Can a business claim the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

Yes in England and Wales, within limits. gov.uk states the grant can replace a heating system in a building used for your business, and that you are eligible if you own the property, including where it is a business or let to tenants. The capacity caps of 45kWth for individual systems and 70kWth with additional heat pumps exclude most larger commercial schemes.

Is there one grant per building or per heat pump?

One grant per property. gov.uk states this directly, alongside the capacity caps of 45kWth for individual systems, 70kWth where a heat pump is installed with one or more additional heat pumps, and 300kWth for shared ground loops.

Guide

Does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme cover a commercial building?

Updated 2026-08-14

The honest answer is yes, with limits that rule out most of the schemes people ask us about.

What gov.uk actually says

"Through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you could get a grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler. You can use the grant to replace a heating system in your home or a building used for your business." The scheme is open in England and Wales only (gov.uk). Scotland has separate support, and the Boiler Replacement Scheme in Northern Ireland is closed.

The amounts

£7,500 towards an air source heat pump, also called an air-to-water heat pump.
£7,500 towards a ground source heat pump, including water source heat pumps and those on shared ground loops.
£5,000 towards a biomass boiler, subject to being off the gas grid, in a rural location and holding an emissions certificate.
£2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump.
An additional £1,500 until March 2027 towards an air source or ground source heat pump where the property is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection.
One grant per property (gov.uk).

The caps that decide it

gov.uk sets the maximum capacity at 45kWth for individual systems, 70kWth if a heat pump is installed with one or more additional heat pumps, and 300kWth for shared ground loops. A single office or a small industrial unit can sit inside those numbers. A school, a care home or a warehouse rarely does. Read the capacity cap first, because it is the fastest way to know whether the grant is part of your business case or a distraction from it.

Eligibility, in the order it gets tested

You must own the property you are applying for, and gov.uk states this explicitly includes a business, a second home or a property you rent out to tenants.
You must be replacing a fossil fuel heating system: oil, gas, electric or LPG. You cannot get a grant to replace a low carbon heating system.
Hybrids are out. No grant for a combination of gas boiler and air source heat pump.
Most new build properties and social housing are out, as is a property that has already had government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler.
The installer must commission and install within 120 days of applying for the grant, or it is not eligible.
gov.uk directs anyone unsure whether the property suits low carbon heating to speak to an MCS certified installer.

If you are over the cap

Then the grant is not the lever. The business case for a larger commercial scheme is built out of the fabric and emitter work you were going to do anyway, the plant replacement cycle you were facing regardless, and the running cost and carbon position over the life of the system. Build the case on those, and treat the capacity caps as a reason to check whether a modular arrangement of smaller units changes the position, rather than as a reason to shrink a system that the building needs.

Tell us the building and the emitters through the quote form and installers will tell you whether your scheme sits inside the caps.