The honest answer
Can I get free air conditioning?
There's no grant that hands you a free air conditioner. There are grants that pay for a reversible heat pump (which cools) and for solar, and when you bundle them, the cooling effectively comes free with hardware you wanted anyway. Here's how.
The three-step logic
- 1
A heat pump is also an air conditioner.
An air-to-air heat pump reverses to cool. One device does January heating and July cooling.
- 2
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 toward it.
Open to owner-occupiers with a suitable EPC, no income test. That's most of a heat pump install.
- 3
Add solar and the running cost vanishes.
For lower-income homes, Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund the solar too, so the bundle, and its running cost, approach zero.
The grants that make it possible
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
Owner-occupiers in England & Wales with a valid EPC (no outstanding loft/cavity recommendations)
Warm Homes: Local Grant
Lower-income households (£36,000 gross or on benefits) in England, administered by local authorities from April 2025
ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation)
Households on benefits or in EPC bands D to G, via their energy supplier
Great British Insulation Scheme
Homes in EPC bands D to G in council tax bands A to D (England, A to E Scotland)
Questions, answered
Is air conditioning itself ever free?
No standalone 'free air conditioner' grant exists. But a reversible air-source heat pump, which cools in summer and heats in winter, qualifies for the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Lower-income households can get the whole install (heat pump + solar) fully funded via Warm Homes: Local Grant. So the cooling effectively comes free with hardware you wanted anyway.
Who qualifies for fully-funded solar and cooling?
Households with a gross income around £36,000 or less, or on qualifying benefits, and in energy-inefficient homes (EPC D to G) are the main route via Warm Homes: Local Grant and ECO4. Owner-occupiers of any income can claim the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme for a heat pump regardless.
How do I check what I'm eligible for?
Run it through our free quote + grant check. We assess every scheme you could draw on in one pass and show the net price for an AC + solar bundle after grants.
Check what you qualify for, free
One form, every grant assessed, a real net price for an AC + solar bundle in your area.
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