Great British Insulation Scheme Explained (2026 Guide)
A plain-English, supplier-neutral guide to how GBIS worked, who it helped, and where to turn now that the scheme has wound down.
Check your eligibility freeWhat the Great British Insulation Scheme actually was
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) was a UK government energy-efficiency programme administered by Ofgem. It ran from spring 2023 and was designed to deliver insulation to less efficient homes, cutting energy waste and trimming bills for hundreds of thousands of households. Rather than paying you directly, the scheme placed a legal obligation on larger energy suppliers to fund and arrange insulation through approved, TrustMark-registered installers.
That structure is the single most misunderstood thing about it. You did not receive a cheque. Instead, your supplier (or a scheme administrator acting for one) would arrange a free home survey, confirm what measure your property needed, and then install it at no cost or a heavily reduced cost depending on which eligibility group you fell into.
GBIS delivered one insulation measure per home — for example loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, room-in-roof, or underfloor insulation. Official figures show around 130,800 measures installed across roughly 95,500 households by early 2026. It was a meaningful scheme, but a focused one: it was always about insulation, not a catch-all home-improvement fund.
Who qualified: the two eligibility groups
GBIS used two routes. Most households came in through one or the other, and the route you fell into decided whether the work was fully funded or part-funded.
- Low-income group: Open to homeowners and private tenants receiving at least one qualifying means-tested benefit — typically Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings), Income Support, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, or Child Benefit (income-capped). This group usually got measures fully funded.
- General group: Open to a much wider range of households, with no benefits needed. To qualify your home generally had to have an EPC rating of D to G and sit within a lower council tax band — bands A to D in England, and bands A to E in Scotland and Wales. This group often contributed something towards the cost.
The scheme covered England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland. You needed to own your home, or rent privately with your landlord's consent. A useful detail that vendor pages often skipped: the council-tax-band route meant plenty of middle-income, non-benefit households qualified for the general group — something worth knowing if you assumed you earned too much.
What GBIS covered (and what it didn't)
GBIS was an insulation scheme, full stop. The measures available included:
- Cavity wall insulation
- Loft insulation
- Solid wall insulation (internal or external)
- Room-in-roof and pitched/flat roof insulation
- Underfloor and solid floor insulation
- Park (mobile) home insulation
Independent estimates from the Energy Saving Trust suggest the savings can be real: loft insulation can save roughly £180–£390 a year and cavity wall insulation roughly £120–£420 a year, depending on your home, how you heat it, and energy prices. Your actual saving varies, so treat these as a guide rather than a promise.
One thing to be clear about: GBIS did not fund solar panels. Solar PV sits under different schemes. If solar is what you're after, the route is usually the ECO4 scheme (which can fully fund solar for eligible low-income households), the Smart Export Guarantee for getting paid for exported power, or — in Scotland — an interest-free Home Energy Scotland loan rather than a grant. Don't be sold solar on the back of an insulation enquiry without checking which scheme actually applies.
Is GBIS still open in 2026?
This is the question that matters most right now, and it's where most pages on the web are out of date. The Great British Insulation Scheme has wound down: its official end date is 31 March 2026, and the GOV.UK referral service for new applications has already closed. Energy suppliers have been completing installations for households that applied before the cut-off, but the scheme is no longer taking fresh enquiries through the government portal.
In plain terms: if you missed GBIS, you have not necessarily missed out on free or funded insulation. The need it addressed hasn't gone away, and other schemes overlap heavily with what GBIS offered. The honest answer to "can I still get GBIS?" is usually "not GBIS specifically — but very possibly something equivalent." That is exactly why an independent eligibility check beats applying to a single supplier or installer who only knows their own scheme.
Beware of any company still advertising "GBIS" as wide open with no caveats. As an independent service we'd rather tell you the scheme has closed and point you to what's actually live than sign you up to something that no longer exists.
What to apply for instead now
If insulation is your goal, the most relevant live routes in 2026 are usually:
- ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation): The big one. ECO4 is benefits-linked, targets homes rated EPC D–G, and can fully fund a package of measures — insulation, heating upgrades and, for suitable homes, solar PV. LA Flex / ECO Flex widens this beyond benefits via local-authority income rules, a health-condition route, or other proxies, so don't rule yourself out on benefits alone.
- Home Upgrade Grant (HUG): Aimed at low-income households in off-gas-grid, low-EPC homes in England.
- Nation-specific schemes: In Wales, Nest / Warm Homes Wales funds measures for eligible households. In Scotland, Warmer Homes Scotland supports low-income and vulnerable households. In Northern Ireland, the Affordable Warmth Scheme and NISEP apply (ECO and GBIS never ran in NI).
The practical move is to check eligibility across all of these at once rather than guessing. Use our free eligibility checker to see which schemes you could qualify for in a couple of minutes — there's no obligation, and we don't tie you to one supplier. Because we're independent, we'll point you to whatever route actually fits your home, even if that's a scheme we don't "sell".
How the application process worked (and still works)
Whether under GBIS or the schemes that have effectively replaced it, the journey is similar, so it's worth knowing the shape of it:
| 1. Eligibility check | Confirm your benefits, income, EPC rating and council tax band against the relevant scheme's rules. |
| 2. Home survey | A surveyor visits to assess your property and recommend the right measure — this is funded, not something you pay for upfront. |
| 3. Installation | A TrustMark-registered installer fits the measure. Quality is backed by guarantees. |
| 4. Sign-off | The work is certified and, where relevant, your EPC is updated to reflect the improvement. |
Two things protect you throughout. First, accredited installers and TrustMark registration mean the work is independently standards-checked. Second, no legitimate scheme guarantees approval before assessing your home — if anyone promises a guaranteed grant on a cold call, treat it as a red flag. The right first step is always a no-obligation eligibility check, then a proper survey. From there you'll know exactly what you qualify for, with no pressure to proceed.
Great British Insulation Scheme Explained (2026 Guide) — FAQs
Is the Great British Insulation Scheme still available in 2026?
The scheme officially ends on 31 March 2026 and the GOV.UK referral service for new applications has already closed. Suppliers have been finishing installations for households who applied in time, but you can no longer enquire through the original GBIS portal. The good news is that overlapping schemes such as ECO4 and LA Flex still fund very similar insulation work, so it's worth checking your eligibility for those instead.
Did GBIS pay for solar panels?
No. The Great British Insulation Scheme only funded insulation measures such as loft, cavity wall, solid wall and underfloor insulation. Solar PV is funded through different routes — most commonly the ECO4 scheme for eligible low-income households, the Smart Export Guarantee for getting paid for exported electricity, or an interest-free Home Energy Scotland loan north of the border. If you were offered solar on the back of an insulation enquiry, check which scheme actually applies.
Could I qualify for GBIS without being on benefits?
Yes — that was a key feature people often missed. The general group needed no benefits at all. Your home generally had to have an EPC rating of D to G and fall within a lower council tax band (A–D in England, A–E in Scotland and Wales). Many middle-income households qualified this way, though they sometimes paid a contribution towards the cost. Similar non-benefit routes still exist under LA Flex / ECO Flex.
How much could insulation save on my energy bills?
Independent Energy Saving Trust estimates suggest loft insulation can save roughly £180–£390 a year and cavity wall insulation roughly £120–£420 a year, depending on your property, how you heat it, and current energy prices. These are guides, not guarantees — your actual saving depends on how much insulation you already have and the size and age of your home.
What should I apply for now that GBIS has closed?
For insulation, the main live routes are ECO4 (including LA Flex for non-benefit households), the Home Upgrade Grant for off-gas-grid homes in England, and nation-specific schemes like Nest in Wales, Warmer Homes Scotland, and the Affordable Warmth Scheme in Northern Ireland. The simplest way to find out which fits your home is a free, no-obligation eligibility check across all of them at once.
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