ECO4 Closes 31 December 2026 · Warm Homes Plan from 2027 | 7,000+ Installations
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💰Earn £100 Per ReferralBy Peter Davies, ECO4 Analyst
Reviewed
ECO4 does NOT operate in Northern Ireland. If you live in BT47 or BT48 with a gross household income under £23,000 (or £18,000 if you live alone), you can apply for help with a new boiler under the Affordable Warmth Scheme, administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) on behalf of the Department for Communities. Derry City and Strabane District Council's Affordable Warmth Team makes the referral on 028 7125 3253. Derry-Londonderry's gas network is operated by Evolve (formerly SGN Natural Gas).
NI-specific guides: Affordable Warmth scheme (nidirect) · NIHE Affordable Warmth
BT47–BT48
Postcode coverage
Evolve
Gas Distribution Network
Affordable Warmth
NIHE / DfC route
£0
Cost to qualifying households
Affordable Warmth in Derry / Londonderry is referred-only: your local council passes eligible households to NIHE, who then arrange a survey and the install.
Per nidirect's Affordable Warmth Scheme page, the Department for Communities sets a gross household income ceiling:
Households can be referred by health and care professionals where someone has a cold-sensitive illness, regardless of the income test:
Bottom line: If your address is in BT47–BT48, your household income is under £23,000 (or you have a cold-sensitive health condition), and your boiler is unreliable, ask Derry City and Strabane District Council's council energy team to refer you to NIHE's Affordable Warmth Scheme.
Derry-Londonderry's housing splits across four main cohorts. The first is the Victorian and Georgian terraces of the Cityside (BT48) — narrow grid streets within and immediately outside the 17th-century city walls, including Fahan Street, High Street, Kennedy Street and Marlborough Street's larger arched-doorway townhouses. The second is the post-war and 1960s/70s social-housing stock that grew up alongside the Bogside and across Creggan — Creggan Heights, Aranmore Avenue and the surrounding cul-de-sacs of rendered terraces and short estate runs, mostly built between 1947 and 1972. The third is the Waterside (BT47) — a mix of older Edwardian terraces around the Bolies and Spencer Road, with newer estate housing across Drumahoe, Top of the Hill and Newbuildings. The fourth is the outer-edge social and private-sector mix at Shantallow, Galliagh, Ballyarnett and Pennyburn — large NIHE-built estates from the 1970s and 1980s, many still on Economy 7 storage heaters or oil heating. Across the whole city, the typical Affordable Warmth catchment is a pre-1980 terrace or semi with a non-condensing combi or a back boiler, fitted while the new natural-gas network was still being rolled out by Evolve in the late 2010s.
Total dwellings
63,000
as of 2021 Census (NISRA)
Private sector
—
owner-occupied + rented
Social housing
—
registered providers
Bottom line: Derry / Londonderry's stock mix sits squarely inside NIHE's Affordable Warmth catchment — your Technical Officer survey will confirm the right boiler-and-insulation package for your specific property.
Evolve is the Gas Distribution Network operator for the rest of Northern Ireland — including Derry-Londonderry, Strabane and the West — that includes every BT47–BT48 postcode.
~10 m connection
£500–£800
50 m+ connection
£1,500–£2,500
If your property is already on the gas main — most Derry / Londonderry addresses are — there is nothing to pay. Affordable Warmth funds the boiler, internal pipework, controls, meter installation, and safe removal of the old system.
Evolve's indicative pricing toolBottom line: Almost every Derry / Londonderry address (BT47–BT48) is already on the Evolve gas main, so the connection cost is £0. The rare off-main cases sit on the outer fringes and pay Evolve separately for the new connection.
Affordable Warmth is the Northern Ireland equivalent of ECO4 — but the eligibility, funding and delivery are completely different. It is administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) on behalf of the Department for Communities (DfC), funded from the NI Executive's block grant. ECO4 (the UK-wide energy-supplier obligation regulated by Ofgem) does NOT operate in Northern Ireland at all. Households apply via their local council energy team, which makes the referral to NIHE.
Affordable Warmth (NI)Bottom line: Affordable Warmth via NIHE is the route for Derry / Londonderry — ECO4 doesn't operate in Northern Ireland at all.
You may have seen the successor scheme called "ECO5" online — there is no ECO5. The government has abolished the Energy Company Obligation model and replaced it with the Warm Homes Plan — a £15 billion programme funded by public investment rather than levies on energy bills. ECO4 still runs until 31 December 2026, so Derry / Londonderry households should apply now while the scheme is open.
Low-income grants
£4.4 bn
Warm Homes Social Housing Fund + Local Grant
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
£7,500
per household, clean-heat grant
Delivery moves from Ofgem to a new Warm Homes Agency, with the Social Housing Fund and Local Grant consolidating into a single low-income capital scheme by 2027/28. Northern Ireland's Affordable Warmth scheme continues; the Warm Homes Plan does not extend directly to NI, but Barnett Consequentials provide additional funding.
Sources: gov.uk — Warm Homes Plan (updated 18 March 2026); Ofgem response to the Warm Homes Plan.
Bottom line: ECO4 closes 31 December 2026. The Warm Homes Plan replaces it from 2027 — apply now while the current scheme is still open and the £4,000–£8,000 install value is fully funded.
Property
1968 rendered mid-terrace, three-bed
Existing system
EPC band E — kerosene oil heating with an end-of-life Worcester combi installed 2003; no thermostatic radiator valves
Measure installed
Old oil boiler and tank removed; new A-rated condensing gas combi sited internally after Evolve completed the service connection; full radiator-circuit flush; new programmable controls and TRVs; loft topped up to 270mm. Funded under Affordable Warmth following Derry City & Strabane District Council referral to NIHE.
Outcome
EPC modelled uplift from band E to band C; first-winter heating-bill cut of roughly £500–£700 once the household moved off heating oil. £0 paid by the household (gross income under £23,000).
Time on site
Boiler swap completed in two days on site (extra half-day to decommission the oil tank).
Illustrative — based on typical BT47–BT48 installs, not a single named customer.
Bottom line: Typical Derry / Londonderry installs deliver a two-band EPC uplift in a single intervention at £0 to the qualifying household. Your individual case depends on the PAS 2035 assessment, but the BT48 Creggan pattern above is representative.
Total install value typically £4,000–£8,000.
Most Derry / Londonderry addresses are already on the gas main — nothing extra to pay.
Bottom line: If your Affordable Warmth application is approved, the install is £0. The only out-of-pocket case is a brand-new gas-main connection from off-grid — uncommon in Derry / Londonderry but more common in the rural NI fringes.
Contact Derry City and Strabane District Council's energy team on 028 7125 3253 to request an Affordable Warmth referral.
Northern Ireland Housing Executive sends an assessor to inspect the property, confirm the income / vulnerability route, and scope the works.
Gas Safe install by an NIHE-approved contractor, with building-control sign-off.
Prefer to contact Derry City and Strabane District Council directly?
Delivery overseen by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive under Department for Communities.
Bottom line: From the initial NIEAS call to a commissioned boiler, a typical Derry / Londonderry Affordable Warmth job runs six to eight weeks. The wizard above starts the eligibility check immediately.
No. ECO4 is the UK-wide Energy Company Obligation regulated by Ofgem and funded by GB-licensed energy suppliers — it operates in England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland uses the Affordable Warmth Scheme instead, administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) on behalf of the Department for Communities, and funded from the NI Executive's block grant. The two schemes have completely different eligibility rules: Affordable Warmth uses a household income test (£23,000 / £18,000), whereas ECO4 uses qualifying benefits plus an EPC band test.
Homeowners and private tenants in BT47 or BT48 whose gross household income is under £23,000 (or £18,000 for single-person households), and whose property has poor heating efficiency. There is no EPC band rule in Affordable Warmth — eligibility is income-and-property based. Cold-sensitive health conditions (cardiovascular, respiratory, limited mobility, immunosuppression, or specified clinical conditions) can substitute for the income test via a GP or council referral.
There is no online wizard for Affordable Warmth. You start by contacting Derry City and Strabane District Council's Affordable Warmth Team on 028 7125 3253 — they make the referral to NIHE, who then send an assessor to survey the property, confirm eligibility, and arrange the install through an NIHE-approved contractor. From referral to install typically takes 8–14 weeks.
Evolve (formerly SGN Natural Gas — rebranded in 2024) operates the gas distribution network across BT47 and BT48, and across most of the rest of Northern Ireland west of the Bann. Evolve is licensed by the Utility Regulator NI, not Ofgem. The natural-gas rollout to Derry-Londonderry under the Gas to the West programme was completed in the late 2010s, with a pressure reduction station at Maydown serving the city.
Often yes, where Evolve's mains extension reaches your street. Moving from Economy 7 storage heaters to a gas combi is one of Affordable Warmth's most-funded measures because the SAP-uplift is large and the running-cost reduction is significant. The post-war NIHE estates at Creggan, Shantallow, Galliagh, Pennyburn and Ballyarnett are the strongest catchment. NIHE's assessor will confirm whether your address is currently connected to the Evolve mains or needs a fresh service connection.
Yes. Private tenants in BT47 / BT48 can be referred to Affordable Warmth provided the household income is below the £23,000 / £18,000 thresholds and the landlord consents in writing to the upgrade. The scheme covers the boiler, the full radiator set, the internal pipework and removal of the old system — there is no contribution from the tenant or landlord.
Neither. The Affordable Warmth Scheme in Northern Ireland runs until March 2028 and is replaced by the new Warm Healthy Homes Fund (WHHF), launching in April 2027 in a phased handover. The Department for Communities (DfC) confirmed the WHHF business case in 2025 — eligibility detail is still under consultation but the fund is expected to widen the income and property criteria from the current £23,000 cap. ECO4 (the GB-wide energy-supplier obligation closing 31 December 2026) does NOT operate in Northern Ireland. Neither does the successor "Warm Homes Plan" (sometimes searched online as "ECO5") which only extends to England, Scotland and Wales. Additional WHP funding for NI flows via Barnett Consequentials but is administered separately by NIHE on behalf of DfC, not directly by the new Warm Homes Agency. For Derry / Londonderry households the route remains: contact your council energy team or NIEAS (0800 111 4455) for an Affordable Warmth referral, which transitions seamlessly into the WHHF when the new scheme takes over.
gov.uk — Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)
Qualifying benefits and EPC band rules
Ofgem — ECO4 Delivery Guidance v4.0 (March 2026)
Scheme closure 31 December 2026, measure rules
gov.uk — Warm Homes Plan
£15bn ECO4 successor scheme, updated 18 March 2026
Derry City and Strabane District Council — Energy Company Obligations (ECO4) page
last updated 2024-04-01
Evolve — new gas connection page
GDN-side connection-cost guidance
NISRA Census 2021 — Derry City and Strabane District Council area
Dwelling counts for Derry / Londonderry (2021 Census (NISRA))
NIHE House Condition Survey + NISRA Census 2021
Regional EPC band distribution
Page reviewed: .
Your Derry City and Strabane District Council energy team can refer you to NIHE if your gross household income is under £23,000 or you have a cold-sensitive health condition. There is no online wizard for Affordable Warmth — the referral is handled by council and NIHE staff.
