Claim Grants, Cut Bills: 6 Energy Saving Home Improvements in the UK

Energy Saving Home Improvements
Window shutters

Start with fabric-first measures, loft, wall and floor insulation, plus draught-proofing, before spending on new heating systems or renewables. Then check whether you qualify for the Warm Homes Plan (including the Warm Homes: Local Grant), the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, or Energy Company Obligation support. Whatever work you commission, insist on TrustMark-registered installers working to PAS 2035 standards, so the job qualifies for grant funding and actually performs as promised.

TL;DR:

  • Most homeowners should prioritize fabric-first improvements like loft, cavity wall, and floor insulation, as these offer the best return on investment in reducing heat loss.
  • Grants such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and Energy Company Obligation are available, but eligibility varies by location and income; applications require proper documentation and often involve a home survey.
  • TrustMark-registered installers working to PAS 2035 standards are essential for grant eligibility, proper installation, and to avoid possible substandard retrofit work.
  • Bespoke window shutters, fitted with tight seals, can cut heat loss through windows by up to 33%, especially in period or non-standard homes where standard solutions may not fit well.
  • Sequentially tackling fabric improvements first and system upgrades later helps maximize grant benefits, reduce costs, and ensure a more effective retrofit overall.

Table of Contents

What grants and government schemes are available for energy saving home improvements?

The Warm Homes Plan sits at the centre of current government support, pulling several schemes together under one strategy to cut bills and retrofit ageing housing stock. It brings together grant funding, low-carbon heating incentives and local delivery partnerships aimed at both fuel poverty and net-zero targets.

Within that framework, a handful of named schemes matter most to homeowners right now:

  • Warm Homes: Local Grant — delivered through your local authority, this covers energy performance upgrades and low-carbon heating, with cost caps set out in policy guidance that shape what a council can fund per household.
  • Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) — an upfront grant towards heat pumps and similar low-carbon heating systems, paid directly to your installer rather than to you.
  • Energy Company Obligation (ECO) — a supplier-funded route that remains one of the more reliable ways for low-income households to get fully funded insulation and heating work, often without going near a local authority portal at all.
  • Warm Home Discount and Winter Fuel Payment — these do not fund building work, but they ease the bill pressure while retrofit work is planned or under way.

Eligibility and generosity vary by nation and even by postcode, since local authorities administer Warm Homes: Local Grant funding within their own allocations. That means two homes with identical EPC ratings a few miles apart could face different grant ceilings simply because of which council area they sit in.

Fabric-first: which improvements give the biggest energy savings?

Heat loss reduction starts with the building fabric, not the boiler. Energy Saving Trust and most retrofit specialists recommend the same sequence: reduce how much heat a house loses before you touch how that heat gets generated. Fit an efficient heat pump into a draughty, under-insulated house and you are heating the outdoors.

  1. Loft insulation tops most lists because lofts are cheap and quick to access. Topping up to around 270mm makes a real difference in older homes still sitting on the original 100mm laid decades ago.
  2. Cavity wall insulation suits post-1920s properties with an unfilled cavity and typically pays for itself faster than most other measures, given the relatively low install cost.
  3. Solid wall insulation costs considerably more and usually needs internal or external cladding, but it is often the only fabric option for older, solid-brick housing stock.
  4. Draught-proofing around doors, skirting boards and letterboxes is the cheapest measure on this list and one homeowners consistently underrate.
  5. Floor insulation, particularly under suspended timber floors, closes a heat-loss route that rarely gets attention until the room above still feels cold with the heating on.
  6. Window measures, from secondary glazing to bespoke interior shutters, come later in the sequence. They will not fix an uninsulated loft, but once the fabric basics are done, they close the remaining gap around your glazing.

How to check eligibility and apply for energy efficiency grants

Start by finding your home’s EPC rating, since most schemes set eligibility bands around it. Gov gives personalised recommendations, estimated costs and savings, plus a telephone helpline if you would rather talk it through than fill in forms.

From there, your application route depends on which scheme fits your circumstances:

  • Check your local authority’s Warm Homes: Local Grant portal first if you are on a low income or your home has a poor EPC band; councils administer this funding directly.
  • Contact an MCS-certified installer for Boiler Upgrade Scheme applications, since they submit the grant on your behalf once your property passes a heat loss assessment.
  • Speak to your energy supplier about ECO eligibility, particularly if you receive certain benefits, as suppliers deliver this scheme independently of local councils.
  • Expect a home survey before any grant-funded work starts. Surveyors check insulation levels, heating type, and sometimes run a heat loss calculation, and this stage typically takes a few weeks from booking to report.
  • Keep proof of income or benefits, your EPC certificate, and property ownership documents to hand. Missing paperwork is the single most common reason applications stall.

How to budget and prioritise energy saving home improvements

A simple framework keeps this manageable: quick wins first, then fabric measures, then system upgrades, and HVAC retrofitting explained last. Draught-proofing and loft top-ups cost little and pay back within a year or two. Cavity wall insulation and floor insulation follow, usually with a payback measured in single-digit years rather than months. Heat pumps and solar PV sit at the top of the ladder, carrying the highest upfront costs but also the biggest bills against which grants like BUS can be set.

Energy improvements ranked by cost and payback

Typical cost and savings guides suggest quick, low-cost actions deliver the fastest returns, which is exactly why fabric-first sequencing works. Take an EPC D semi-detached house as a working example: loft top-up and draught-proofing might run to a few hundred pounds combined, cavity wall insulation adds a modest four-figure sum, and a heat pump installation could cost several thousand pounds before any Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is applied. Doing the cheap work first often makes the heat pump smaller, and therefore cheaper, because the house needs less heat to begin with.

Grant cost caps also affect how you should sequence spending. Because Warm Homes: Local Grant funding is capped per measure, combining several smaller jobs into one council-delivered package can sometimes stretch the funding further than tackling them separately.

Pro Tip: Ask your installer to run a heat loss calculation before quoting for a heat pump. If they skip this step and quote off a boiler-sized guess, get a second opinion, an oversized or undersized heat pump is one of the most expensive mistakes in retrofit work.

Which installer credentials should you check before hiring?

TrustMark registration and PAS 2035 compliance are not paperwork for paperwork’s sake. Grant-funded retrofit work generally has to be delivered by TrustMark-registered installers working to PAS 2035 (or PAS 2030 for single measures), and this governance exists specifically to stop new heating technology being fitted into an under-insulated shell.

Before you sign anything:

  • Confirm TrustMark registration directly on the TrustMark register, not just from a logo on a leaflet.
  • Ask whether the retrofit assessor and installer are different named people, which PAS 2035 usually requires for anything beyond single, simple measures.
  • Request a written quote that itemises materials, labour and any grant contribution separately.
  • Demand a workmanship guarantee in writing, not a verbal assurance.
  • Treat unsolicited doorstep offers, pressure to sign same-day, or requests for large upfront cash payments as red flags, and report poor or non-compliant work through TrustMark’s own complaints process.

Why bespoke window coverings and shutters matter for thermal performance

Windows are usually the weakest point in a home’s fabric, and testing referenced by the British Blind & Shutter Association found that properly fitted shutters and blinds can cut heat loss through windows by up to 33%. That figure comes from work carried out at the University of Salford’s Energy House Labs, one of the few facilities that can isolate a window treatment’s thermal effect from everything else going on in a house.

The catch is in that word “properly.” Off-the-shelf blinds rarely close the gaps that make the difference; the benefit depends on tight, bespoke measurement and a frame seal that stops air moving around the edges, not just light passing through the middle.

Shutters fitted to a precisely measured frame, with an effective seal around the perimeter, behave far more like a secondary layer of insulation than a decorative covering. Loose-fitting, generic blinds simply cannot replicate that seal, however similar they look.

Shutters earn their place most clearly in period properties and conservation areas, where double glazing or external render is often restricted or unavailable, and on bay, arched or other non-standard windows where standard blinds fit poorly by design. Specify a durable frame material and check the seal detail before ordering, and treat the finish (particularly on wood) with the same maintenance schedule you would give any painted woodwork.

Action checklist: six steps from decision to installation

  1. Check your EPC rating and book a free energy advice review through your council or the national improve energy efficiency service.
  2. Prioritise fabric measures (loft, cavity, floor insulation, draught-proofing) and get at least two TrustMark-registered quotes.
  3. Apply for Warm Homes: Local Grant or Boiler Upgrade Scheme support where your EPC band and income make you eligible.
  4. Book a home survey, confirm the installer works to PAS 2035, and get any grant contribution confirmed in writing before work starts.
  5. Sequence remaining work: heating upgrades after fabric measures, renewables last.
  6. Keep every certificate, guarantee and invoice together. You will need them if you sell the property or claim a further grant later.

The Warm Homes Plan represents a multi-billion-pound national commitment to retrofit, with local authorities delivering much of it directly. That scale is worth remembering when a scheme feels bureaucratic: the funding behind it is real, and persistence with the paperwork usually pays off.

What most homeowners get wrong about energy upgrades

What most homeowners get wrong about energy upgrades — overview diagram

Homeowners jump to the heat pump or the solar panels before they have dealt with a cold, draughty floor or a half-filled loft. It is understandable. Renewables feel modern and grant-worthy, while draught-proofing feels like a chore. But sequencing matters more than any single product choice, and skipping fabric work is the single mistake I see repeated most often across retrofit advice.

Bespoke shutters occupy an interesting middle ground in that sequence. They are not a substitute for loft insulation, but on the right window, fitted properly, they close a genuine gap between “fabric done” and “heating upgraded” that generic blinds simply do not reach.

— Ken

Shutter World: a bespoke, energy-conscious finish to your retrofit

Once the fabric basics are sorted, insulation topped up, draughts sealed, grant paperwork filed, your windows are usually the last gap left to close. Shutter World handles that final step as a single, managed service: a professional in-home survey, bespoke manufacture to your exact window dimensions, and expert installation, all backed by product and workmanship guarantees.

Shutter World

This matters most on the windows that generic products fit badly, bay windows, arched frames, skylights, and older properties where standard glazing upgrades are restricted or impractical. A tight, bespoke fit is what gives shutters their thermal benefit in the first place, and it is also what gives you better light control and privacy day to day. If your home has any non-standard windows still waiting on a proper covering, book a free home survey for bespoke interior shutters and get a measured quote before your next heating season starts.

Sources

FAQ

Who is eligible for home improvement grants?

Eligibility depends on the scheme: Warm Homes: Local Grant targets low-income households and poorer EPC bands through your local authority, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has no income test but requires an eligible property and heating system, and ECO focuses on households receiving certain benefits.

What is the 30 minute heating rule?

This refers to advice that modern, well-insulated homes can heat up quickly, so leaving heating on low all day is rarely more efficient than heating for the periods you actually need. It works best once fabric measures like insulation and draught-proofing are in place; a draughty home loses that heat far faster.

What are some effective ways to save energy at home?

The highest-impact actions are fabric-first: top up loft insulation, fill cavity walls where suitable, draught-proof doors and windows, insulate suspended floors, and fit bespoke shutters or secondary glazing on remaining weak points. Behavioural changes, turning down the thermostat by a degree or two and heating only occupied rooms, add further savings on top of fabric work.

What does Martin Lewis say about leaving heating on?

Martin Lewis’s consumer advice generally challenges the idea that leaving heating on low constantly saves money compared with heating on demand, noting that most homes lose heat quickly enough that continuous low heating rarely beats turning it on when needed. The right approach still depends on your home’s insulation standard, which is why fabric-first measures are worth tackling before you rely on any particular heating pattern.

Do bespoke shutters really reduce heat loss through windows?

Testing referenced by the British Blind & Shutter Association shows properly fitted shutters can reduce heat loss through windows by up to 33%, but the benefit depends on precise measurement and a tight seal, which is why bespoke fitting outperforms generic, off-the-shelf products.

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