Act on Energy
Free or subsidised home energy-efficiency improvements — cavity wall, loft, solid wall and floor insulation, air source heat pumps, smart heating controls, and solar panels — for lower-income homeowners and private renters across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, delivered as 'Warmer Homes West Midlands' by the charity Act on Energy as the local arm of the national Warm Homes: Local Grant. Many households qualify for fully funded insulation even without claiming a benefit, via each council's ECO Flexible Eligibility Statement of Intent.
Amount
Free energy-efficiency improvements for eligible owner-occupiers; landlords' first property fully covered, further properties covered up to 50%
Deadline
Rolling / no fixed deadline
This one is usually simple enough to do yourself using the free official link below — but if you'd rather have help, we're building relationships with vetted professionals and can let you know if that becomes available.
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You can also do this yourself for free via the official sourceApply via actonenergy.org.uk, or call 0800 988 2881 (option 1 for Birmingham/Solihull, option 2 for Dudley/Sandwell/Walsall/Wolverhampton).
View official sourceWarm Homes Local Grant (Black Country and Solihull) is run locally — here's the same scheme in other areas.
Birmingham City Council
Free energy-efficiency upgrades (insulation, ventilation, low-carbon heating) for privately-owned homes, delivered by Next Energy for Birmingham City Council as the local arm of the national Warm Homes: Local Grant programme, running 2025 to 2028, for 625 private homes. Corrected in an August 2026 re-check: the council's own page states the scheme 'is only available to residents' in seven named Retrofit Priority Areas — Balsall Heath, Bromford, Castle Vale, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Tyseley and Hay Mills (Sparkhill was not on the list found in the previous research pass) — there is no separate route for lower-income households elsewhere in the city as previously described here.
Gateshead Council
Free energy-saving home improvements — wall, loft and underfloor insulation, air source heat pumps, smart heating controls, solar panels — for lower-income Gateshead homeowners and private landlords, delivered as the local arm of the national Warm Homes: Local Grant. Landlords' first property is covered in full, with further properties covered up to 50%.
Leicester City Council
Over £4.5m secured from DESNZ to fund insulation, solar panels, and low-carbon heating for low-income Leicester households, as the local delivery of the national Warm Homes: Local Grant.
Liverpool City Council (DESNZ-funded)
DESNZ-funded, Liverpool-administered grant covering insulation (loft/wall/floor), solar panels, heat pumps, smart heating controls, and windows/doors/heating upgrades for owner-occupiers and private renters in EPC D–G homes. As of the August 2026 research check, this scheme is closed to new applicants — year 2 (1 April 2026–31 March 2027) is oversubscribed, with year 3 registration not opening until 1 April 2027. Included here so it's visible ahead of that reopening, not because it can be applied to right now.
Sunderland City Council
Free energy-efficiency and low-carbon heating improvements — insulation, solar panels, battery storage, heat pumps — for lower-income Sunderland homeowners and private renters, delivered by appointed partner 0800Repair as the local arm of the national Warm Homes: Local Grant. Does not fund replacement of broken or inefficient gas boilers, which sit outside the scheme's national eligibility rules.
Last verified: 19 August 2026. See the footer disclaimer — this is general information, not financial or tax advice.