Heat pumps get a £7,500 government grant. Solar usually gets nothing. But ECO4 funds full solar installs for benefit-eligible households — which flips the picture for those who qualify.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 to nearly any UK homeowner replacing a fossil-fuel boiler with an air-source heat pump. Solar has no equivalent universal grant — but ECO4 fully funds solar installs for benefit-eligible households on EPC D–G. For non-benefit households the comparison is unequal: heat pumps grant-funded, solar self-funded.