With temperatures climbing during the UK’s recent heatwaves, many homeowners have been exploring whether they can install air conditioning without covering the entire cost themselves. There are several home heating grants available in the UK, but can you get a government grant for air conditioning?

The answer is that there isn’t currently a government grant for portable air conditioners or conventional systems installed solely to cool a home. However, eligible homeowners in England and Wales can receive £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Air-to-air heat pumps are effectively reversible air-conditioning systems that can warm a property during winter and switch to cooling mode during hot weather. But the grant comes with some important conditions, and homeowners generally can’t claim it simply to install an air-conditioning unit in one room.

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What is an air-to-air heat pump?

An air-to-air heat pump transfers heat between the outside air and the rooms inside a property.

During winter, it extracts heat from the outdoor air and distributes warm air through indoor fan units. When the weather turns hot, the process can be reversed: heat is removed from inside the property and released outdoors, producing the cooling effect people associate with air conditioning.

Unlike the air-to-water heat pumps more commonly installed in UK homes, air-to-air systems don’t usually heat water or connect to radiators. A household may therefore need a separate system for its hot water.

The technology can be particularly suitable for properties that don’t already have a wet central-heating system, such as homes heated by electric storage heaters.

How much funding is available?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £2,500 towards the purchase and installation of an eligible air-to-air heat pump.

This is lower than the standard £7,500 grants offered for air-to-water and ground source heat pumps, which can provide both space heating and hot water. The scheme also offers £5,000 towards an eligible biomass boiler.

A temporary £9,000 grant will be available for some off-gas-grid properties that switch to air-to-water or ground source heat pumps from 21 July 2026. However, that enhanced grant doesn’t apply to air-to-air systems.

The scheme operates in England and Wales. Different funding arrangements apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Who can claim the air conditioning grant?

The £2,500 payment is intended to support the replacement of an existing heating system with a low-carbon alternative. It isn’t a general discount for adding air conditioning to a property.

To qualify, the air-to-air heat pump must be capable of meeting the home’s full space-heating requirements. It must replace an eligible fossil-fuel or electric heating system rather than simply supplement it.

This means a homeowner generally couldn’t retain their gas boiler, install a wall-mounted air conditioner in a bedroom or conservatory and use the grant to cover the cost. Hybrid systems combining a heat pump with a fossil-fuel boiler are also excluded from the scheme.

Air-to-air grants are only available for residential buildings. Most new-build homes and social housing are excluded, although some self-build properties can qualify.

The installation must also be carried out by an installer certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, known as MCS.

How do you apply?

Homeowners don’t apply for the grant directly. After assessing the property and confirming that the proposed installation qualifies, an MCS-certified installer applies to Ofgem for a Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher.

The value of the grant is then deducted from the price paid by the homeowner.

It’s worth getting several quotes and asking each installer to confirm that the system will qualify before agreeing to the work or paying a large deposit. Air-to-air heat pumps have only recently become eligible, so not every heat pump or air-conditioning installer may currently participate in the scheme.

Is an air-to-air heat pump worth considering?

Being able to heat and cool a home using one system could make an air-to-air heat pump attractive to households struggling with increasingly hot summers. The £2,500 grant may also reduce the upfront cost substantially.

However, it shouldn’t be treated as a cheap route to occasional air conditioning. A grant-funded installation must be designed as the home’s principal heating system, which could require several indoor units and cost considerably more than fitting one room with conventional air conditioning.

Homeowners must also consider how they’ll heat their water, where the indoor and outdoor units will be positioned and how much electricity they may use for summer cooling.

The grant could make an air-to-air heat pump a practical option for the right property, but the decision should be based on the home’s year-round heating and hot-water needs – not just the temperature during the next heatwave.

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