Pensioners urged to sign up to boiler replacement scheme | Personal Finance | Finance #UKFinance

A free boiler replacement scheme for over 60s offers an upgrade on home heating systems for eligible households.

The scheme is available for low income and “vulnerable” households in England, Scotland and Wales, with up to £7,500 in free funding to make a home more efficient, cut energy bills and keep you warm in winter.

To apply for the Boiler Replacement Scheme Over 60s, visit FreeBoilerGrantsUK.com, fill in the application form, verify the information you’re submitting is correct and click on submit.

After submitting your application, you will need to wait up to 24 hours for a response. If you are eligible for the scheme, you will then need to arrange a date for a free survey of your property.

A mandatory part of the process, the survey will determine if you will benefit from the scheme. After the property survey has been completed, you will find out how much it will cost to replace your boiler.

The next stage is to arrange a date for the replacement to be carried out, with installation times of four to 12 hours, according to FreeBoilerGrantsUK.

It said the free funding would cover the cost of fitting and installation with the Government’s ECO4 scheme only accepting “the most reputable and seasoned companies”.

Here Express.co.uk outlines more about the scheme, including how much you can claim, what upgrades are available and the eligibility criteria.

You can still take advantage of other grants under the ECO4 scheme. Boiler Replacement Scheme Over 60s is only available for people who meet these eligibility criteria: Over 60s, in receipt of Pension Credit with a household income lower than £31,000.

If you are not over 60 and don’t receive Pension Credit, then you won’t qualify for the boiler replacement scheme over 60s.

However, if your household income is lower than £31,000, or you receive other benefits such as Income Support, you can still claim free funding under the ECO4 scheme.

If you are over 60, receive Income Support, your household income is lower than £31,000 and someone in your property has a health condition such as diabetes or asthma, you could claim free funding to replace your boiler through alternative grants.

FreeBoilerGrantsUK encourages everyone who thinks they are eligible to apply at FreeBoilerGrantsUK.com, even if they are not 100 percent sure they meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme.

This is because even if you aren’t eligible, they will let you know if you can take advantage of other ECO4 grants to upgrade your home’s heating system for free.

Everyone can apply for the Boiler Replacement Scheme over 60s in the UK, but you will only qualify if you meet these eligibility criteria:

1. You are over 60

2. You are a receipt of Pension Credit

3. Your postcode is in Wales, Scotland or England

4. You are a homeowner or private tenant

5. Your property has been rated with an EPC of D, E, F or G

6. Your boiler is 7+ years old and beyond the point of repairing it

You can still quality for the incentive even if you are not in receipt of Pension Credit, as long as your household income is lower than £31,000 and someone in your property suffers from a qualifying health condition.

There are free boilers for pensioners who aren’t on benefits if your household income is lower than £31,000 or if someone in your property has a qualifying health condition.

Because the goal of the ECO4 scheme is to help people over 60s who are vulnerable to fuel poverty, you can take advantage of it even if you don’t receive Pension Credit.

Even if your household income is higher than £31,000, you can still qualify if someone in your property has one of the following health conditions and issues: asthma, limited mobility, arthritis, cardiovascular conditions, immunosuppression and diabetes.

Be aware that the health issue or condition must be verified by one of the following: general medical practitioner, health board, NHS trust, local health board or NHS Foundation trust.

You can get a maximum of £7,500 for replacing your old boiler. If you need more based on what is needed to upgrade your home’s heating system, you will have to make up the rest.

Average costs for the most frequent upgrades you can claim under the boiler replacement scheme are: Loft insulation – £500 to £900; wall insulation (cavity)- £500 to £800; solar panels – £3,000 to £10,000 and storage heaters – £200 to £300.

Upgrades will cost an extra £5,000 for loft insulation, wall insulation, a system of solar panels and five storage heaters.

Once the price of the boiler replacement – £3,000 on average – is included the final cost is £8,000, including purchase of the upgrades, labor, installation, expert fitting and advice. In such a scenario, you pay £500 to cover the entire cost of the upgrade.

At the upper end of the range, the final cost comes to £17,200, meaning an extra contribution of £9,700.

The backers of the scheme say it’s not necessary in the vast majority of cases, because specialists will equip your home with the most cost-effective upgrades so you can improve the efficiency of your home without making an extra contribution.

The replacement heating system will depend on your current setup, but the scheme allows you to replace your current boiler for a new condensing boiler, heat pump (air or ground source) or a biomass boiler.

In some cases the only viable replacement will be a biomass boiler. In such cases, the replacement will cover the cost of switching your current boiler for a biomass boiler, which is more efficient and eco-friendly than a combustion-based central heating system.

Other cases mean it won’t be enough to simply replace the boiler as the property won’t retain the heat properly.

This means you might need to have an extra power source other than electricity to run your home’s heating system.

In such scenarios, the scheme can also cover the cost of solar panels, wall and loft insulation as well as storage heaters.

To apply for the Boiler Replacement Scheme Over 60s visit freeboilergrantsuk.com