Heating, Energy & Eco
398 sources in the library on heating, energy & eco, 40 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 10.
- very strong RN-12PMQ8 cited
Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (GOV.UK)
OZEV's customer guidance for the residential landlord grant. It gives 75% of the cost up to £500 per socket, for up to 200 sockets a year.
- very strong RN-FXEB6V cited
Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (GOV.UK)
OZEV's guidance for installers applying for authorisation. It requires a competent person scheme number (NAPIT, NICEIC, SELECT) or ECA membership.
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Ofgem
Ofgem administers the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, handling voucher processing, payments, compliance monitoring and fraud investigation, but does not set scheme policy or certify installers and products. Ofgem lists £7,500 for air-to-water, ground source and water source heat pumps, £5,000 for biomass boilers, £2,500 for air-to-air heat pumps in residential properties, and £9,000 for air-to-water or ground source heat pumps in off-gas-grid properties until 31 March 2027. Only MCS certified installers can apply for and redeem vouchers on behalf of a property owner. Enquiries go to BUS.Enquiry@ofgem.gov.uk or 0330 053 2006.
Cited in Ground vs Air Source Heat Pumps.
- very strong RN-UZL6XF cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's page for property owners using the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. It settles that the installer must be MCS certified and that installers can be found on the MCS website.
Cited in Air Source Heat Pumps: Cost, Grants & Is It Worth It.
- very strong RN-4NY25M cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's annual report on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for scheme year 4. It gives the share of all BUS grants paid since launch that went to air source heat pumps.
Cited in Ground vs Air Source Heat Pumps.
- very strong RN-FAJTUK cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's scheme guidance for Boiler Upgrade Scheme installers, version 5.1. It settles that from 28 April 2026 a valid EPC is no longer needed, though an existing EPC's number must be supplied.
Cited in Air Source Heat Pumps: Cost, Grants & Is It Worth It, Garden Room Cost & Complete Planning Guide (UK), Garden Room vs Extension: Which Should You Build?, Ground vs Air Source Heat Pumps and 2 more.
- very strong RN-FPPUSL cited
Ofgem
ECO4 is the fourth phase of the Energy Company Obligation across Great Britain. It applies to measures installed from 1 April 2022 and runs until 31 December 2026 following a nine-month extension; ECO3 closed on 31 March 2022 and ECO4 came into force in July 2022. The scheme places a Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation on medium and large energy suppliers to promote measures that improve the ability of low-income, fuel-poor and vulnerable households to heat their homes, funding insulation and heating upgrades for both homeowners and tenants. Ofgem also lists the Great British Insulation Scheme as a separate obligation on this page.
Cited in All You Need To Know About Double Glazing Repairs, Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared, Boiler Upgrade Scheme & Heating Grants 2026, Cavity Wall Insulation Materials Compared and 19 more.
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Ofgem
Ofgem's ECO page for householders lists the qualifying benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Child Benefit, and the local authority Flex referral route.
Cited in Storage Heaters: Modern Options.
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Ofgem
The live source for any running-cost sum in a heating note. For 1 October to 31 December 2026 the direct debit cap is 26.32p per kWh for electricity with a 54.83p daily standing charge, and 7.97p per kWh for gas with a 29.68p daily standing charge, giving a typical annual dual fuel bill of £1,723, a 4% rise on the previous period. Ofgem states these are the average unit rate and standing charge for direct debit customers in England, Scotland and Wales; gas prices include 5% VAT while electricity carried no VAT in this period. The cap is reset every three months, so any note quoting a pence-per-kWh figure should be dated against this page.
Cited in Air Source Heat Pumps: Cost, Grants & Is It Worth It, Bathroom Underfloor Heating: Cost & Worth It?, Boiler Upgrade Scheme & Heating Grants 2026, Boiling Water Taps & Filtered Taps and 35 more.
- very strong RN-RDOIJR cited
Ofgem
The scheme, formerly known as ECO+, ran from April 2023 to 31 March 2026 and is now closed. It obliged medium and large energy suppliers to deliver measures reducing energy use in the least energy-efficient homes in Great Britain. Eligibility was homes with an EPC rating of D to G in Council Tax bands A to D in England, or A to E in Scotland and Wales, plus low-income and vulnerable households. Unlike ECO4, which funds whole-house packages, GBIS mostly delivered a single insulation measure per home. This is the page to cite when a note has to say a grant route has closed rather than leave a reader chasing it.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared, Boiler Upgrade Scheme & Heating Grants 2026, Electric Heating Options Compared, EPC Ratings Explained & How to Improve Yours and 17 more.
- very strong RN-JFYAIH cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's 2026 decision on typical domestic consumption values. Its Table 1 sets the new medium values, implemented from 1 July 2026, at 9,500 kWh a year for gas and 2,500 kWh for single-rate electricity.
Cited in Home Energy Audit: DIY Steps.
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Ofgem
The scheme that pays a household for exported solar electricity, and the successor to the Feed-in Tariff. It launched on 1 January 2020 and obliges certain licensed electricity suppliers, the SEG Licensees, to pay small-scale generators for low-carbon electricity exported to the National Grid. Eligible technologies are solar PV, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and micro-CHP, at installed capacities up to 5 MW, or up to 50 kW for micro-CHP. Crucially for a payback calculation, Ofgem does not set the rate: SEG Licensees determine the tariff rate, contract length and other terms, the only floor being that a SEG rate must always be above zero. Payments are calculated from export meter readings, so an export meter is a practical precondition. Ofgem publishes the list of current SEG Licensees annually, and advises generators to shop around between them.
Cited in Electric Heating Options Compared, Solar Battery Storage: Is It Worth Adding.
- very strong RN-8LC718 cited
Ofgem
Defines the two classes of SEG licensee. A supplier is a Mandatory SEG Licensee if it has at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers as at 31 December of the immediately preceding year, and it cannot opt out of offering SEG payments. A supplier with fewer than 150,000 domestic electricity customers as at the same date is a Voluntary SEG Licensee and may choose to opt in. SEG licensees choose the tariff rate, contract length and some other terms they offer generators, and any SEG tariff rate offered must always be above zero. Useful for correcting the common phrasing 'more than 150,000 customers', which misses both the 'at least' and the 'domestic' qualifiers.
- very strong RN-OVV4PP cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's generator-facing SEG guidance, December 2019. The SEG obligation came into force on 1 January 2020 and follows the Feed-in Tariff scheme, which closed on 31 March 2019. Eligible technologies are AD, hydro, onshore wind and solar PV with a total installed capacity up to 5MW, and micro-CHP up to 50kW. Paragraph 1.12: for PV, wind and micro-CHP installations up to 50kW applicants are asked to demonstrate that the installation and installer are suitably certified, which may be an MCS certificate, but the SEG also recognises other schemes as equivalent to MCS. Paragraph 1.13: without an MCS certificate the installation and installer should be accredited to EN 45011 or EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012. Paragraph 1.17: export must be metered by a meter capable of half-hourly measurement with an export MPAN. Paragraph 1.25: a generator must not be receiving a FIT export tariff while claiming SEG, though FIT generation-only installations can take a SEG export tariff.
- very strong RN-KDJBDB cited
Ofgem
Ofgem's letter announcing the price cap for October to December 2026. It states the 2026 typical domestic consumption values used for bills, including 9,500 kWh of gas a year at medium use.
Cited in Storage Heaters: Modern Options.
- very strong RN-3JPY7Y cited
Planning Portal
Planning Portal guidance on permitted development for air source heat pumps in England, including the condition that the unit must not be used solely for cooling.
Cited in Home Air Conditioning: Installation Cost & Options.
- very strong RN-QJIETI cited
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
Scotland's U-value backstops, which differ from England's Approved Document L and are the numbers to quote for a Scottish reader. Table 6.3 for new dwellings gives area-weighted average maximum U-values in W/m2K of wall 0.22, floor 0.18, roof 0.15, windows, doors and rooflights 1.6, and cavity separating wall 0.2, with individual element values of 0.70 for wall and floor, 0.35 for roof and 3.3 for windows, doors and rooflights. A cavity separating wall can be assigned 0.2 where the cavity has effective perimeter sealing around all exposed edges in line with the insulation layers of abutting elements, and 0.0 where the cavity is also fully filled with a material limiting air movement. Table 6.5 for extensions and conversions is two-column: where the existing dwelling's wall and roof U-values are poorer than 0.7 and 0.25 respectively, wall 0.17, floor 0.15, pitched roof with insulation between ceiling ties or collars 0.11, flat or pitched roof with insulation between rafters or integral 0.13 and windows, doors and rooflights 1.4; where those parameters do not apply the figures relax to 0.22, 0.18, 0.15, 0.18 and 1.6, with individual element values of 0.70, 0.70, 0.35, 0.35 and 3.3. Localised poorer areas such as a meter box must be compensated by the rest of the element and are important for condensation control, while repeating thermal bridges such as timber studs are not treated as individual elements because they are already in the BS EN ISO 6946 calculation.
Cited in Insulation: The Complete Guide.
- very strong RN-WNN3XQ cited
The National Archives
Section 18 of the Clean Air Act 1993. It gives local authorities the power to declare all or part of their area a smoke control area by order.
Cited in Wood Burning Stoves: Cost, HETAS & Rules.
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The National Archives
The retained Ecodesign regulation for solid fuel local space heaters. Annex II sets, from 1 January 2022, the 40 mg/m3 particulate limit and 65% seasonal efficiency for closed stoves.
Cited in Wood Burning Stoves: Cost, HETAS & Rules.
- very strong RN-3U8XKD cited
The National Archives
The 2020 regulations restrict sales of wet wood in England and set 20% moisture content as the level at which wood is fit to burn.
Cited in Fireplaces & Flues Explained, Wood Burning Stoves: Cost, HETAS & Rules.
- very strong RN-MOUFL8 cited
The National Archives
The permitted development right for air source heat pumps on houses and blocks of flats in England. It sets the MCS Planning Standards condition, the unit volume caps and the listed building and conservation area limits.
Cited in Air Source Heat Pumps: Cost, Grants & Is It Worth It, Home Air Conditioning: Installation Cost & Options.
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The National Archives
Class H of Part 14 of the GPDO, which grants permitted development for wind turbines on domestic premises; it contains no provision for battery storage.
- very strong RN-MXSUBQ cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The retained ecodesign regulation for local space heaters, which by Article 2(11) includes electric storage heaters; Article 3 applies its requirements from 1 January 2018, the dividing line the note uses.
Cited in Storage Heaters: Modern Options.
- very strong RN-WY4DTX cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The Smart Charge Points Regulations as made. They came into force on 30 June 2022, extend to Great Britain, and ban selling a private charge point that lacks the smart functions.
- very strong RN-WY1FEM cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The statutory instrument that sets up ECO4. Its definitions treat an electric storage heater with a SAP responsiveness rating above 0.2 as an efficient heating system the scheme can deliver.
Cited in Electric Heating Options Compared.
- very strong RN-9CMJU9 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
Regulation 22 requires anyone working on installation pipework that might affect its gastightness to test it immediately afterwards to verify that it is gastight.
Cited in Moving Boiler Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-1MN06H cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Northern Ireland Statutory Rules
NORTHERN IRELAND, and the part letters mean different things from England, so quoting an England part letter into an NI note is a straight error. The parts are A interpretation and general, B materials and workmanship, C site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture, D structure, E fire safety, F conservation of fuel and power, G resistance to the passage of sound, H stairs, ramps, guarding and protection from impact, J solid waste, K ventilation, L combustion appliances and fuel storage systems, N drainage, P sanitary appliances, unvented hot water storage systems and reducing the risk of scalding, R access to and use of buildings, and V glazing. So NI Part D is England's Part A, NI Part E is England's Part B, NI Part F is England's Part L, NI Part K is England's Part F, NI Part L is England's Part J, NI Part N is England's Part H, NI Part P is England's Part G and emphatically NOT electrical safety, NI Part R is England's Part M, and NI Part V is glazing. There is NO part covering electrical safety anywhere in these regulations, so domestic electrical work in Northern Ireland is not notifiable building work as it is under England's and Wales's Part P. Regulation 41 imposes consequential improvements, regulation 42 change of energy status and regulation 43 renovation of thermal elements.
- very strong RN-IKLPS9 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), UK Statutory Instrument 1999/1148
The exact list of plumbing work that must be notified to the water undertaker, with its consent obtained, before it begins. Regulation 5(1) requires notice, consent not to be unreasonably withheld, and compliance with any conditions. The Table item 4 covers installing: (a) a bath over 230 litres measured to the centre line of overflow; (b) a bidet with ascending spray or flexible hose; (c) a single shower unit of a type specified by the regulator connected directly or indirectly to a supply pipe; (d) a pump or booster drawing more than 12 litres per minute connected directly or indirectly to a supply pipe; (e) reverse osmosis; (f) a water treatment unit producing waste water; (g) an RPZ valve or other device for fluid category 4 or 5; (h) a garden watering system not operated by hand; (i) any water system laid outside a building less than 750mm or more than 1350mm below ground. Item 5 covers construction of a pond or swimming pool over 10,000 litres designed to be replenished by automatic means from a water undertaker's supply. Regulation 5(2) exempts approved contractors for items 2, 4(b) and 4(g).
Cited in Pond Fibreglassing Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Rain Shower Price Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-4MRYEN cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), UK Statutory Instrument 1999/1148
The substantive requirements every water fitting in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must meet, and the source of several hard numbers. Paragraph 25(d) caps a single flush from a WC flushing device at 6 litres (7.5 litres under the transitional wording at paragraph 25 as originally applied). Paragraph 17 requires safety devices on every unvented water heater other than an instantaneous heater of 15 litres capacity or less, and on every secondary coil in a primary system. Paragraph 23(1) requires a temperature relief valve or combined temperature and pressure relief valve on every unvented hot water storage vessel with a capacity greater than 15 litres. Paragraph 5 requires every fitting to withstand an internal pressure of not less than 1.5 times its maximum design pressure. Water efficiency limits are also fixed here: 27 litres per kilogram of washload for domestic horizontal axis washing machines on a standard 60 degrees C cotton cycle, 48 litres per kilogram for washer driers, and 4.5 litres per place setting for domestic dishwashers.
Cited in Outdoor Kitchens: Cost & Planning, Toilets Explained: Close-Coupled, Wall-Hung & Rimless, Unblocking Toilet Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-Y3V96C cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), UK Statutory Instrument 2015/596, as amended
The permitted development rules for solar panels and heat pumps in England, in their currently amended form, so this is the text to check before saying anything needs planning permission. Class A covers solar PV and solar thermal on domestic premises: the equipment must not protrude more than 0.2 m beyond the plane of a wall or pitched roof slope, must not sit higher than the highest part of the roof excluding chimneys, and on a flat roof must not exceed 0.6 m above the highest part of the roof. Wall mounted equipment is limited to 0.2 m protrusion where the wall abuts a highway and 0.4 m otherwise. It is excluded on a wall fronting a highway in a conservation area or World Heritage Site, on scheduled monuments, and on listed blocks of flats; new plug-in solar provisions bar installation on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure or on timber clad exterior. Class B covers stand-alone solar, limited to one within the curtilage. Class C is ground source and Class D water source heat pumps. Class G covers air source heat pumps as amended by SI 2025/560 in force 29 May 2025: up to two units on or within the curtilage of a detached dwellinghouse and one otherwise, outdoor compressor unit volume including housing not exceeding 1.5 cubic metres for a dwellinghouse or 0.6 cubic metres for a block of flats, no installation on a pitched roof, and not within 1 metre of the external edge of a flat roof. The same amendment removed the words requiring compliance with the MCS Planning Standards.
- very strong RN-KXCXCY cited
Welsh Government (gov.wales)
WALES. First published 3 April 2017, last updated 7 April 2026. Wales publishes its own Approved Document F, and the page carries the current volume 1 for dwellings (910 KB PDF) and volume 2 for buildings other than dwellings, plus replacement volumes that TAKE EFFECT ON 4 MARCH 2027, the same changeover date as the Welsh Approved Document L and distinct from England's 24 March 2027. Welsh Part F diverged from England's when England issued its 2021 edition alongside Part L and Part O, so extract rates and background ventilator provisions for a Welsh bathroom, kitchen or loft conversion should be taken from this document rather than from England's Approved Document F.
Cited in Trickle Vents & Background Ventilation.
- very strong RN-NUL2UK cited
Welsh Government (gov.wales)
WALES. The Welsh Government publishes its own Approved Documents, and this collection page, last updated 19 June 2025, lists them with their current dates so the right edition can be cited: A structure 3 April 2017, B fire safety 19 June 2025, C site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture 3 April 2017, D toxic substances 3 April 2017, E resistance to the passage of sound 13 April 2022, F ventilation 7 April 2026, G sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency 10 May 2023, H drainage and waste disposal 3 April 2017, J combustion appliances 6 January 2025, K protection from falling 19 March 2025, L conservation of fuel and power 7 April 2026, M access 20 March 2025, N glazing 5 April 2017, O overheating, P electrical safety, Q security and R volumes 1 and 2. Wales still has a live Approved Document N on glazing safety, opening and cleaning, which England withdrew in 2013 when its content moved into Part K, so an England-based note that says Part N no longer exists is wrong for Wales.
- very strong RN-CY8PF5 cited
Welsh Government (gov.wales)
WALES. Loft insulation must meet the minimum energy efficiency values in the Welsh Approved Documents, and where that upgrade is not technically or functionally feasible the element must instead be upgraded to the best standard achievable within a simple payback of no greater than 15 years. Installing loft insulation as part of a roof renovation where MORE THAN 25 PER CENT OF THE ROOF is being renewed triggers the full Approved Document standard, the Welsh version of the renovation of a thermal element trigger. The guidance warns against blocking ventilation at the eaves. Read alongside Table 4.1 of the Welsh Approved Document L Volume 1, which sets 0.13 W/m2K for roofs in both new and existing dwellings.
Cited in Insulation: The Complete Guide.
- very strong RN-YESQ80 cited
Welsh Government (GOV.WALES)
The Welsh Government page for the Warm Homes Nest scheme. It describes free advice and, for eligible households, free improvements such as boilers, heat pumps, insulation and solar panels.
- strong locally RN-39RTL0 cited
Forest Research
Forest Research reference table of fuel calorific values. It gives air-dried log wood at 20% moisture as 4.1 kWh/kg against anthracite at 9.2 kWh/kg.
Cited in Multi-Fuel Stoves vs Wood Burners.
- strong locally RN-RZXW8V cited
Hyndburn Borough Council
Council guidance on the Gas Safe Register: since April 2009 only Gas Safe registered engineers may by law work on domestic gas appliances.
Cited in Fireplaces & Flues Explained.
- strong locally RN-LHKHLQ cited
North Norfolk District Council
North Norfolk's building control charges, Table C category 1 (individual minor works including hot water vessels): £228 plus £45.60 VAT, £273.60 in total, as a plan or building notice charge.
Cited in Hot Water Cylinders: Vented vs Unvented.
- strong RN-860NRP cited
BRE (Building Research Establishment)
The rulebook an EPC assessor actually works to, dated 21 August 2025, and the document that explains why two assessors can produce different EPCs on the same house. Convention 1.01 states that RdSAP is used to produce Energy Performance Certificates for existing dwellings only, with new build using full SAP instead. The header sets out the hierarchy that matters most in a dispute: where any Convention conflicts with the relevant published SAP specification, the Convention takes precedence. This edition is for use with RdSAP 10, while RdSAP 2012 assessments use v11.4, and it directs assessors to use RdSAP v10 Table 32 when referring to fuel prices. Each convention carries its own issue and amendment history, so an assessor's treatment of a given element can be dated precisely.
Cited in Storage Heaters: Modern Options.
- strong RN-5IL2BK cited
BRE on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
SAP 10.2 section 9.2.8 defines a high heat retention storage heater: heat retention of at least 45% to BS EN 60531, with a timer, electronic room thermostat and fan-controlled output.
Cited in Electric Heating Options Compared, Storage Heaters: Modern Options.
- strong RN-XMDL91 cited
British Fenestration Rating Council
The BFRC describes itself as the UK's most trusted and widely recognised rating organisation for verifying the energy performance of windows and doors. Its Window Energy Rating runs on a scale from A++ down to E and combines three measured factors rather than one: solar gain, the heat travelling in through a window, counted positive; thermal transmittance or U-value, the heat loss out of a window, counted negative; and air leakage, the uncontrolled air flow out of a window that causes heat loss, also negative. BFRC makes the point that a rating is more comprehensive proof than a single U-value. This matters because Approved Document L Table 4.2 accepts either a 1.4 W/(m2K) U-value or Window Energy Rating Band B for replacement windows, so a reader can meet the standard by either route.
Cited in Replacing Misted Double Glazing: 2026 UK Cost Guide, Replacing Windows: Process, FENSA & Cost, Windows and Doors: The Complete UK Guide (2026).