Get Help to Buy Windows With Double Glazing Grants 2024

What Is Double Glazing?

Instead of a single pane of glass separating the indoors from the outdoors, two panes are used to create an insulating layer between them. Filled with an inert gas, double glazing slows down the heat losses experienced through the window, keeping your home warmer for longer. It has the added benefit of stopping cold air from entering the window, which makes your home more energy efficient.

Double glazing grants you a reduction in your energy bills, and potentially reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by 405kg a year. Disruptive noises from outside will be decreased, thanks to the insulating barrier of gas inside the window. The extra pane also makes it harder to break into, giving you a more secure home.

The double glazing grants listed on this page might also be permitted with triple glazing. You can only double or triple glaze existing windows that are single paned, not improve double glazing you may already have.

Average Cost of Double Glazing Per Window

Without double glazing grants, windows can cost around £640 each. This depends on which material and style you opt for. Although it sounds like a lot, you can get top quality double glazing for half this price.

There are additional costs to factor in, such as whether scaffolding is needed to reach anything above the ground floor. The installation will add to the price of your double glazing, but Checkatrade estimates labour costs to be about £25–£35 an hour. Different regions offer different labour costs, so it pays to look at local quotes for your area.

For a more accurate figure on double glazing costs in the UK, fill in your details for a tailored quote.

UK Double Glazing Grants in 2024

• Green Deal and Green Homes Grant (Expired)

• ECO4

• LA Flex

• Nest

• Home Energy Scotland

• Housing Aid for Older People

• Home Upgrade Grant

Green Deal and Green Homes Grant

Historically, homeowners were able to benefit from the UK Government’s Green Deal and the Green Homes Grant for double glazing grants, but these were scrapped. One of the measures available was with help to buy windows.

One of the main benefits to the Green Homes Grant was that it was applicable for anyone who owned their own park home, as well as landlords and shared ownership properties. This included traveller sites.

The Green Homes Grant was cancelled early, back in 2021. It was a £2 billion initiative designed to give 600,000 homeowners £5,000 vouchers to help pay for eco-friendly home improvements. However, the scheme fell 93.5% short of its goal. Homeowners were not making use of double glazing grants through this scheme.

ECO4

The Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) has been running since 2013 and is in its fourth and final stage. It puts the onus on energy suppliers to offer qualifying homes energy efficient improvements, including double glazing grants. Receiving help to buy windows through ECO4 can be done until March 2026.

Low income households are most at risk of falling into fuel poverty, so the ECO4 scheme permits them to receive anything from free boilers and free insulation to double glazing grants. Larger energy suppliers are legally obligated to install 35,000 homes with energy efficient heating systems every year.

In terms of help to buy windows, ECO4 offers double glazing grants up to £14,000. Depending on the size of your home, this could cover up to 100% of the cost of installation.

Eligibility

You might be eligible for the ECO4 scheme if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income Support (IS)

• Pension Credit Guarantee

• Credit Working Tax Credit (WTC)

• Child Tax Credits (CTC)

• Universal Credit (UC)

• Housing Benefit

• Pension Credit Savings Credit

To apply, you need to get in touch with an energy provider who is operating the scheme.

LA Flex

Known as local authority flexibility, this is an add-on for ECO4 that allows councils to expand the qualifying criteria. You may qualify for double glazing grants via LA Flex if your council approves it. As long as you have an EPC rating of D–G, you should qualify.

To qualify under LA Flex for double glazing grants, contact your council. You could receive up to £10,000 in funding, which will help to buy windows for your home.

Nest

Exclusively for Wales, but not actually offering double glazing grants, the Nest scheme offers a range of free home energy efficient improvements to qualifying homes. Low income households can benefit from other improvements, such as solar panels, insulation or new heating systems. These work together to keep your home warm and your energy bills down.

Eligibility

You will be eligible for Nest if the following applies:

• You’re a homeowner, or you rent from a private landlord

• Your home is unnecessarily expensive to heat

• Someone in your household receives benefits

• A member of your house has a chronic respiratory, circulatory, or mental health condition, and a low income

The benefits that qualify are:

• Child Tax Credit

• Council Tax Reduction

• Housing Benefit

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Income Support

• Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

• Working Tax Credit

To apply for Nest, you need to get in touch by calling 0808 808 2244 or by filling out the website form.

Home Energy Scotland

Exclusively for Scotland, the Scottish Government has set aside funds to help households in replacing single glazing. Other energy efficient improvements are available, such as installing solar panels, a new heating system and insulation.

The double glazing grants available under this scheme come in the form of 75% towards the cost of double glazing. You may even qualify for an interest-free loan to cover the outstanding amount.

Eligibility

To receive double glazing grants through Home Energy Scotland, you need to be a homeowner or someone who is building their own home. You cannot be a landlord or a property developer.

To apply, you should call 0808 808 2282 or complete a form on the website.

Housing Aid for Older People

Exclusively for Northern Ireland, the Housing Aid for Older People Grant is designed for anyone aged 66 or over. Energy improvements and repairs can be conducted on a home to make it habitable. In some cases, people younger than 66 can receive help through this grant.

As well as double glazing grants, this scheme offers help for roof and door repair or replacement, upgrading electrical wiring, and central heating. The maximum amount you can apply for is €8,000, or the potential to cover 95% of the costs involved with improvements.

Eligibility

The Housing Aid for Older People is a means-tested grant that is available for privately owned homes. The older person must either own the home or have a right to live there. To apply for the double glazing grants through this scheme, you need to provide evidence to support your case.

Further information and forms can be found on the Citizens Information website.

Home Upgrade Grant

Exclusively for England, the Home Upgrade Grant, also known as the HUG, is designed to provide energy efficient upgrades via local authority funding. Double glazing grants are available through this scheme, but of the total grant that they receive, no more than 40% can be spent on windows.

Eligibility

You can apply for double glazing grants through the HUG if:

• Household income is less than £31,000 a year

• There is no gas grid connection

• Your EPC rating is D–G

• Your local authority has applied for grant funding

If your council is listed below, you can apply for the HUG for double glazing grants. You will need to contact them directly to apply.

I Don’t Qualify for Double Glazing Grants

If you aren’t eligible for double glazing grants, there are ways you can reduce the price you pay for windows. Instead of receiving help to buy windows, lower the cost by opting for these choices instead:

• Shop around

• Choose cheaper designs

• More fixed panes

• Lower energy rated windows

• Winter installation

Shop Around

You can get the best quotes by speaking to multiple suppliers. Just because one supplier gives you a quote, it doesn’t mean that is the best price for you either. Try negotiating to see who can give you a better deal.

Choose Cheaper Designs

Casement windows in uPVC are the cheapest option around. Bay windows and aluminium or timber materials will end up costing you more.

Read about double glazing costs in our accompanying guide.

More Fixed Panes

A window that doesn’t open is cheaper to install. Not all areas of your home will need openable windows, so you can save yourself hundreds of pounds across the whole cost of double glazing by fitting some areas with fixed panes.

Lower Energy Rated Windows

While the most energy efficient double glazing is rated A++, and can save you the most amount of money, choosing A rated windows will be cheaper but will still benefit you from the single glazed type.

Winter Installation

Fewer people choose to have their windows upgraded in the winter, which makes for a cheaper installation. As demand is low, installers will jump at the chance to work. This could translate into a good deal.

If you don’t qualify for double glazing grants, find out how much you’d pay for energy saving double glazing by getting a tailored quote. Click on the button below to fill in your details.