We don't know whether you use gas or electricity for cooking,
but the ongoing Daily Standing Charge is likely to take up a sizeable chunk of your annual gas bill once your heat-pump is operational!

thanks

Have you already paid, with the £7,500 removed from the final invoice?

I’ll make some enquiries tomorrow, but as has already been alluded and mentioned above, under BUS you must remove the existing fossil fuel central heating system that the heat pump is replacing. The aim is to ensure the heat pump becomes your main source of heating, not just an add-on while the old boiler stays in place as backup, hence the issues with hybrids and BUS.

So the grant definitely requires your old gas boiler to be decommissioned and removed. But a gas fireplace is in my opinion completely different as it’s usually classed as a secondary or supplementary heat source, not the primary heating system. So I don’t see an immediate issue.

I also encourage the back up heating. Our wood burners have saved us a few times during power outages.

But I will make enquiries.

That was the point I was trying to make - wood burner and gas fire are not as close scenarios as they might seem, so beware of conflating too closely.

All a moot point, though, since there's still as you say plenty of ambiguity to keep any judges occupied 

This is a bit of a rabbit hole

All agreed!

...

That said the paragraph you quote is about whether the property is eligible for the upgrade, not what must be done during the upgrade.  While it might provide some guidance if any other part of the legislation is unclear, its not the key paragraph IMHO.

...

Hmm. This is a bit of a rabbit hole so I'm going to mention this with a bit of trepidation, hoping it doesn't start derailing. Here goes.

My thinking is that if eligibility is based on a particular type of system being replaced and one has a heat source that uses a different fuel then that heat source is de facto not part of the system that made the property eligible in the first place; it must be separate. That is the case with your (and my) wood burning stove. What an installer has to do during the upgrade all relates to the system that has already been defined as eligible for replacement, meaning that, since the stove is not part of it, the installer shouldn't touch it.

Obviously, in @rikiarn's situation this is not the case making the argument for the gas fire less clear cut than your wood burner. That was the point I was trying to make - wood burner and gas fire are not as close scenarios as they might seem, so beware of conflating too closely.

All a moot point, though, since there's still as you say plenty of ambiguity to keep any judges occupied.

Whilst I'd love to agree with @jamespa, I think it's at least rather ambiguous.

Im not sure we disagree - its definitely ambiguous.

That said the paragraph you quote is about whether the property is eligible for the upgrade, not what must be done during the upgrade.  While it might provide some guidance if any other part of the legislation is unclear, its not the key paragraph IMHO.

I think we agree that the material issue is whether the appliance in question is part of the 'original heating system', because the requirement is " replaces the heat generating components of the original heating system installed in that property (where applicable)".   I think your distinction about whether its decorative or practical is relevant. 

• If its principally decorative then I would say that there is a very good argument that its not part of the heating system.
• If it functional and is necessary to heat the room then I would say it is.
• In OPs case it appears to be functional but not necessary to heat the room, because the central heating does that.  In this case the question becomes - is something that is supplemental, intended as standby, and isolated from the rest of an otherwise connected system, part of that 'system'. 

Definitely one for judges to determine ultimately, in the mean time worth having the argument with the installer IMHO, if it matters to OP that it remains. 

I read all the legislation and it gives the option to keep wood burning stove but there isn’t anything regarding gas fireplace. 

I guess the argument can be put both ways. As not technically part of the main heating system it shouldn’t matter if it is removed or not. On the other side being gas it would make sense to make it compulsory to remove all gas heating sources. 

we are waiting the confirmation from the installer which hopefully will clarify to situation.

in the meantime thank you for the reply. 

Thanks

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/BUS_Guidance_for_Installers_-V4.2.pdf

Section 3.20. talks about evidence requirements.

The first bullet refers to a valid EPC which will show the prior heating system "a previous EPC for the property that lists a fossil fuel or electricity as the **main heating** fuel" (emphasis added by me).

On my EPC my gas boiler is listed as "Main heating" while my wood burner is listed as "Secondary heating", what does your EPC say about main and secondary?

I would conclude from that, that provided my main heating had been disposed of, and otherwise met the BUS rules, that would be allowable.

But please do your own research, I know not of what I speak.