Grants available for Gas Heating?

spatchcock · 10 March 2006 at 1:08AM

I'm seriously considering getting a gas central heating system installed this summer. Our house currently has 20-year-old 'Economy 7' storage heaters and an electric boiler for hot water. The heat provided by the storage heaters is inadequate to heat the house, they're ugly and I suspect that they're costing more to run than they should.

Currently there is no gas supply to this property, although I think they have it next door. I'm guessing that installing this from scratch along with a new boiler, piping and radiators could add up to be very pricey.

My wife receives DLA, so we were very hopeful of getting a grant to help with the work though the EAGA WarmFront scheme. The assessor came to the house, asked how many storage heaters we had and told us that if we had more that four(?) then there was no way we would get any help with heating. The fact that they were inadequate didn't seem to play into the equasion at all. He put us down for new loft insultation, window seals (can't see it making much difference), smoke alarms (already got some, didn't ask for them) and low energy light bulbs (baynet fitting - no use to me). Cavity wall insulation didn't seem to be an option. I took the list off things he did offer as a placation for the fact we was shrugging of the heating.

Can anyone offer any advice to whether this was a fair decision based on the rules of this scheme? Are there any other avenues open to us to get help with installing new heating? I'm considering calling EAGA back to try my luck again. Are there any other applicable grants? Should I be considering non-gas solutions to replace the storage heaters? I'm open to all ideas. We can probably scrape together £2000 by summer but I'm guessing, without help, it could easily cost double this.

Thanks in advance!

Poppycat · 10 March 2006 at 3:26AM

Hi spatchcock, you might want to see this thread, as we got a Eaga grant recently. The maximum grant is £2,700 which wouldnt cover gas centre heating from scratch let alone connection to mains gas.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=163343

There are grants under DLA but I cant remember how much it would depend on your local authority though it can cover things such as conversion of your house to make it suitable for a disabled person etc.

Cant help anymore I am afraid, dont no anything regarding other grants its just what I have encounted through experince, my daughter is awaiting outcome whetehr we can get DLA for her.

Turning_into_scrooge · 10 March 2006 at 5:06AM

I'm on DLA too and i cannot get gas heating in my house due to the fact that i replaced the boiler approx 3 years ago. If i hadn't they would of fitted the full house with gas central hating and a new boiler. I wasn't offered anything at all because of this, and i'll be honest it hacks me off totally as i know someone who claims DLA questionably shall we say who got the works and also has thousands in the bank, i wish i did, at the mo my savings amount to £1.02, but i really shouldn't complain as i do have a gas fire in the living room.

boogiemaster · 10 March 2006 at 10:32AM

My dad gets care and mobility and he got a full central heating system from a government grant scheme.
My mother and farther in law got a combination boiler from the government grant scheme.
Go down to the council and ask them about the scheme and they will give you all the information you need to know.
If your boiler is over a certain age you can get it replaced because it’s not energy efficient and will be replaced with one that is.
If you have no central heating system and you’re on benefits or a low income you can still get central heating for free!!!!!
And I know because I got it for my dad, and I got a new boiler for my father and mother in law when they old boiler kept on breaking down all the time.

carol_a_3 · 17 March 2006 at 5:20PM

I got free cavity wall insulation for being on children's tax credits. Already had gas central heating. Sadly they didn't offer double glazing!!

spatchcock · 17 March 2006 at 9:21PM

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like if I already had a gas system that performed as badly as my electrical heating then I'd have had a better chance. I think a gas boiler is more likely to go out in style, where an electrical system might suffer a slow death.

I doubt I'm on a low salary by the goverment's definition, but it's certainly low enough that I can't afford a complete new gas heating installation. As far as I know the EAGA grants aren't means-tested anyway, although it sounds like some of the others are.

It sounds like it's worth getting back on to them and hassling them a little more, armed with a bit more knowledge this time.

spatchcock · 5 December 2006 at 9:56PM

After your kind advice I thought it was polite to post a followup of my progress. The heating company started installing my central heating today! :j After what the assessor initially said (see first post) we called EAGA again and told them what he had said about not being entitled due to having too many existing heaters.

They said they'd send someone else round. When an appointment never materialised, we called them back to hassle them again. Eventually they called back to say they'd made an appointment with British Gas to fit a gas meter and we'd get a letter from BG to confirm. After a month or so we called back to say 'no letter'. They said it must have got lost and told us when the appointment was.

When the guy finally turned up to fit the meter, he took one look and said "oh, you don't have a gas supply". Apparently their database said we did, despite us making it clear that we didn't. Oh well, another month or two for a new appointment for them to supply a gas main. Once that was done (after digging up my drive, outside the house and accross the street) the guy came back to install his meter.

At this stage I still didn't know if they were going to fund a central heating system - nobody had ever said. Looking back, I think they were being cautious not to say the assessor who'd come round had been wrong.

Once the gas meter was fitted, EAGA called us and said that someone from a heating company would be in touch to make an appointment for a survey. I can't say I'm that impressed with the heating company (they missed several appointments) and they've obviously been told to do it as cheaply as possible (reluctant to do a tidy job putting pipes inside walls etc) but it would be churlish to complain!

There was a limit to the number of radiators they'd put in and the rules seem to force them to put them in places which I would have sacrificed (like my very small bathroom). Because of this I've had to pay for a couple of extras which is costing me about £500. They also refused to take out this existing electrical heaters or take up the nasty laminate flooring in the two required rooms. Unfortunately this meant that I had to take out all our heating whenever I had time (rubbish though it was) and hope they wouldn't take too long to come and fit the new system. Thankfully it was only a week of jacket wearing!

Thanks again for your advice and I hope this information is useful to someone else searching for information on this subject.

Grants available for Gas Heating?

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