Are There Any Grants or Discounts for Air Conditioning in the UK?
Short version: no, there are no UK government grants for cooling. Public support is built around heating and energy efficiency, because that’s where the policy priorities and the fuel poverty pressures have been. The confusion people run into is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — that covers air-to-water heat pumps, which replace your boiler and heat radiators and hot water. A reverse-cycle air conditioner is an air-to-air heat pump, and it is not eligible. Where you may find help is on the insulation side, which reduces summer heat gain as well as winter heat loss.
This comes up every heatwave. Here’s the actual position, and what’s genuinely worth pursuing.
Why no cooling grants exist
Not an oversight — a policy choice with reasoning behind it.
UK energy policy has focused on decarbonising heat and addressing fuel poverty, both of which are winter problems. Historically, cold has killed far more people in the UK than heat, and heating is where most household energy goes.
Cooling has been treated as a comfort purchase rather than a necessity. Whether that holds as heatwaves become more frequent is a reasonable question — but as things stand, there is no equivalent of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for cooling.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme — and why it doesn’t apply
The single biggest source of confusion, so worth being precise.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales offers grants toward replacing fossil fuel heating with a low-carbon system, principally air-source heat pumps and ground-source heat pumps.
The critical distinction:
- Air-to-water heat pump — a large outdoor unit heating your radiators, underfloor heating and hot water. Replaces your boiler. This is what the scheme supports, and it requires an MCS-certified installer.
- Air-to-air heat pump — what a reverse-cycle air conditioner is. Heats and cools the air in individual rooms. Not eligible.
Both are “air source heat pumps” in the broad sense, which is exactly why people assume their reverse-cycle unit qualifies. It doesn’t. Our heat pump guide covers the difference in detail.
Scotland runs its own scheme through Home Energy Scotland, and Northern Ireland has separate arrangements — check the relevant body rather than assuming the English scheme applies.
What does exist, and what it covers
None of these fund cooling, but several are worth checking if you qualify — and some help with summer heat indirectly.
Insulation and efficiency schemes
The most relevant route, because insulation works in both directions. Loft insulation that keeps heat in during January also slows heat coming down from the roof in July.
Schemes such as the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) support insulation measures for eligible households, typically based on income, benefits, property EPC rating or council tax band. Availability and criteria change, so check current terms.
This is the route we’d actually pursue. Our loft insulation guide covers checking what you have, and if you’re in a top-floor flat or a loft conversion, roof insulation is the single most effective summer measure available.
Bill support
Doesn’t fund equipment, but reduces the cost of running it:
- Warm Home Discount — a rebate on electricity bills for eligible households
- Winter Fuel Payment and cold weather payments — winter-specific
- Supplier hardship funds — many suppliers have them, and they’re under-claimed
The Priority Services Register
Free, and not a grant but genuinely valuable. Energy network operators and suppliers maintain a register for households needing extra support — people of pensionable age, anyone with a disability or long-term condition, anyone relying on electrical medical equipment, households with young children.
It provides advance notice of planned power cuts and priority updates during unplanned ones, which matters a great deal if a heatwave and an outage coincide. Register with both the network operator and your supplier — separate lists. Our heatwave power cut guide covers that scenario.
Disabled Facilities Grants
Worth knowing about, and rarely mentioned in this context.
Local councils administer Disabled Facilities Grants for adaptations that help a disabled person live safely and independently at home. These are means-tested and assessed case by case, and they’re primarily for things like ramps, stairlifts and bathroom adaptations.
Whether temperature control could ever form part of an assessment is a question for an occupational therapist and your council, not something we can answer generally — but if someone in the household has a condition genuinely affected by heat, it is worth raising rather than assuming the answer is no. Start with the council’s adult social care team.
Charitable grants
Some charities provide grants for household essentials, often tied to a specific occupation, condition or circumstance. Turn2us runs a free grants search covering a wide range of them, and it’s worth ten minutes if money is tight.
Reducing the cost yourself
- Buy out of season. Autumn and winter is when demand collapses and clearance happens — our timing guide covers it.
- Consider refurbished or ex-display. Buying from a retailer means the Consumer Rights Act applies in full — our refurbished guide covers what to check.
- Size it correctly. An oversized unit costs more to buy and more to run — our sizing guide covers it.
- Prioritise the energy rating if you’ll run it regularly.
- Do the free things first. Shading from mid-morning and correctly timed purge ventilation cost nothing and may mean you need a smaller unit, or none.
If you’re a renter
Most schemes require the landlord’s involvement for property measures, so speak to them rather than applying yourself.
If a room is persistently unusable because of a defect, that’s a different conversation — excess heat is a recognised hazard under the housing standards system councils use to assess rented property. Our renter’s guide covers raising it, and Shelter can advise.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a grant for a reverse-cycle air conditioner?
No. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers air-to-water heat pumps that replace your boiler. A reverse-cycle air conditioner is air-to-air and isn’t eligible, even though it’s technically a heat pump.
Is there VAT relief?
VAT relief has applied to certain energy-saving materials at various points, and the qualifying list changes. Check current HMRC guidance rather than a blog — and ask the supplier before buying, since they’d apply it at point of sale.
What about business premises?
Different rules entirely — capital allowances and business energy schemes may apply. That’s an accountant question. Our business guide covers the wider considerations.
Will cooling grants ever exist?
Impossible to say. Heat-related deaths in the UK have been significant in recent years and overheating now features in building regulations for new homes, so the policy attention is increasing. Nothing is announced for existing homes.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Boiler Upgrade Scheme
- GOV.UK — Energy Company Obligation
- GOV.UK — Great British Insulation Scheme
- GOV.UK — Warm Home Discount
- GOV.UK — Disabled Facilities Grants
- Ofgem — Priority Services Register
- Home Energy Scotland — Home Energy Scotland
- Turn2us — Grants search
- Citizens Advice — Reporting scams
Related reading: our heat pump guide and budget buying guide.
With no cooling grants available, buying out of season is where the saving is. Compare current specifications at Amazon UK.
