Is Air Conditioning Covered by the Warm Homes Loan? Not Yet
Reverse-cycle air conditioning is an air-to-air heat pump, and the Warm Homes Loan Scheme rules do list it. They also say it is not eligible until MCS can certify it. Here is where that leaves you, and what the loan covers today.
The short answer
Not yet. Most reverse-cycle air conditioning is an air-to-air heat pump. The Warm Homes Loan Scheme rules list air-to-air with a loan cap of £10,000, but say it is not eligible until MCS can certify it. Until that changes, a lender in the scheme cannot fund an air conditioning install with a Warm Homes loan.
Why air-to-air is waiting
Every improvement funded by the scheme must usually be installed by an MCS-certified installer, so that the work meets a recognised standard and can be audited. The scheme rules hold air-to-air back until MCS can certify those installations. No date has been published for that. When it changes, the rules and the GOV.UK pages will change with it, and we will update this page.
What the loan covers today
| Improvement | Loan cap |
|---|---|
| Solar PV panels | £15,000 |
| Battery storage | £15,000 |
| Air-to-water heat pump | £20,000 |
| Ground source heat pump | £35,000 |
| Air-to-air heat pump (air conditioning) | £10,000, not yet eligible |
| EV charger | Only as an add-on to solar or a battery |
| Insulation | Not eligible |
Caps from the Warm Homes Loan Scheme rules (v3, September 2026, sections 4.13 to 4.19). You must own the home, and the lender runs its own credit and affordability checks.
Air conditioning: what you can do now
The loan is not the only rule that matters for air conditioning. VAT relief and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant have their own conditions, and they turn on whether the unit heats your home or only cools it. We cover both in air conditioning VAT, grants and planning, including the planning rules for a unit on a house.
Using the loan for solar instead
A reverse-cycle unit runs on electricity. If you are planning one, the part of the project the loan can fund today is the electricity supply: solar panels, and a battery if your lender agrees. Daytime cooling lines up with daytime solar generation. Our Warm Homes Loan Scheme solar guide for Cornwall explains who can apply, the caps and how to get the MCS installation quote a lender needs. For what a Cornish roof actually generates, see our Penzance solar output figures.
Before you apply for anything
- You apply to a lender from the GOV.UK lender list, not to the government or an installer. CCS Heating & Renewables is not a lender or credit broker and does not arrange the loan.
- The rate and term are set by the lender. Compare them yourself.
- The government and lenders never cold-call to sell Warm Homes Loans or charge a fee to apply.
Checked 3 November 2026 against GOV.UK and the Warm Homes Loan Scheme rules.
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