What has changed
The Affordable Warmth Scheme was, for years, the main route to help with home energy efficiency in Northern Ireland. That route has now closed. The scheme stopped accepting new applications at the end of March 2026, which means new referrals and home assessments are no longer being taken. If you were hoping to use it to part-fund new windows, that option has gone.
It is worth being clear about how the scheme treated windows even when it was running. The list of double glazing grants in our guide to grants by nation shows that Northern Ireland was always one of the tighter places to claim, and the closure narrows things further.
What the scheme used to offer
While it was open, the Affordable Warmth Scheme offered up to £7,500 of energy-efficient home improvements to households earning under £23,000 a year. The catch, for anyone after new glazing, was the order of priority. Window replacement sat in Priority 3, behind insulation, draught-proofing and heating. In practice that meant the cheaper, higher-impact measures were funded first, and many households never reached the point where glazing was paid for.
So even at its most generous, the scheme was rarely a straightforward way to get free windows. The closure removes a programme that was already cautious about glazing rather than a windows grant in all but name.
What is left for NI homeowners
There is no direct replacement scheme confirmed. The honest position is that Northern Ireland now has fewer options than the rest of the UK. ECO4, which runs to 31 December 2026, covers England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland, so the main supplier-funded route open elsewhere does not apply here. You can read how that scheme works for the other nations in our coverage of the ECO4 extension to December 2026, and the wider funding picture in our piece on what the Warm Homes Plan means for window grants.
For now, the sensible step is to check the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for any new support before assuming nothing exists. But realism helps: most NI homeowners will pay privately for double glazing, and only around 15% of households across the UK qualify for grant funding of any kind.
I have fitted windows for over twenty years, and the gap this leaves in Northern Ireland is real. There is no ECO4 here and no confirmed replacement, so I would not sit waiting for a scheme that may never arrive. Price the job privately, get three written quotes, and treat any future grant as a bonus rather than the plan.
Tom Bradley, FENSA-registered installer
Planning a private job
If you are paying for the work yourself, the first job is a realistic budget. Our uPVC window cost calculator gives a quick estimate based on how many windows you need and the style you want, which is a far steadier footing than waiting for funding that is not coming. If you would still like to rule grants in or out properly, the grant eligibility checker runs through the income, benefit and EPC rules in a couple of minutes, so you know whether starting any application is worth the effort. Source: FMB and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (June 2026).
Frequently asked questions
The Affordable Warmth Scheme in Northern Ireland closed to new applications at the end of March 2026. It is no longer accepting fresh referrals or assessments.
While it was open the scheme offered up to £7,500 of energy-efficient home improvements for households earning under £23,000 a year. Window replacement sat lower down the list as a Priority 3 measure, behind insulation, draught-proofing and heating.
There is no direct replacement scheme confirmed. Homeowners should check the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for any new support. ECO4, which runs to 31 December 2026, covers England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland, so NI has fewer remaining options.
Most NI homeowners will now pay privately for double glazing. Only around 15% of households across the UK qualify for grant funding of any kind, so pricing the job privately is the sensible default rather than waiting for funding.