Combi boiler specialists in Newton Abbot on what the new heat pump grant rules mean for you

Your boiler in Kingsteignton is 15 years old, the pressure keeps dropping, and a neighbour has told you the government will pay for a heat pump instead. That's half true, so it's worth getting straight before you spend anything.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme was tweaked on 28 April 2026. The main grant is still £7,500 towards an air-source or ground-source heat pump, but quotes must now show the grant taken off up front, so you see the full price, the grant and what you actually pay. You also no longer need a valid EPC to apply. And installers must be MCS certified, which is a separate ticket from Gas Safe. That last point matters. A heat pump job needs an MCS installer, and a gas boiler job needs a Gas Safe engineer, and they're not always the same person. For plenty of older Newton Abbot houses, solid walls in Wolborough or a cold farmhouse near Ipplepen, a heat pump needs insulation and bigger radiators first. A modern condensing combi is often the sensible answer. If you're staying with gas, get the details right. A 24kW combi suits a flat or small house with one bathroom, while a 30kW or above handles two bathrooms better. The return temperature should sit below about 55°C so it condenses and hits its efficiency. The condensate pipe should be 32mm externally, lagged, because a frozen one is the classic January no-heating call. And fit a magnetic filter such as an Adey MagnaClean after a proper system flush. If you'd like a straight opinion on whether to replace or repair, Steve Carter Services covers boiler installs and repairs around Newton Abbot, Kingskerswell and Bovey Tracey. Have a look at https://stevecarterservices.co.uk/ and get in touch for a quote.

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