Important: installers install — PlumbersNI doesnʼt administer grants
PlumbersNI is a gas and oil installer. PlumbersNI doesnʼt run any grant scheme, so the network doesnʼt benefit from telling you to apply for one. What follows is an honest read on what's out there, applications go directly to the scheme administrator, not us.
The main schemes at a glance
- 01 NI Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP), the main replacement scheme, income-tested.
- 02 Affordable Warmth, targeted at lower-income homeowners and private tenants.
- 03 Replacement Boiler Scheme NI, for homes with old, inefficient oil boilers.
- 04 Phoenix Natural Gas, subsidised connection for oil-to-gas switchers in gas-covered areas.
- 05 Firmus Energy, similar for Lisburn and western coverage areas.
- 06 Boiler manufacturer finance, not a grant but interest-free monthly payments via Worcester, Ideal and Vaillant.
NI Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP)
NISEP is administered through Northern Ireland's utility companies and offers grants towards energy efficiency measures including boiler replacement. Eligibility is income-tested and usually tied to benefits-receipt or being on low income.
Typical contribution: £500–£1,500 towards a replacement boiler if eligible. Applications via your energy supplier or directly at nidirect.gov.uk.
Affordable Warmth
Administered by the Housing Executive and local councils. Targets homeowners and private tenants with a household income below a threshold (currently £23,000). Can cover a full boiler replacement and loft insulation.
Start point: contact your local council's Affordable Warmth team. Belfast City Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Ards and North Down, and Antrim and Newtownabbey all administer it locally.
Replacement Boiler Scheme NI
Historically ran on and off over the past decade for oil-heated homes with boilers 15+ years old. Currently check status with nidirect, scheme availability varies year to year. When it's open, contribution is typically £700–£1,000.
Oil-to-gas conversion subsidies
If your property is in a gas-covered area, Phoenix Natural Gas and Firmus Energy both offer incentives, sometimes a subsidised service connection (the physical pipe from street to house), sometimes cashback. Phoenix historically runs a "Switch to Gas" programme; Firmus runs similar in their coverage area. These change yearly, check direct with the provider.
The oil-to-gas conversion service on the PlumbersNI network includes liaising with whichever provider covers your postcode, and any active incentive is flagged at the quote stage.
Manufacturer finance
Not a grant, but worth mentioning: Worcester, Ideal and Vaillant all run interest-free monthly payment plans via their approved installer networks. Typical terms are 24–60 months. For an install under £3,000, this often works out better than the fuss of a grant application.
Our honest take
If you're on benefits or low income, Affordable Warmth is the scheme to try first, it's the most generous and best-administered. NISEP is secondary. For everyone else, the financial case for a new boiler usually stacks up on pure efficiency grounds over 5–10 years, without needing a grant at all.
Quoting a new boiler?
Any active grant is flagged at the quote stage.
Include your postcode and household situation in the quote request. The installer flags any scheme that applies and points you at the right place to apply.
See the boiler installation service