Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES)

The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme helps improve poorly performing district heating and communal heating systems in England and Wales. You can get revenue grants to pay for studies that find problems with your heating network. You can also get capital grants to help pay for installing improvements. Revenue grants fund external experts to assess your system and recommend fixes. Capital grants part-fund the actual installation of improvement measures. Funding ranges from £5,000 to nearly £10 million. The scheme is open to public, private and third sector organisations. Applications close on 1 April 2028.

This scheme is for organisations that own or operate district heating or communal heating systems that are not working well. You need an existing heating network in England or Wales that has performance problems. It covers public sector bodies, private companies, and third sector organisations like housing associations.

The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) provides funding to public, private and third sector applicants, to support improvements to existing district heating or communal heating projects in England and Wales that are operating sub-optimally and resulting in poor outcomes for customers and operators. Projects can apply to HNES for either revenue or capital grant funding: Revenue grants – grants to fund procurement or mobilisation of external third-party support to carry out Optimisation Studies. These studies will assess heat network projects to identify causes of sub-optimal performance and recommend costed intervention or improvement measures. Capital grants – grants to part-fund the delivery (installation) of eligible intervention/improvement measures.