Why hybrid heat pumps are excluded
A hybrid keeps a boiler in the system alongside a heat pump. The grant pages say that combination is not funded.
Key takeaways
- Installing a hybrid is not eligible.
- Replacing an old fossil hybrid with a full heat pump can still be a grant category, usually at the standard amount.
- The checker returns “not eligible” when you say you want a hybrid.
What hybrid means here
GOV.UK gives the example of a gas boiler combined with an air source heat pump. The boiler remains part of the heating system. That is the arrangement the scheme refuses.
Some quotes use “hybrid” for a heat pump that can also cool, or for a system with a backup heater inside the heat pump. Ask the installer whether a boiler or other fossil appliance stays connected. The word on the brochure is less useful than that answer.
Replacing an old hybrid
The values notice does include rows for replacing a fossil fuel hybrid system. For an air-to-water or ground source heat pump those rows are £7,500, not £9,000. The new system still has to be the heat pump on its own, not another hybrid.
If your current heating is oil or LPG only, without a second fossil appliance left in place, look at the off-gas pages. The checker’s heating list does not use “hybrid” as a current fuel. Tell the installer if a second appliance is still there.
What the checker does
If you choose hybrid as the system you want, the result is not eligible. It does not offer a partial grant. Change the answer to a full heat pump if that is what you are actually buying.
This is a guide, not a decision. Your installer applies and Ofgem decides.
Sources
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for property owners
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for installers
- Ofgem: Boiler Upgrade Scheme property owner guidance (April 2026)
- GOV.UK: Notice of approved grant categories and values (updated 29 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme — what you can get
- GOV.UK: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Reviewed by
UK Heat Pump & Funding Specialist
MCIBSE and MCS certified retrofit specialist. Director of Thomson and Sons Low Carbon Consulting Firm Ltd, specialising in heat pump retrofits since 2005.