Heating Grants Cambridge: Local Grant and Heat Pumps

Cambridge City Council leads the bid for grant funding across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. That gives the city a local scheme for lower-income households, alongside the national heat pump grant.

Cambridge at a glance

Renting: 31.4% of Cambridge households rented privately in 2021 and 22.7% rented from the council or a housing association. Only 44.1% owned their home. Source
Local grant: Cambridge City Council leads the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership, which won £8.5 million of Warm Homes: Local Grant funding for low-income homes across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Eligibility details are on the Action on Energy website. Source
Council homes: The council also won £3.8 million from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to upgrade council homes rated below EPC C, as part of a programme to bring its housing to at least C. Source
Energy ratings: About 34% of homes with an EPC in Cambridge are rated band D or below (median score 73, band C), against 47% across England. Based on certificates lodged in the 10 years to March 2025. Source

Warm Homes: Local Grant

The council leads the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership, which won £8.5 million to upgrade low-income homes across the county, including Cambridge. Upgrades can include insulation, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

Delivery began in 2025 and runs for at least three years. Eligibility depends on income and the home's energy rating; check the details on the Action on Energy website.

Applications are usually handled after a survey of the home. Expect questions about income, benefits and who owns the property, and allow several weeks between enquiry and any work starting.

Council tenants

If you rent from Cambridge City Council, you cannot apply for the local grant, but the council won £3.8 million from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to improve its homes rated below EPC C. Ask your housing officer when your home is due.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

This pays £7,500 off an air or ground source heat pump and £2,500 off an air-to-air system, with no income test. Your MCS certified installer applies. Our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide has more.

Closed schemes

According to Ofgem, the Great British Insulation Scheme shut to Cambridge applicants on 31 March 2026. ECO4 is also ending. Never pay a fee to check grant eligibility.

Cambridge homes and what they need

Victorian gault brick and red brick terraces

Solid walls often mean a lower EPC rating, putting these homes in range of the local grant if income fits.

Interwar and post-war semis in the northern and eastern suburbs

Cavity and loft insulation are usually the first measures offered.

Recent developments on the city fringes

Usually rated EPC B or C and outside the local grant, but the heat pump grant still applies.

Areas covered

Engineers who cover Cambridge work across areas including Chesterton, Romsey, Cherry Hinton, Trumpington, Arbury, Newnham, Histon, Girton, Great Shelford and Milton.

View Cambridge on Google Maps

Questions people in Cambridge ask

Can private tenants apply?

Yes, with the landlord's consent. With nearly a third of Cambridge households renting privately, many applicants will be tenants.

Is there help with a broken boiler?

There is no general grant for replacement gas boilers now that supplier schemes are closing. If you are on a low income and the boiler has failed, speak to the council's housing team about emergency help, and ask an MCS installer whether a heat pump with the £7,500 grant would cost less over time.

How do I find my EPC?

Enter your address on the GOV.UK energy certificate register. If the house has had insulation since the certificate was done, mention it, as the band may now be higher.

Sources

Also nearby: Heating grants in Peterborough, Heating grants in Chelmsford, Heating grants in Luton, Heating grants in Norwich

All heating grants locations →