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A free boiler grant might sound too good to be true but the reality is that these do exist. Thanks to government grants there are boiler grants out there that could be yours without you having to pay a penny. Of course getting one means you need to fit a certain criteria to be eligible.
It’s worth looking into this if you think there is even a chance that a boiler grant could apply to you. Since boilers can often break down suddenly, perhaps when you’re not financially ready, it pays to have this grant as a support option.
While new sources of heat for the home, like heat pumps, are due to start appearing more, they won’t be mainstream for a while. As Jamie Luck of Baltic Consulting points out: ‘There will still be a need for natural gas for the foreseeable future. Although not ideal, its effects will hopefully be lessened with the blending of renewable hydrogen gas into the existing network.’
Read on to find out what a boiler grant is, how a boiler grant works and – crucially – if you can get a free boiler and how you go about it. This guide aims to make the whole process simple so you’re not only saving money with your new boiler but time too.
Boiler grants are available from the government. Eligible people are able to get subsidised or even totally free boilers in their homes. This isn’t just for broken boilers that need replacing though, this can also apply to inefficient boilers.
Image credit: Future plc/Jamie Mason
If you’re struggling to heat your property, the government has set aside funding that will help you stay warm. That could mean that your currently inefficient boiler, that’s costing you a lot to run, could be replaced with a new A-rated energy-efficient model to help you save on utility bills. A new boiler could save you £300 per year on your utility bills while also keeping you cosy and helping the environment too.
Since the 2016 ECO Scheme (Energy Companies Obligation), homeowners and private tenants can replace their old or damaged boiler for free or subsidised. This falls under the Affordable Warmth Obligation (a subsection of ECO). While the grant is for a new boiler it can also be used to fix an older boiler, improve insulation of a boiler or home and so on. The bottom line is that it’s your right to be warm and if you can’t afford that, the government has funding to help.
For boilers that aren’t broken, it’s worth noting that your boiler must be at least less than 86% efficient to qualify for a replacement.
There are quite a few criteria for those that are eligible to receive a boiler grant when you need to replace a boiler. If you meet the necessary requirements you could be in for a new boiler, or other heat-saving upgrades. One way to find out if you are able to apply for a boiler grant is to use the website calculator at Simple Energy Advice. To be eligible for a boiler grant you must meet the following criteria:
To expand on the benefit types which apply to allow you to receive a free boiler grant these are:
People in receipt of pension credits and child tax credits, where the annual household income is less than £16,010, will automatically qualify for a replacement boiler grant. It’s worth noting that if you don’t qualify for a free boiler, all hope isn’t lost. You may still be entitled to a discounted price on a new boiler. Also, some local authorities offer their own schemes through the Eco Flex Grant. These are ideal for those who don’t receive means tested benefits but are on low income.
For those in social housing, if the home has an energy rating of E, F or G, you may qualify for an insulation grant. If the property has not previously had central heating then you may also qualify for a free boiler grant.
Both homeowners and tenants who rent are eligible for boiler grants. This is presuming they are receiving one of the benefit types mentioned above. One factor that will prohibit tenants is if they are in local authority run social housing. Landlords with low income tenants may also apply for the ECO scheme benefit and may find they are eligible for a free boiler replacement or at least a heavily discounted unit.
The free boiler grants, as part of the ECO Scheme, are carried out in conjunction with the government, by the ‘big six’ energy companies in the UK. These are British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, SSE, Npower and Scottish Power. Some smaller companies also offer the ECO3 benefits, which can include a boiler. These include Avero, Eon, Ovo, SO, Ecotricity, Pure Planet, Utility warehouse, Utilita, E, Shell Energy and Utility Point.
The ECO3 scheme currently runs to 31 March 2022, having started this phase in December 2018. Expect the ECO4 phase to start in April 2022 and run until 2026. The companies involved may change at this hand-over point. Also consider if there is going to be a boiler ban in 2025.
The free boiler grant applies to any older style boiler in a home, meaning it can be gas or oil. An upgrade will be to the most environmentally friendly option that, likely, still uses the same system.
There is also a boiler upgrade scheme, announced in October 2021, which is able to offer up to £5,000 towards a new boiler. With many costing around the £2,500 mark, this should be more than enough to cover nearly all homes. The upgrade scheme applies to gas and oil boilers and they will be replaced by the most low-carbon heating system available. It could mean a heat pump is used instead of a boiler which will remove the reliance on gas, saving money and helping the environment.
Image credit: Future plc/Robert Sanderson
Since the scheme only applies to older boilers, you won’t get an exact replacement. If your boiler is seven years or older, you’ll be getting a new model. As such the new model will be more efficient as the tech has moved on fast. No matter what efficiency rating your boiler has, the new model is required to be A rated under the ECO scheme. That means you will get a model that is one of the newest and most energy efficient.
The brand can vary though, depending on who is providing your boiler. Leading UK manufacturers Baxi and Gloworm have worked on totally new boiler models to create super energy efficient boilers which are available as part of the scheme. While the boiler will be totally new, based on the income of your household, you may be required to pay towards the installation of that boiler, in some cases.
There is also the option of a new heat pump. As Mesh Energy‘s Doug Johnson says: ‘The government is launching the BUS (boiler upgrade scheme) in April 2022. This provides a grant to help existing homeowners replace their gas boilers with heat pumps.’
The process of application is actually fairly straight-forward. You can go directly to the energy companies or use a specialist third-party option which will do the leg work for you. In fact, the application can take just a few minutes to get started.
You’ll need to give your postcode, initially, to see if your area is eligible or not. The next step is to answer a few basic questions about your home living status and benefits received. If you qualify, you will be asked about the fuel type in your home, insulation, boiler status and age as well as giving any boiler problems in a description box. The final step is to enter a few personal details. It’s that simple.
The process after your application can vary in time depending on who you use. Some companies claim that you know if you have been granted your boiler within 24 hours, with installation within the week. This will be done by a professional boiler fitter who makes sure it is Gas Safe Registered and secure.
Often these will also install a new thermostat and energy monitoring kit along with the boiler. They will also carry out a free energy rating assessment of the property to show the improvements made.
Image credit: Future plc/Colin Poole
The boiler grant is available to cover the cost of the boiler. Depending on who you go for this may also cover installation, but not in all cases. For example if you were to use a company like Eon, you’d be paying £395 which includes the boiler and installation by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. This scheme also gets you free cavity wall insulation and a free loft insulation grant. All that adds up to an energy saving, depending on boiler age, that could be as much as £350 per year.
While the boiler itself is replaced, this won’t cover any extra pipework or radiators. So if you have a different type of piping, for example, where that needs replacing to work with the newer boiler, this cost will be extra. Likewise, if you want to install more energy efficient radiators, that’ll be down to you to cover the cost.
It’s worth paying for insulation as part of the upgrade, or claiming it where possible. As Baltic Consulting’s Jamie Luck points out: ‘Insulating homes is always worthwhile, we are big advocates of a ‘fabric first’ policy. It is important to get professional advice on what is the best option for the specific property build; what would be acceptable for a 1960s bungalow may actually cause damp issues in a Victorian terrace.’
As a general tip, Keith Bastian, CEO of renewable home heating provider Fischer Future Heat, says: ‘Solutions to issues with damp include keeping spaces well heated and ventilated. But, if you leave windows open while you have the heating on in your house, you’ll be wasting a significant amount of money and energy. Breaking small habits like these will help to save you money in the longer term.’
No, you won’t have to pay anything back as this is a grant and not a loan. That means the money is being provided by the government, which is claimed by the energy company which pays for the boiler and installation up front. So you won’t have to give any bank details or money, except in the case where there may be a charge, like the example above.
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We test out the DUUX Tag 2 DXHU14UK Humidifier against the negative impact of central heating, sniffles, and winter weather.
Getting a reliable humidifier for the colder winter months can make all of the difference between an overly dry home environment caused by factors such as having the heating on for several weeks straight, and a remedy for your skin, scratchy throat, and stuffed nose.
If you have allergies that persist into the second half of the year or struggle with persistent cold symptoms when it’s chilly outside, then a humidifier like the Duux Tag 2 can help to ease everything from snoring at night to dry skin and headaches. You can also take a look at our guide for a ranking of the best humidifiers.
When testing in the past, Duux devices have tended to be well-designed and simple to use, and the Tag 2 humidifier is no different. We tested it out to see whether it could improve the home environment during winter.
Credit: Duux
Tank capacity: 2.5L
Recommended room size: 30m2
Speeds: 2
Dimensions: 34.4 x 29.8 x 23.4cm
Weight: 2.3kg
Reasons to buy
Great design
Works in large spaces up to 30m2
Good tank capacity
Quiet
Reasons to avoid
Only two speed settings
Quite pricey
Credit: Duux
Setting up the Duux Tag 2 is incredibly simple, with just a few steps to complete before you’re up and running. The sample we received had a US plug, so we needed to use an adapter, and then it was just a matter of removing the humidifier’s top and lifting out the tank inside. At the base of this tank is a wheel that must be unscrewed before filling, revealing the limescale-battling cartridge that promises to prevent bacteria and white deposits.
The 2.5L water tank is a good size, and Duux claims it will last for up to ten hours. This is ideal if you want to use the humidifier at night, and it will automatically shut off when the water tank is empty. You’ll also get a warning light so you don’t wait until it runs completely dry before topping up.
Because the humidifier uses ultrasonic technology, the resulting steam is cool to the touch and so eliminates the danger of burns for pets and children. There are two settings that can be switched between using the ‘min’ and ‘max’ controls on the side, so you can choose how much additional moisture you need in the air. More settings here would have been nice, but most people won’t mind trading customisation for simplicity.
You can also add your choice of essential oils to the water if you want to incorporate some aromatherapy into things. Just put a few droplets on your favourite scent into the water.
Credit: Duux
The design of the Duux Tag 2 is nothing short of gorgeous, with its matte black (or white) casing and wood-effect legs making this one of the most stylish air quality devices we’ve come across. It’s stylish in a way that will fit into most home decor styles, too, so minimalists and maximalists alike can include it in their living space. The blue and red lights might ruin things for some people, but thankfully there is a control that switches this off so it can safely be used in the bedroom while sleeping.
We also love how simple the Duux is to take apart when refilling or cleaning. Using the leather strap to lift off the top cover means there are no fiddly latches or screws to deal with.
Credit: Duux
Solid, feature-rich air quality devices with an eye on style are few and far between, so it’s exciting to see Duux putting thought into both features and aesthetics with the Tag 2 humidifier. While it lacks smart features or really that many functions other than two speeds, this relative unsophistication will appeal to a lot of people who want to be able to just turn on their devices and forget about them. And it gets points for looking good even when not in use, and doubling as an essential oils diffuser.
The post Duux Tag 2 Humidifier review appeared first on Ideal Home.
The Ninja Foodi Blender and Soup Maker is a 2-in-1 blender that can do all the usual cold blending, plus it has an integrated heating element which means it can be used to make soups from scratch too. While the best soup maker and blender combination appliances are fairly common, not all of them can make true chunky soups like this one can, and some even rely on the heat generated by the fast-spinning blades to heat the soup ingredients.
With its integrated heating element and plenty of auto programmes for both blending and cooking, this Ninja is a great multipurpose kitchen appliance. While trying it out I made delicious soups and sauces from scratch but it was just as capable of crushing whole ice cubes and it impressed me with its versatility. Keep reading to find out if this is one of the best blenders on the market.
Reasons to buy:
Reasons to avoid:
Aside from a few plastic bags, this Ninja blender comes neatly packaged in cardboard, so everything in the box is easily recyclable, which definitely gets a thumbs up from me. When removing all the parts from the box, my first impression was that the glass jug is sturdy but very heavy. The base is also big, but it tapers down so that the footprint on your kitchen counter isn’t much bigger than most other blenders. Aside from the lid, there’s a tamper and cleaning brush in the box and a small recipe book that in addition to recipes, gives you guideline proportions of solid and liquid ingredients for making your own soup creations.
The lid locks securely into position but is still easy to attach and remove. However, I was disappointed to see that due to the way the heating element plugs into the base, the handle of the jug must sit to the right-hand side, which will be frustrating if you’re left-handed.
When I switched it on, the first thing the blender did was display a prompt on the screen telling me to put the lid on. And one of the great safety features of this blender is that it doesn’t let you start any of the programmes until the lid is locked in place. Then it’s a case of deciding which programme to use for what you want to make.
There are four Auto-IQ cold blending programmes which are smoothie, dessert, milkshake and frozen drink. The four Auto-IQ cook programmes are jam, sauce, smooth soup and chunky soup, plus the two pre-cook programmes: chop and sauté. Additionally, there are three speeds to choose from if you select manual blend and three cook temperatures if you select manual cook. And despite the number of options, the large control panel is clearly laid out and very straightforward to use.
There’s only one smoothie in the recipe book so I opted to make my own recipe. I blended frozen cherries with flaxseed powder, protein powder, milk, spinach, peanut butter and ice. The smoothie programme takes 45 seconds, and a timer counts down on the screen during blending. I was pleased to see the ice and frozen cherries had completely broken down and the finished smoothie was free of lumps. There were some tiny flecks of cherry skin and spinach visible in the drink, but overall the texture was smooth and well mixed.
For my second smoothie I combined frozen strawberries with ice, chia seeds, freeze-dried raspberry powder, protein powder, spinach, avocado and milk, which had an unappealing beige appearance but tasted delicious. Again, I used the smoothie programme, and everything blended well. This time the smoothie had a gritty texture due to the chia seeds and seeds from the strawberries, both of which had not been broken down. There are some blenders that are designed specifically for smoothies and would completely pulverise these seeds, so if that’s what you’re looking for this blender won’t suit you, but if you don’t mind a few seeds, it mixes well and creates lump-free drinks even when there’s a lot of frozen ingredients.
For my first foray into soup in this soup maker I decided to follow the recipe for butternut squash soup in the included recipe book. Firstly, quartered onion and oil are added to the jug, I selected the chop programme and it chopped the onion for 12 seconds. Next I selected sauté and the blender heated up, gently sauteing the onions for five minutes, to get even results you’ll need to push down any bits of onion stuck to the side of the jug. Then, along with hot vegetable stock, all the rest of the ingredients go in raw at the end of the sauté programme and all I had to do was press the smooth soup button.
The 30-minute programme bubbles away vigorously with the blades turning occasionally to stir the ingredients. For safety, it beeps to alert you that the blades are about to turn. During cooking, the glass jug gets very hot, and steam is emitted from the lid, more so at the end when for the final minute, the blender kicks in and blitzes the hot ingredients to a smooth lump free soup. If you’re not around when it finishes it’ll switch on the keep warm function and keep your soup warm for up to 60 minutes. The butternut soup was beautifully cooked, creamy and delicious, but very hot.
I followed the instructions in the recipe book for how to create custom chunky soups and made up my own recipe. I chopped and sautéed the onions as above then added blended tinned tomatoes as the base, followed by spices, chunks of pepper and sweetcorn. I added kidney beans six minutes before the end as suggested in the recipe book, but I had to be careful as there was a bit of spitting when I opened the centre cap and tipped them in.
The chunky soup programme works in much the same way as the smooth soup programme but without the final blending phase. Despite the occasional stirring with the sharp blades the chunks of pepper, sweetcorn and kidney beans all stayed intact and I was pleased with the result.
With very little advice in the recipe book about creating your own sauce recipes, I had to wing it a bit when making tomato sauce using the sauce programme. I decided to follow the initial steps for soup by chopping and sautéing my onions and garlic in the blender before adding quartered tomatoes, some water and seasoning.
The sauce programme takes just over 30 minutes, the blades spin at regular intervals during the cooking process to mix and chop the ingredients, but the finished sauce still had some texture. It was neither chunky nor completely smooth. I was pleased with how it cooked, and the tomatoes broke down nicely, the best bit is that it’s completely hands-off and you don’t have to watch over it like you would on the hob.
The automatic clean programme on this blender is essential because the heating element in the jug means it can’t be submerged in water. I used the clean programme and it’s actually very thorough. You add water and washing up liquid and then it spends almost seven minutes heating and blending to get rid of all the residues. It still requires a bit of a rinse afterwards but for the most part everything gets cleaned off.
The lid, centre cap and tamper are all dishwasher safe, but they’re not tricky to wash by hand either. You also get a cleaning brush in the box which is effective at dislodging debris from around the blade area, should you need to clean the jug by hand. The flat touch control panel is easy to wipe clean in case you find yourself setting it with food on your hands.
Ice is no match for the Ninja, it completely crushed a handful of ice cubes in just five quick pulses, so it’s great for making cocktails or cool summer drinks.
If on-the-go protein shakes and smoothies aren’t your main reason for wanting a blender, you should definitely consider this one. As a multipurpose blender that can make soups, sauces and more, it has the potential to become a real workhorse in your kitchen and offers far more than your average blender.
Yes, there are cheaper blenders on the market and cheaper soup makers too, but in my opinion, this sturdy little appliance is great at everything from crushing ice to cooking soups from scratch. Having never been a fan of soup makers, this Ninja might just have converted me. The chop and sauté functions keep the whole process contained in the jug and it makes a great soup while you put your feet up. The only downside for me is that the capacity makes just three portions of soup at a time.
Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a Home Economist. After starting her career in the food industry, she moved into home appliance reviews, utilising her cooking skills and experience to put all kinds of products to the test, and over the years has reviewed hundreds of home and kitchen appliances for a variety of publications.
Having completely renovated her current house, Helen reviews kitchen appliances from her open plan kitchen at home in a beautiful Berkshire village. When she’s not working, Helen can be found enjoying the local countryside or dreaming about her next house renovation project.
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