What is ECO4? The Energy Company Obligation Explained

ECO stands for the Energy Company Obligation, which has been helping eligible homeowners for several years access funding to cover the costs of home heating solutions, mainly new Combi Boilers. As such, it’s been given the name “the free boiler scheme”, though that’s not all the grant can pay for.

The ECO scheme, currently in it’s fourth iteration (ECO4), was set up by the Government in order to try and lower the UK’s Carbon Footprint by 2050. The goal is to lower the amount of fossil fuels the UK’s population uses to heat their homes. The Government laid the plan out for ECO, but it’s actually the leading Energy Companies that foot the bill. This is why it’s called the Energy Company Obligation, because those companies are obliged to ensure that everyone is living in a home that’s up to scratch from an energy use point of view. The main way to do that is by reducing the amount of fuel is spent heating homes as that accounts for the largest expense across the UK, but it’s not just heating the home that needs to be tackled, it’s maintaining the heat afterwards. This means that while a brand new ‘A’ rated boiler, which will work more efficiently than an older boiler is definitely a worthwhile investment to put into people’s homes, it’s not the only measure needed.