CIF for heating, boilers and electrics: building the case in 2027 to 2028

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

Can a school get Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) money for a boiler replacement? It can. A boiler replacement is one of the projects CIF is meant for, but CIF is a competitive bidding round, not an entitlement: "Eligible academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools can apply for funding in an annual bidding round." Maintained schools other than VA schools, and larger trusts, generally fund boilers through School Condition Allocation (SCA) instead, because "an eligible school will either attract School Condition Allocations (SCA) for its responsible body, or be eligible for CIF, but not both."

For schools that can bid, the Department for Education (DfE) expects "the majority of projects supported through CIF to involve the replacement of high-priority components such as structural elements, boilers and electrics, fire doors and alarms, roof coverings and windows, and asbestos removal." Gas safety and electrical safety sit in the highest priority band where there is a risk of imminent school closure. An old boiler on its own does not. A heating or rewiring bid has to prove the need and show what happens if nothing is done, and for heating the costed options appraisal should, where applicable, set a like for like replacement against a sustainable or low carbon option.

Applications are now open for funding for 2027 to 2028. Every application, with all supporting documents, must reach the DfE by 12 noon, 15 December 2026. Schools applying for the first time must register for a CIF portal account by 12 noon, 30 November 2026. The full timetable is in Grayling Thomas Architects' guide to CIF key dates, rule changes and what to prepare before the deadline. This one covers heating, boilers and electrics.

For how CIF bids are scored on need, cost and planning in general, see the practice's complete guide to CIF funding for schools.

Where do heating and electrics sit in the CIF priorities?

The DfE's CIF information for applicants for this round is direct about what comes first. "We give the highest priority to condition projects that address compliance and health and safety issues. These include building safety matters, fire protection systems, gas safety, electrical safety or emergency asbestos removal." It goes on: "We also give priority to critical replacements of coal and oil-fired boilers with low carbon heating alternatives where there is a risk of school closure."

Assessors place every project in a priority band, and heating and electrical work appears in several of them:

The guidance is blunt about the bottom of the table: "We are unlikely to fund projects that fall into the lowest categories."

Two details in the guidance matter for gas heating. In both the high and the medium bands, "where gas heating systems are proposed to be replaced with low carbon options, these will score higher marks within the range". But the condition case still has to stand up first: in the medium band "the need for life expired condition replacement must still be demonstrated".

A failing gas boiler is not a highest-priority project simply because it is old. A gas safety defect, an electrical installation that has failed testing, or an oil-fired system being replaced with low carbon heating where the risk of school closure is demonstrated are different cases, and the evidence should make that difference obvious.

Does CIF still pay for a like for like gas boiler?

It can. The guidance says: "We will consider sustainable replacement options in addition to like for like." The direction of travel is clear, though. Under its "Boiler and heating systems" heading the DfE notes that, "As set out in the Heat and building strategy, there is regulation planned to phase out the installation of new fossil fuel heating systems for both off-gas-grid non-domestic buildings and on-gas-grid buildings." The guidance gives no date for it, so a bid for a new fossil fuel boiler should show why it is still the right answer.

Two further sentences set the limits. "Zero and low carbon heating replacement projects must justify the need to replace the existing fossil fuel boiler." And: "Sustainability and energy efficiency must not be the sole justification for replacement." A heat pump bid for a boiler in fair condition is weak. A heat pump bid for a boiler that is failing, with the evidence to prove it, is a different proposition.

Why the DfE wants you to treat heating as a whole system

The guidance asks applicants to "consider heating systems as a whole and be mindful of the impact of any changes that improvements to component parts make; this may help avoid situations such as new boilers not working because of leaking pipework or incompatible control systems." A new boiler on old pipework and old controls often moves the failure rather than removing it.

It also expects the wider picture in the scope: "you must consider the wider implications of the project like pipework and electrics etc." Insulation matters, because a better insulated building makes any replacement heating system more efficient, and the DfE asks applicants to "model energy usage and likely savings to support any application for such projects."

Low carbon heating raises the bar on deliverability. The guidance lists "operational costs, existing building fabric", along with "insulation and an electrical load assessment to determine whether substation upgrades may be required", and expects "a full feasibility study to determine whether your school is feasible for a low carbon heating solution." This is where heating and electrics meet: a heat pump adds electrical load, and an incoming supply that cannot carry it is a cost the bid has to show. The warning is plain: "No additional funding will be provided after project approval." Where running costs would rise, the DfE suggests hybrid systems as an interim position, set out in the net zero transition plan submitted with the application.

A whole-system heating scheme is a design project as well as a bid, and the practice's guide to choosing an architect for a school capital project sets out what to check before appointing one.

What evidence does a heating or electrical bid need?

For heating and electrics, the strongest bids usually bring together:

• An independent condition survey. "Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023. They need to be independent and impartial." The DfE expects grades and priority ratings, and says "We expect surveys to demonstrate D1 to C2 condition issues."

• Specialist mechanical and electrical evidence. The guidance names a "detailed M&E testing report" as project specific evidence, alongside the condition survey.

• Compliance letters from qualified professionals, such as electrical engineers, about the specific issue. "Please note that generic letters of support are not acceptable."

• Maintenance and incident records, including invoices and incident reports with photographs.

• Third-party evidence of closure risk, where you claim it. The DfE says "including a 'closure warning' in the condition report alone is not sufficient evidence", and expects formal notice from bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive or the Fire Service.

• Energy modelling for any replacement, and the net zero transition plan or sustainable estate strategy that all applications need.

The practice's article on why a strong condition survey is the key to CIF funding success explains what assessors look for in one, and its school condition surveys page describes the surveys it carries out for schools. Remember the independence test: a survey "will not be considered independent if, for example, it is conducted by a firm that has also quoted or tendered for the work or is a manufacturer of any proposed solution". The DfE also asks applicants to "consider any conflicts of interest that the technical adviser may have with others involved in your application, such as those undertaking the condition reports or tendering for the works." Declare any such link in the application.

For a special school, the practice's article on condition surveys for special schools explains what the survey has to cover beyond condition, and its guide to education building surveys and what school leaders need to know explains how condition grades become bid evidence.

The costed options appraisal for a boiler or rewire

Every bid this round needs a bespoke, costed options appraisal, and for heating it is where like for like and low carbon are weighed against each other. The DfE asks applicants to "Always present a 'do nothing' option", to show "that lower-cost options have been considered", and not to "present a preferred option as the only way forward." Where applicable, "the options appraisal should include a sustainable and/or net zero-carbon solution."

For a heating project, a credible set of options often looks like this:

• Do nothing, with the consequence set out: what fails, when, and what it means for teaching.

• Targeted repair, if the survey shows parts of the system still have life in them.

• Like for like replacement of the boilers, with any pipework and controls that have to go with them.

• A hybrid system, where full low carbon heating is not yet affordable to run.

• Low carbon heating, such as a heat pump, costed with the fabric, insulation and electrical upgrades it needs.

The DfE wants "the costs, benefits, and risks associated with each option"; for heating, that should include running cost and carbon alongside capital cost. An electrical project works the same way: partial rewiring against full replacement, with distribution boards, containment and any supply upgrade costed in. A generic appraisal will not do. "Applications that provide generic appraisals lacking detail and costs will score low in this section." The same appraisal used in more than one application can lead to disqualification.

CIF and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme

The guidance explains how a CIF like for like award could form a trust's contribution to a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) project, and says "You must mention in your CIF application if you are planning to use CIF funding as your contribution for a PSDS project."

It also records that "Following the 2025 Spending Review, the government has made the decision to commit no further investment for the PSDS beyond currently awarded projects." A school without an existing PSDS award should build its heating case on CIF alone.

Timing heating and electrical works

Heating and electrical replacements are disruptive, and the DfE asks applicants to "plan how the project will be delivered around school terms." It says you will score high marks where the urgency is immediate, for example where an "issue must be dealt with over the summer holidays, otherwise likely closure in September 2027", and warns that "If the proposed works are not required to be carried out within the next two years, it is unlikely that the application will be successful."

For keeping teaching going while the work is on site, see our guide to building work on a live school site, which covers phasing, site separation and safeguarding.

If a boiler has already failed and the school faces closure, the CIF round is not the only route: "If you need to address urgent condition issues that pose the threat of immediate school closure, you can apply for urgent capital support." That route is not a grant safety net: "We offer UCS funding primarily as a loan, subject to an assessment of finances." The DfE also notes that "where UCS applications are received between October 2026 and April 2027, if they are duplicates of any successful CIF 2027-28 application, then the CIF application will be withdrawn if the UCS application is successful."

The DfE's guidance on how schools and colleges apply for urgent capital support sets out how that route works.

Works that may be covered by the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA), the DfE's alternative to commercial insurance, go to the RPA first: "any works which may be eligible for cover under the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) should be submitted through the RPA process in the first instance." Where a CIF application covers the same works, "any successful application will be placed on hold pending the outcome of the RPA claim."

Related guides

• CIF 2027 to 2028: key dates, rule changes and what to prepare by 15 December

• The CIF application for 2027 to 2028: a section-by-section walkthrough

• CIF funding for roof replacement: what evidence a 2027 to 2028 bid needs

• CIF for fire safety and compliance works in 2027 to 2028

Grayling Thomas Architects on CIF heating, boiler and electrical bids

We are a RIBA Chartered Practice that designs and delivers school buildings, including large new buildings. Grayling Thomas Architects was CIF bid writer, lead consultant and architect for Dorothy Goodman School in Hinckley, a new building for an existing special school, funded through the Condition Improvement Fund.

On a heating or electrical project, we work with the school as lead consultant and architect: assembling the condition evidence, designing the scope as a whole system and preparing the costed options, so that the bid and the building that follows are the same project. Our CIF funding page explains how we work, and any appointment should follow your own procurement process, so it is worth starting early. To talk about a heating, boiler or electrical project, use our CIF enquiry form.