Energy efficiency

The West Sussex County Council Community Hub now has an application process in place for supporting eligible residents with financial assistance to contribute to their heating oil payments. This extra help will be available from 1st April 2026 at https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure-recreation-and-community/community-hub 

The funding is limited, so support will be targeted at households facing the greatest financial difficulty.  To be considered for support a household should meet the following conditions:

• they use heating oil as its primary heating source, and
• they rely on oil for heating and/or hot water.

Assessments will be made based on verification of low-income, vulnerability status (particularly those residents who would typically qualify under the Priority Services Register if supplied by a network energy provider), and fuel supply risk.

Energy gained from the sun or wind is a renewable energy source and can help you save money in the long term. The ECO and BUS government grants help with the cost of installing or swapping to renewable or low-carbon options. There are various options available for renewable sources of energy, which include the following:

Solar panels (PV)

Solar panels are fitted onto a south-facing roof and generate electricity from the sun, they are low maintenance and on a sunny day, you generate free electricity. Not every property is suitable for solar panels; the roof must be roughly south-facing, structurally strong enough to take the extra weight of the panels and not be obstructed by shade. The Centre for Sustainable Energy website has more information on solar panels PV, and battery storage.

Heat pumps

Heat pumps can be ground-source or air-source and are a newer type of heating, so they are not very common. They work like a fridge but in reverse, making the air warmer, not cooler. They need to be planned into a property, but are much more efficient in the longer term, so over time, they will help reduce high energy costs. For a heat pump to work efficiently, your home must be well-insulated and have a hot water cylinder. The Centre for Sustainable Energy website has more information on heat pumps.

The energy efficiency of homes in England is measured and published as an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).  

All domestic and commercial buildings need an EPC when a property is built, sold or rented. The highest and most efficient rating is band  A, the lower the rating, the less energy-efficient the home is. If your home is rated D, E, F, or G you may be eligible to receive government help to improve its EPC rating.  

View your home's EPC on the government website.

Maintaining a warm and comfortable living temperature in an energy-inefficient home can be difficult. Common issues for poor energy efficiency could be due to the following:

• too little insulation in the roof, walls, and floor
• windows that are single-glazed
• faulty or broken boilers
• drafts through windows, doors, chimneys and floorboards

You can find out more information about  Energy Performance Certificates on the Energy Saving Trust website.

If you live in an energy-inefficient home

All EPC's include recommendations to improve a home’s energy efficiency and the approximate cost of making the change. If you live in a lower EPC property you may be eligible to receive a grant to help pay for improvements. These grants often update so contact us for the latest information.

Scams about energy efficiency and new schemes for solar/heat pumps and boilers can come in the form of door-knocking, letters, emails, flyers and phone calls.

If an energy efficiency installer contacts you, they may promote the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Scheme. To deliver this scheme they must be working in partnership with an energy company or be registered with the National Energy Foundation's (NEF) installer list. You can check that they are on the list by contacting the Citizens Advice West Sussex Energy Team on 0800 145 6879.

We recommend you ask the contractor which energy supplier they are working with and to double-check this by contacting the supplier directly. To find contact details of trusted energy suppliers see Ofgem's list of energy suppliers website page.

If you have been approached by installers to do work in your home or are looking for installers, we advise you to check that the company is registered with Trustmark (Government Endorsed Quality Scheme) before any work starts.

If you are looking to install renewable energy (heat pumps or solar panels), check that the company is registered with the MCS Accreditation Scheme or if you are looking for companies to provide insulation in your home they should be registered with the National Insulation Association (NIA).  

Being warm enough should not be a luxury but if you are on a low income and experiencing financial difficulties sometimes it can feel that way.  Please see the useful advice below that may help.

Reduce your outgoings by:

• making sure you are on the cheapest energy tariff available
• knowing where and when your energy is spent
• ensuring your home is fully insulated (loft, cavity wall, walls, windows, doors and drafts excluded)
• reducing the energy you consume see energy-saving tips from the Energy Saving Trust website

Increase money coming in by:

• ensuring you claim all the benefits, savings and discounts you are entitled to
• earning as much as possible using the resources you have

Maximise anything free by using:

• local food banks and community fridges that give away food for free and prevent food waste
• free activities that are available in your local area such as museums, libraries and events at community centres

Getting help towards paying a fuel bill is sometimes available via a one-off fuel voucher from ourselves or Arun & Chichester Citizens Advice.  If you are struggling to pay your bill, please contact us for free advice.  

There are a few energy grants available but they often change rapidly. The energy grants available below are current as of April 2024. For advice or help in completing any grant application or funding enquiry, please contact Arun and Chichester Citizens Advice Energy Team in the first instance.

Residents on a low income and who live in Bognor Regis or the surrounding area may also be eligible for SSEN Enabling Works funding. This can help pay towards clearing lofts, moving furniture or other work that enables the grant measures to be installed where the homeowner is unable to do this themselves. The funding application must be submitted by the installer or the organisation processing the grant application.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme - BUS

Grant description

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant provides £7,500 towards the purchase and installation of an air source or ground source heat pump, or £5,000 grant towards a biomass boiler. This grant provides a substantial contribution towards the costs of installing a heat pump or biomass boiler but does not cover the full costs involved.

Who can apply

All homeowners can apply for this grant.

Who is eligible

The homeowner must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (ECP) which can not have any outstanding recommendations for loft and cavity wall insulation. If you need insulation check to see if you are eligible to get free or reduced-cost insulation.

Application process

The application process is as follows:

• the heat pump installer must be MCS certified you can find accredited installers on the MCS website
• the heat pump installer is to be responsible for applying the voucher
• this scheme operates on a first come first served basis
• the voucher for an air-source heat pump will be valid for three months and the voucher for a ground-source heat pump will be valid for six months
• this grant replaced the Renewable Heat Incentive which closed to new applicants in March 2022, if you successfully applied for the Renewable Heat Incentive, your payments will keep coming through as normal and will continue until the end of your contract (a total of 7 years)  

How to apply

Please apply via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme 

Wamer Homes Scheme - Currently oversubscribed

Grant Description

The scheme can provide a range of fully-funded energy efficiency improvements for your home and is led by Portsmouth City Council, working in partnership with a consortium of other local authorities including all West Sussex District and Borough Councils. The scheme can offer fully funded energy saving improvements for your home, such as insulation, solar PV, air source heat pumps, heating control, park home properties to eligible households.

Who can apply

Owner occupied/Private tenures living in West Sussex

Who is eligible

• Household Income under £36,000 or under OR you receive a means tested benefits
• D, E, F or G rated home, (if you don't know this, we can tell you).
• Owner occupied and private rented
• Property suitable for the measures

How to register an interest

Visit Warmer Homes www.warmerhomes.org.uk 

Or call: 0800 038 5737

Our heating repair or replacement (Safe, Suitable Warm grant - SSW)

Grant description

Funding is available for a whole-house, efficient heating system where no working central heating system exists and the applicant has exhausted every other possibility of funding a new system in addition the the applicant must also be experiencing fuel poverty. we do not support funding for maintenance of the system, this is the responsibility of the homeowner.

Safe, Suitable, Warm Homes Grant does not apply to renewable energy systems, for example, heat pumps or biomass.

Who can apply

All homeowners who live in Arun District can apply.

Who is eligible 

Homeowners who live in the Arun District and are in receipt of means-tested benefits or that have completed and qualified under a preliminary means test; and are experiencing fuel poverty.

How to apply

To apply for this grant please contact us

Phone: 01903 737755 
Email: energy.efficiency@arun.gov.uk

Emergency help for home owners

If you own your home and have a heating/hot water system that is broken, you may be eligible for emergency help which is the loan of one or two oil-filled radiators. Contact our home energy visitor without delay. You can call us

Phone: 01903 737755

or apply online

Request home energy help

If the total annual income of all working adults in your household is less than £36,000, or you are in receipt of a means-tested benefit, you may be eligible for:

• Warmer Homes Scheme - Oversubscribed register interest only
• our heating repair or replacement grant (Safe, Suitable Warm grant - SSW)

If the total annual income of all working adults in your household is over £36,000 and you are not eligible for full grants, you may wish to consider the following:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) - this is a government grant to provide financial support towards the installation of a heat pump when replacing a gas boiler
• Solar Together - a West Sussex group-buying scheme for renewable solar panels and batteries - Currently being retendered more information due by the end of the year.

Landlords are required by law to ensure their rental properties have an energy performance certificate rating of at least E. This means that F and G-rated properties cannot be let.

Please see further information on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES).

Privately rented

If you live in a privately rented property the following options could help: 

• your landlord can get funding towards the installation of a heat pump when replacing gas boilers through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
• if you meet the low-income eligibility criteria, your landlord may also be eligible for Warmer Homes but this is currently oversubscribed and only open to register an interest.

Both you and your landlord must give permission and provide evidence that the eligibility criteria are met.

Social housing

If you live in social housing you can:

• contact your housing provider to find out what they are doing to make their properties more energy efficient

Please note that you will not be eligible for most grants because the government has a separate grant for social housing providers.

Shared ownership  

If you live in a shared ownership property and do not have responsibility for the maintenance of your property, you will not be eligible for most grants.

If you are responsible for the maintenance of your property, you may be eligible for some of the grants listed on this page. Please enquire directly to the contact details provided for each grant/scheme for further clarification.

We have a Landlord Accreditation Scheme which provides support and recognition to landlords who are meeting standards relating to the condition and management of their properties.