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Companies are putting an effort into replacing public grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) that have been discontinued due to budget cuts, through private initiatives.  

Two UK companies, Ice Energy active in renewables, and EDF a leading energy company, have come up with a joint grant scheme, which provides funding for air-source heat pumps by EDF through the Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT), an energy supplier obligation requiring all UK energy suppliers with a customer base in excess of 50,000 customers to make savings in the amount of CO2 emitted by householders.

The grant is supposed to replace the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) microgeneration grant under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) which has been canceled £3 million early due to overall budget restrictions.

In the new proposed funding scheme, customers will be eligible for a maximum of £1,200 dependent on the amount of carbon reduction achieved by the installation of an air source heat pump. The calculation of the value of the grant is individual to each property and takes into account the size of the dwelling and the fuel the heat pump will be displacing. Heating systems based on oil, electric and solid fuel will attract the highest awards. Higher payments are furthermore possible for residents in priority groups such as the over 70s and people with disabilities.

The new grant will apply to all sales of Air Source Heat Pumps through Ice Energy that have been installed after 1 June 2010. In order to qualify for the grant the installation must be completed with paperwork to Ice Energy before 28 February 2011. It is, however, not open to installations which have, or will, claim payments under LCBP.