The grant picture for windows shifted again in 2026, so any older advice you read about "free double glazing" needs checking against the current position. The big change came with the government's Warm Homes Plan, announced in January 2026: ECO4 was given a nine-month extension to 31 December 2026, but it will not be replaced, and funding is moving towards the council-run Warm Homes: Local Grant in England. Help still exists, but it is targeted, it varies by nation, and the headline figures come with real conditions attached. This guide sets out what is actually available now, who qualifies and how to apply. If a grant does not cover you, our costs hub shows what you would pay yourself, our news section tracks any further changes, and the double glazing questions answered elsewhere on the site cover the quick queries such as whether ECO4 has closed.
The 2026 schemes at a glance
Funding is devolved, so the right scheme depends on which UK nation you live in. The table below summarises the main options as of October 2026, with the England-wide Warm Homes: Local Grant highlighted as the current headline route for most homeowners south of the border.
| Scheme | Nations | Status | Cover and eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECO4 | England, Scotland, Wales | Extended to 31 December 2026; no successor scheme after | Means-tested; can fund glazing for households on income-related benefits. Apply through an installer. |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | England | Runs to March 2028, but several councils are closed for 2026/27 | £16,600 per home for energy performance measures including double or triple glazing, plus £16,600 for low-carbon heating (DESNZ, July 2026). Income £36,000 or less, a listed benefit or an eligible postcode; EPC band D to G. |
| Home Energy Scotland | Scotland | Open, ongoing | Interest-free loan up to £8,000 for glazing, loan only; the £1,500 rural uplift applies to grants, not glazing. Owner-occupiers only. |
| Home Improvement Loans / Nest | Wales | Open, ongoing | Interest-free Home Improvement Loans of £1,000 to £35,000. Nest does not pay for windows. |
| Affordable Warmth Scheme | Northern Ireland | Status unsettled; check before applying | Up to £7,500 of energy measures for households earning under £23,000 a year, with windows a lower priority. Check with NI Energy Advice on 0800 111 44 55. |
Highlighted row is the current England headline scheme. Always confirm details on GOV.UK before applying.
England: ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant
Two schemes matter in England. ECO4 is the long-running supplier-funded scheme that has paid for free glazing for households on income-related benefits; it now runs to 31 December 2026 and will not be replaced, so eligible households should apply through an installer while it lasts. Looking ahead, the Warm Homes: Local Grant is the scheme to know. It is open to 2028, delivered by local councils, and has a £16,600 cap per home for energy performance measures that can include glazing, plus a separate £16,600 for low-carbon heating. Open nationally is not the same as open locally, though: a number of councils have already spent their money for April 2026 to March 2027, as we set out in our report on councils closing the Warm Homes Local Grant, and the new Warm Homes Loan that sits alongside it does not cover windows. Pensioners should read our page on grants for over 60s, because age alone qualifies for neither scheme. It targets lower-income households in homes rated EPC band D to G, the colder, less efficient properties where new windows make the most difference.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland has the most generous standing offer for windows. Home Energy Scotland provides an interest-free loan of up to £8,000 towards upgrading single glazing, though grant funding is not available for glazing and the rural uplift applies to the grants only. In Wales, interest-free Home Improvement Loans of £1,000 to £35,000 are the nearest equivalent to a window grant, while the Nest scheme funds heat pumps, insulation and solar panels, and does not pay for windows. In Northern Ireland the position is genuinely unsettled. Our note on the Affordable Warmth Scheme records it as closed to new applicants, but the Department for Communities has since consulted on a Warm Healthy Homes Fund to replace it from April 2027 and refers to the current scheme running to March 2028. We would rather tell you that than guess, so check the position for yourself on nidirect's energy saving grants page or ring the NI Energy Advice line on 0800 111 44 55 before you assume it either way.
Are you eligible? A quick checklist
You are more likely to qualify for help in 2026 if most of the following apply to you. None of these guarantees an award, but together they are a good signal that it is worth checking properly.
- You own your home or are a private tenant (rules vary by scheme).
- Your household is on a low income or receives qualifying benefits.
- In England, your home is rated EPC band D to G.
- Your property is poorly insulated or expensive to heat.
- You live in a nation with an open scheme (ECO4 closes at the end of 2026).
- In England, your council is still taking Warm Homes applications.
- You have not already had the same measure funded.
To check your own situation against the live schemes without reading all the small print, use our grant eligibility checker, one of the decision tools on this site, which walks you through the main conditions in a couple of minutes. Landlords should also read our guide on using double glazing to reach the EPC C standard coming in 2030, and can sense-check any quote that follows against the rest of our decision tools. Funding is one of the categories in our double glazing FAQs, so if your question is a general one about qualifying rather than about a named scheme, the Double Glazing FAQs index answers it alongside cost, materials, installation and guarantees.
How to apply, step by step
The process is broadly the same wherever you live: find the right scheme, confirm you qualify, get your paperwork together and apply through the official channel only.
- Find your scheme. Identify the scheme for your nation, such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England or Home Energy Scotland in Scotland.
- Check your eligibility. Confirm you meet the income, benefit and property conditions, including the EPC band where it applies.
- Find your EPC rating. Look up your home's Energy Performance Certificate on the GOV.UK register.
- Gather evidence. Collect proof of income or qualifying benefits and your property details before you start.
- Apply through the official route. Use your local council or the named administrator on GOV.UK or the devolved government site. Never pay anyone to apply for you.
A hint that you might be eligible for a grant is used as a closing line far too often. Treat the grant and the purchase as two separate questions. Sort your eligibility through the official channel first, and never sign for windows on the strength of a grant nobody has confirmed.
Double Glazing Cost Calculator Team
If it turns out you do not qualify, you are in the same position as most households, and the next step is simply to price the work fairly. Read whether double glazing is worth it for your home, and follow how to avoid being overcharged so you get a fair price with or without help. If you are weighing up spreading the cost instead, our guide to double glazing finance explains what installer credit protects that paying cash does not. Or start with Double Glazing Questions Answered if you just want the headline on each scheme.
Frequently asked questions
Only if you qualify for a grant, and only around 15% of households do. The Warm Homes: Local Grant in England can fund energy upgrades including glazing for lower-income households in EPC bands D to G, and ECO4 still funds it for some households on income-related benefits until it closes. There is no general scheme that gives free windows to everyone, so confirm eligibility before assuming free windows.
Not yet. ECO4 was extended by nine months and now runs to 31 December 2026 (the previous end date was 31 March 2026). The government confirmed at the November 2025 Budget that there will be no successor scheme after it, so if you are eligible through income-related benefits it is worth applying through an installer before the end of 2026.
It is the headline England scheme, run by local councils and open to 2028. It has a cap of £16,600 per home for energy performance measures, which include double or triple glazing, plus a separate £16,600 for low-carbon heating such as a heat pump. The caps rose from £15,000 in July 2026 and are averages across a council project. To qualify you generally need a household income of £36,000 or less, a listed benefit or an eligible postcode, and a home rated EPC band D to G. Several councils, including Liverpool, Leeds, Northumberland, Tunbridge Wells and Stoke-on-Trent, have spent their money for April 2026 to March 2027 and are not taking new applications, so check your council's own page first.
No. The Warm Homes Loan Scheme, lending to households across the UK from September 2026, finances heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and a few other low-carbon measures. Its scheme rules name windows and doors, with insulation, as costs it does not cover. A loan for windows is ordinary credit, not the government-backed product.
Home Energy Scotland offers an interest-free loan of up to £8,000 towards upgrading single glazing to double or triple glazing. Grant funding is not available for glazing, and the £1,500 rural uplift applies to the grants, not the glazing loan. The scheme is for owner-occupiers only, so landlords and developers cannot use it.
In Wales, interest-free Home Improvement Loans of £1,000 to £35,000 are the closest thing to a window grant, while the Nest scheme funds heat pumps, insulation and solar panels and does not pay for windows. In Northern Ireland, the Affordable Warmth Scheme's current status is unsettled: we had recorded it as closed from March 2026, but the Department for Communities has since consulted on a replacement fund from April 2027 and refers to the current scheme running to March 2028. Check with the NI Energy Advice line on 0800 111 44 55 before ruling it out.