Home energy grants in Derry City and Strabane
If you live in the Derry City and Strabane council area, these are the heating and insulation schemes open to you right now. Most NI energy grants are run region-wide by the Housing Executive and the Utility Regulator rather than by councils, so the same schemes apply wherever you are — but how you access them locally differs.
Schemes open to Derry City and Strabane residents
The main NI grant for low-income owner-occupiers: free heating and insulation improvements worth up to £7,500, with nothing to repay.
A yearly pot of energy-efficiency funding, at least 80% of which is reserved for lower-income 'priority' households. Grants are first come, first served and popular schemes run waiting lists.
A once-a-year, tax-free payment for people of State Pension age, paid automatically in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities. For winter 2026/27 you qualify if you were born on or before 27 June 1960. If your income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back through the tax system.
An automatic £25 payment for people on certain benefits whenever their area records — or is forecast — an average temperature of 0°C or below for seven days in a row. The 2026/27 scheme runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027.
If you rent from the Housing Executive, it is responsible for your heating and the fabric of your home. You can't use Affordable Warmth, NISEP or the planned Warm Healthy Homes Fund — heating repairs, replacements and energy-efficiency upgrades come through the Housing Executive itself.
Heating in Derry City and Strabane, and why it changes which grant to chase
Across Northern Ireland roughly 61% of homes still heat with oil — by far the highest proportion anywhere in the UK, and the reason the schemes here look so different from those in Great Britain. But that figure is an average, and where your home sits relative to the gas network makes a real difference to which measures are available and which are worth asking for.
Derry City and Strabane is served by firmus energy in Derry and SGN's Gas to the West network in Strabane and Artigarvan, covering Derry, Strabane and Artigarvan. Coverage here is uneven: the towns are largely on the gas network while surrounding townlands remain on oil. Which grants are worth pursuing depends heavily on which side of that line your home falls. If you are on oil, an Affordable Warmth boiler replacement is usually the single biggest improvement available; if you are already on gas, insulation measures tend to matter more.
If you are unsure whether your address can get natural gas, the network operator for your area will confirm it, and it is worth knowing before you apply — an oil-to-gas conversion, an oil boiler replacement and a heat pump are three different routes with three different funding positions.
Local support in Derry City and Strabane
Affordable Warmth applications from Derry City and Strabane are handled by your local Housing Executive grant office once the NI Energy Advice Service (0800 111 4455) has confirmed you appear to qualify. You don't need to go through the council.
Oil buying clubs and fuel stamps. Many NI councils and community groups run oil-buying clubs that bulk-purchase heating oil at a discount, and some operate fuel-stamp savings schemes so you can spread the cost of a fill. Check the Derry City and Strabane council website or your local advice centre for what's running in your area.
Benefits check. Make the Call (0800 232 1271) is free and NI-wide. It's the fastest way to find out whether you qualify for Pension Credit or Universal Credit — which in turn opens the door to NISEP priority funding and Cold Weather Payments.
Housing Executive tenants in Derry City and Strabane get heating and insulation upgrades through the Housing Executive's own programme rather than these grants — contact your local office.
Before you apply
Check the income test carefully. Affordable Warmth uses gross household income under £23,000, rising to £35,000 where someone receives a disability benefit — and PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance are not counted as income when that test is applied. Households rule themselves out on this point more often than any other.
Apply early in the year for NISEP. The programme year runs from April, funding is allocated first come first served, and the popular schemes build waiting lists well before March. If you are applying in the second half of the year, ask to be placed on a list rather than assuming you have missed it.
Get a benefits check first if there is any doubt. Qualifying for Pension Credit or Universal Credit moves you into the NISEP priority group and switches on Cold Weather Payments automatically. That single step often unlocks more than the grant application itself.
Be wary of what you are offered on the doorstep. Genuine schemes do not cold-call. The £7,500 heat pump grant advertised across the UK does not exist in Northern Ireland, and any installer implying otherwise for a Derry City and Strabane address is either mistaken or worse.