or applications taken
A heat pump grant reduces the cost on which you can claim capital allowances, because HM Revenue & Customs treats a capital grant that way.

A heat pump with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Illustrative example

A business replaces the oil boiler in its own office in England with an air source heat pump. The installer’s quote of £14,000 is an assumption; the grants are the scheme’s.

Installation quote
£14,000
Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant
£7,500
Extra grant for replacing oil heating with no mains gas, until March 2027
£1,500
Cost to the business
£5,000
Your installer applies for the grant, and it comes off the price you pay. Where capital allowances apply, they are claimed on the £5,000 you paid.
An engineer operating a lathe in an engineering workshop

Rules to meet before work starts

Every scheme here pays only for work it has approved. For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme your installer must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, the property needs a valid energy performance certificate, you must own it, and the heat pump has to be installed within the period the scheme allows after the application. A single heat pump can be up to 45kWth, and from applications made on or after 28 April 2026 a system of several heat pumps can reach 70kWth.

In Scotland the SME loan needs a report from Business Energy Scotland recommending the measures, and the business must have traded for at least 12 months, be less than 25% owned by other enterprises and not have started the work. The Green Business Loan Scheme in Wales needs two years’ trading and at least one set of filed accounts.

  • Get the assessment or quote the scheme asks for
  • Apply and wait for approval
  • Then sign the installer’s contract and start

Paying for the rest

Grants cover part of an energy project, and the balance comes from cash or finance. Equipment such as heat pumps, solar panels and chargepoints can be funded through asset finance, where the lender takes the equipment as security and you repay over its working life. Larger works on a building you own can sit inside a commercial mortgage or a business loan. A funding search through Swoop covers limited companies and LLPs, and sole traders and partnerships borrowing more than £25,000.

Compare the saving with the repayments. A project whose annual energy saving exceeds its annual repayment pays for itself while the finance runs; one that does not needs a reason beyond the bill, such as replacing a boiler that has reached the end of its life, or a customer that requires lower emissions from its suppliers. Get the energy saving in writing from the assessor or installer, because a lender will ask how the figure was worked out.

Northern Ireland

The Energy Efficiency Capital Grant is paused

Invest NI paused the grant for a performance review and is not taking enquiries or new applications. It gives no reopening date. Its newsletter announces changes, and the Business Support Team is on 0800 181 4422.

Questions people ask

Are there government grants for business energy efficiency?

Yes, but they depend on the nation and the technology. In England and Wales the Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 toward a heat pump on business premises. The Workplace Charging Scheme pays up to £500 a chargepoint socket. Scotland offers 0% loans with cashback, and Wales offers discounted green loans and energy audit grants.

Can a business get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

Yes. GOV.UK says the grant can be used for a building used for your business, as long as you own it, it is in England or Wales and you replace a fossil fuel heating system. Ofgem guidance says non-residential properties are eligible for air-to-water and ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers. Air-to-air heat pumps are for homes only.

Is there a grant for EV chargers at work?

The Workplace Charging Scheme pays up to £500 a socket for chargepoints installed from 1 April 2026, for up to 40 sockets across your sites, with funding confirmed until 31 March 2027. An authorised installer claims it for you. The separate grant for staff and fleet chargepoints at small businesses closed on 31 March 2026.

What is the Business Energy Scotland SME loan?

A Scottish Government scheme lending up to £100,000 at 0% to small and medium businesses for energy saving and renewable heat projects, with a cashback grant of 75% of costs up to £20,000 for energy efficiency and £10,000 for renewable heat. It runs while funds last, so check with Business Energy Scotland before planning around it.

Can I get a grant for solar panels for my business?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers heating only. In Scotland, renewable projects can be funded by the SME loan, and in Wales the Green Business Loan Scheme covers energy efficiency and low carbon measures. Elsewhere, check our grant finder, your council and your growth hub, or fund the panels through asset finance.

Finance is subject to status and to the lender’s terms. A personal guarantee makes you liable for the company’s debt if it does not repay, and it can be enforced against your own assets, including your home. Nothing here is a personal recommendation.

Grants

Business energy

Contract types, Ofgem's rules for smaller businesses, broker commission, rollover rates and the taxes on the bill.

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Asset finance

Asset finance spreads the cost of equipment, vehicles and machinery over the years you use them, with the asset as the funder’s security.

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Business grants in Scotland

Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise.

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Business grants in Wales

Business Wales for grants and advice, the Development Bank of Wales for loans.

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All business funding

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Start a funding search

Funding searches run on Swoop’s platform. Swoop Finance Limited is a credit broker and not a lender, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 936513). Buzz Accounting Ltd introduces businesses to Swoop and may receive a fee from Swoop when funding is arranged. Business funding is separate from the financial advice Equity & General Financial Services Limited gives through this website. Finance is subject to status, and a lender may ask a director for a personal guarantee.

Cover for a personal guarantee

If a lender asks you to guarantee the company’s borrowing, our advisers can advise on life cover for that debt.

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