How Much Can I Get From ECO4

How Much Can I Get From ECO4? What Determines Your Package Value

The average ECO4 package is worth £4,200 according to Ofgem's scheme data, but using this figure to set expectations for your own property is likely to mislead you. ECO4 packages do not cluster around an average. Most households receive either a relatively simple insulation package worth under £3,000, or a comprehensive whole-house retrofit worth £12,000 to £25,000 or more. Very few properties receive anything close to £4,200 in measures. The reason for this distribution, and what determines which category your property falls into, is what this guide explains.

Important: InstantGrant is an independent grant information and application-support service. We are not Ofgem, the UK government, or any energy supplier. We do not award grants or determine what measures your property qualifies for. All figures on this page are based on Ofgem ECO4 scheme data, DESNZ publications, and 2026 PAS 2035-accredited installer cost benchmarks. Actual package values are determined by the PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment of your specific property, not by national averages.

ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026. With processing times of 10 to 18 weeks, the practical window for new applications that complete in time is narrowing. If you qualify, understanding your likely package value now helps you decide whether the scheme is worth pursuing before the deadline.

How Much Can I Get From ECO4: The Key Principle

ECO4 is not a fixed-amount grant. There is no national voucher worth a set figure that every qualifying household receives. What you get is a package of energy efficiency measures tailored specifically to your property, determined by a formal PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment. The value of that package depends on what your property needs and what the scheme's two-band EPC improvement target requires.

The value is also not paid to you as cash. The obligated energy supplier pays the installer directly. From the household's perspective, approved work is carried out at no cost.

What Determines How Much Your Package Is Worth

Your EPC Starting Band

Your property's current EPC rating is the single most important factor in determining your package value. The ECO4 two-band improvement target requires that the measures funded lift your property by at least two EPC bands wherever technically possible.

A property starting at EPC G typically needs significant interventions to reach EPC E, the two-band target. That means more measures, more extensive works, and a higher total package value.

A property starting at EPC D only needs to reach EPC C. For many EPC D properties, a single measure — such as loft insulation or cavity wall insulation — can achieve this. The package is smaller, the work is less involved, and the total value is lower.

This is the primary reason ECO4 package values vary so dramatically. A household in a 1930s semi with solid walls starting at EPC F may receive a package worth £15,000 to £25,000. A household in a post-war brick semi starting at EPC D may receive a package worth £1,500 to £3,000 for loft and cavity wall insulation alone.

Property Construction Type

Whether your home has cavity walls or solid walls is the second most significant factor.

Cavity wall insulation costs around £800 to £2,500 for a typical semi-detached and is one of the most straightforward ECO4 measures. It is also efficient in carbon saving terms, which matters because energy suppliers measure their ECO4 compliance in tonnes of carbon saved rather than in pounds spent.

Solid wall insulation costs between £7,500 and £12,000 internally fitted, or £8,000 to £16,000 externally, for a typical semi-detached. A property with solid walls that needs full insulation treatment receives a considerably larger package than a cavity wall property of the same size and EPC band.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces across cities like Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds, and Birmingham predominantly have solid walls. If your property is one of these, and your EPC is E or below, your ECO4 package is likely to be at the higher end of the value range.

Whether Heating Qualifies for Replacement

If your heating system is inadequate — older than 12 to 15 years, broken down, or absent entirely — the Retrofit Assessment may specify a heating measure alongside insulation. The most common heating measures under ECO4 are:

Boiler repair or replacement: £2,000 to £5,000 depending on the system and property.

First-time central heating installation for a property currently heated by electric panel heaters or with no wet central heating system at all: £3,000 to £6,000.

Air source heat pump: £8,000 to £15,000. This significantly increases package value. Not every ECO4 household receives a heat pump — the assessment determines which heating measure is appropriate.

A property that receives solid wall insulation and an air source heat pump in the same ECO4 package can have a total value of £18,000 to £30,000.

Solar PV Availability

Solar photovoltaic panels are funded through ECO4 as part of a wider package in some cases. They are included where they contribute to the EPC band improvement target and the package remains within the scheme's parameters. A 3kW solar PV system has a retail value of approximately £4,500 to £7,000. Not every ECO4 household receives solar — it depends on roof orientation, space, and what the assessment determines.

ECO4 Package Value Ranges by Scenario

These figures are based on 2026 retail cost benchmarks from PAS 2035-accredited installers and are indicative only. The actual value depends on your specific property, the obligated supplier's approach, and the installer's costs.

Why the Average Figure Is Misleading

The frequently cited £4,200 average ECO4 package value comes from Ofgem's annual scheme reporting and reflects the mean value across all ECO4 installations to date. The figure is accurate as an average but actively misleading as an expectation-setting tool.

The ECO4 installation portfolio is dominated by two types of installation: simple insulation packages for EPC D to E cavity wall properties at the lower end, and comprehensive solid wall or heat pump packages for EPC E to G properties at the upper end. There is relatively little between these groups.

A household expecting to receive £4,200 worth of measures because that is what they read online is likely to be either pleasantly surprised or disappointed, depending on which category their property falls into. Very few properties receive a package that happens to be worth around £4,200.

Is ECO4 Always 100% Funded?

Most ECO4 measures for qualifying households are funded in full by the obligated energy supplier, with nothing to pay. However, there are two situations where a small household contribution can arise.

Solid wall insulation and heat pump installations, being the most expensive ECO4 measures, sit at the upper end of what suppliers' obligation frameworks anticipate per property. In some supplier delivery models, a modest household co-contribution is requested for very high-cost packages. This is not universal and does not apply to most ECO4 recipients, but it is worth asking about specifically at the initial eligibility stage rather than discovering it partway through the process.

The answer is straightforward: ask the installer explicitly whether there will be any household contribution for the measures being proposed, and ask for the answer in writing before anything is agreed.

The Carbon Saving Obligation and Why It Matters to Households

Ofgem measures energy suppliers' ECO4 compliance in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent saved, not in pounds spent. Suppliers receive credit toward their obligation based on the carbon-saving impact of each measure, with different measures rated differently per unit of cost.

This creates a subtle dynamic that households benefit from understanding. An obligated supplier motivated purely by meeting its carbon obligation at the lowest cost may prefer measures that deliver high carbon savings cheaply, such as loft insulation, over measures that deliver high carbon savings expensively, such as solid wall insulation or heat pumps.

In practice, this means some households in properties that need expensive measures find suppliers less willing to fund them than households in properties where cheap insulation would achieve the same carbon saving outcome. If you are told by one supplier that the measures needed for your property are not available through their programme, approaching a different supplier is worth doing. Their obligation profile and installer capacity may be different.

Can You Request Specific Measures or Upgrade Your Package?

No. The specific measures included in your ECO4 package are determined by the PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment, not by the household. You cannot request a heat pump instead of a boiler replacement if the assessor has specified a boiler replacement. You cannot ask to add solar panels if the assessment does not include them.

What you can do is ask the Retrofit Assessor to explain their reasoning for each measure included and each measure excluded. If you disagree with the specification, you can seek a second opinion from a different Retrofit Assessor working through a different installer, but the formal assessment output is binding within the ECO4 process.

Some households find that upgrading the heating specification, for example from a boiler repair to a heat pump, is possible if they contribute the cost difference themselves. This is not ECO4 funding but a hybrid arrangement where ECO4 covers the baseline and the household pays the upgrade cost. Ask explicitly whether this is possible with your specific installer and supplier.

Can You Get ECO4 If You Already Had Measures Under an Earlier Scheme?

If your home received measures under ECO1, ECO2, or ECO3, you can still qualify for ECO4 provided your property's current EPC rating is still D to G and you still qualify through the benefits or ECO4 Flex route.

You cannot receive the same measure twice. If cavity wall insulation was installed under ECO3, the same measure cannot be funded again under ECO4. However, you can receive different measures. A household that received loft and cavity wall insulation under ECO3 but still has solid walls and an old boiler at EPC E could qualify for solid wall insulation and a heating measure under ECO4.

What Happens When the Assessment Finds Nothing Feasible

Some households complete an ECO4 eligibility check and Retrofit Assessment only to be told that no measures are technically feasible or that the measures needed would not achieve the two-band improvement target within the scheme's parameters.

This is more common than most guides acknowledge. The reasons include:

The property's EPC is already C or above, which makes it ineligible before the assessment starts.

The property has construction features that make standard ECO4 measures impractical, such as a flat roof with no accessible loft space, or walls that cannot be insulated without major structural work.

The measures needed to achieve two bands of EPC improvement would cost more than the scheme's parameters allow within the supplier's ECO4 framework.

If you are told the property is not suitable, ask for the specific reason in writing. Some reasons are absolute. Others may be addressable by approaching a different supplier or installer with a different delivery framework.

ECO4 Package Availability by UK Nation

ECO4 is available across England, Scotland, and Wales. Northern Ireland is not covered.

Home Energy Scotland provides an equivalent programme for Scottish households. Call 0808 808 2282 free for a home energy assessment and to understand what Warmer Homes Scotland can fund for your property.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is ECO4 worth? The average ECO4 package is £4,200 based on Ofgem scheme data, but this average is misleading. Most households receive either under £3,000 for simple insulation or over £12,000 for solid wall insulation and heating measures. What you receive depends on your EPC band, property type, and what the Retrofit Assessment specifies.

Is ECO4 paid as cash? No. ECO4 is funded in kind. The obligated energy supplier pays the installer directly for approved works. The household pays nothing for measures that fall within the scheme's funding.

What is the maximum I can get from ECO4? There is no published single maximum, but whole-house retrofit packages covering solid wall insulation, a heat pump, loft insulation, and solar PV in EPC F and G properties can reach £25,000 to £30,000 in retail value. The Retrofit Assessment determines what is technically feasible and within the scheme's parameters.

What determines how much ECO4 I receive? Your EPC starting band, property construction type, whether your heating system qualifies for replacement, and what the PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment identifies as necessary to achieve a two-band EPC improvement. You cannot choose your measures.

Will I have to pay anything toward my ECO4 measures? Most measures are fully funded for qualifying households. Very high-cost packages involving solid wall insulation or heat pumps in some supplier delivery frameworks occasionally involve a small household co-contribution. Ask explicitly before agreeing to any work.

Can I get ECO4 if I already had measures under ECO3 or an earlier scheme? Yes, provided your property's current EPC is still D to G and you qualify through benefits or ECO4 Flex. You cannot receive the same measure twice, but you can receive different measures from those already installed.

What if the assessment says nothing is feasible for my property? Ask for the specific reason in writing. Some reasons are absolute, such as the property already being EPC C or above. Others may be addressable by approaching a different supplier or installer. Contact Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 for independent guidance if you believe the assessment result is incorrect.

Does ECO4 cover heat pumps? Yes, in properties where the Retrofit Assessment specifies a heat pump as the appropriate heating measure. Not every ECO4 household receives a heat pump. The assessment determines whether a boiler replacement, heat pump, or first-time central heating is appropriate.

How InstantGrant Can Help

Understanding whether your specific property qualifies for a small insulation package or a comprehensive whole-house retrofit under ECO4, and which route gives you the best chance of completing before the December 2026 deadline, takes more than reading a national average.

InstantGrant is an independent grant information and application-support service. We help UK households understand their likely ECO4 package scope, which eligibility route applies to their circumstances, and how to approach the right supplier or installer.

We are not Ofgem, any energy supplier, or any installer. We do not award grants and we do not guarantee any outcome. We help you approach the process with realistic expectations and accurate information.

Check your eligibility at instantgrant.co.uk