There is no government grant for solar panels
There is a cheap government backed loan instead, worth up to £15,000 for solar and the same again for a battery. Here is what it covers, and what the other pages leave out.
If you have searched for solar grants you will have found a lot of pages hinting that the government will pay for your panels. For most households, it will not.
What does exist, and what is genuinely useful, is the Warm Homes Loan Scheme. It launched in late October 2026. It is money you borrow and pay back, at a rate lower than you would normally get.
What you can borrow
Up to £15,000 for solar panels. Up to £15,000 for battery storage. Up to £20,000 for an air to water heat pump. Up to £35,000 for a ground source heat pump.
The loans run through private lenders, not the government. Around ten are signed up. The government backs them, which is what lets them lend cheaper.
What it costs
Rates can be up to five percentage points below what the lender would normally charge. Some products are interest free.
To put that in real terms, a lender charging 8% could offer you 3%. On a £12,000 solar and battery system over ten years, that difference is worth several thousand pounds.
Terms start at three years. Some run up to thirty.
The bits the other pages leave out
It is a loan. You pay it back. If a page tells you the government is giving away solar panels, close the page.
Thirty years is a long time. A longer term lowers the monthly payment and raises the total cost, sometimes by a lot. A solar system should pay for itself well inside thirty years. Borrowing over thirty to buy one is usually the wrong shape.
Some of these loans are secured. That means a second charge on your home. Read which kind you are being offered.
Eligibility is not confirmed yet. The government has announced the scheme but has not said exactly who qualifies or when applications open. Anyone telling you they can sign you up today should be treated carefully.
Scammers are already using the name. If someone calls you unprompted about a government solar scheme, that is not the government.
What about actual grants
ECO4 still exists and does cover some households on qualifying benefits, usually for insulation and heating rather than solar. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives up to £9,000 towards a heat pump in England and Wales, and it can be combined with a Warm Homes loan.
For most homeowners paying their own way, neither of those will cover solar.
Our honest take
A cheap loan is a good thing. It is not the reason to put solar on your roof.
The reason is that you generate your own electricity, you buy less from the grid, and with bills forecast to rise again in January, that gap gets wider rather than narrower. The loan just changes how you pay for it.
If the sums only work because the borrowing is cheap, the system is probably wrong for your roof. We would rather tell you that than sell it to you.
Where we are
We install across Kent, London and the South East. If you want to know what your roof would actually generate and what it would cost, we will survey it and tell you straight.
