Solar panel grants and funding

A lot of online advice still points at schemes that no longer take new applicants. If someone offers you one of these, treat it as a warning sign.

The Feed-in Tariff closed to new systems on 31 March 2019. It still pays households who signed up before then, but you cannot join now. The Green Homes Grant, which gave vouchers towards efficiency work in England, closed on 31 March 2021. The Green Deal stopped offering new finance back in July 2015, though existing plans run on.

None of these are coming back in their old form. If a quote leans on one of them, it is out of date.

The live schemes are mostly for households on lower incomes or certain benefits, often with an energy rating of EPC D to G. They tend to fund a package of efficiency measures, with solar sometimes included rather than guaranteed. EPC stands for Energy Performance Certificate, the A to G rating every home gets when it is sold or let, and a D to G rating means there is room to improve.

The sections below take each live scheme in turn, so you can see who it is for and how to apply. The table is the quick view.

The Warm Homes Plan is a large government programme, worth around £15 billion, covering energy efficiency and low-carbon heating. The part most likely to fund solar is the Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, which runs from 2025 to 2028 and is delivered by local and combined authorities.

Who qualifies: it is aimed at lower-income households in homes rated EPC D to G. Eligibility is set locally, so the exact income threshold and the measures on offer depend on your council or combined authority. For eligible homes it can fund a package that includes solar and a battery, with grants up to £30,000 per home.

How to apply: there is no single national portal. You go through your local or combined authority, which either runs the scheme itself or appoints a delivery partner. The simplest start is to search your council website for Warm Homes or home upgrade grants, or to use the GOV.UK help-to-heat checker, which points you to the right local route.

ECO4 is the current phase of the Energy Company Obligation. Large energy suppliers fund efficiency and low-carbon heating work in eligible homes. Solar is sometimes part of a wider package, especially for homes heated by electricity, rather than a guaranteed standalone offer. ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026.

Who qualifies: the main route is for households on means-tested benefits, in homes rated EPC D to G. ECO4 Flex is a second route. It lets councils set their own local rules to reach fuel-poor or vulnerable households who are not on those benefits, and it can make up to half of all the help delivered in an area. So a home that misses the benefits test can still qualify under a local Flex scheme.

How to apply: you can approach an obligated supplier or its contractor directly, or go through your council if it runs a Flex scheme. Either way the work has to be done by an approved installer, and a survey confirms what your home qualifies for.

Nest is the Welsh Government Warm Homes scheme. Who qualifies: Welsh homeowners or private tenants on a low income or certain benefits, usually in homes rated EPC E or below, or D where someone has a cold-related health condition. It can fund efficiency measures, heat pumps and solar for eligible homes. How to apply: contact Nest for a free eligibility check, which leads to a home survey and then the work.

Home Energy Scotland runs grants and interest-free loans for Scottish owner-occupiers and some landlords. The thing to know is that the standalone solar grant closed in mid-2024, so solar now tends to come within a wider package or a loan rather than a dedicated grant. Grant amounts are income-tiered, and there are affordability and credit checks on the loan side. How to apply: contact Home Energy Scotland for an eligibility check, which leads to a written offer before any work starts.

Northern Ireland is a separate market with no Smart Export Guarantee. Support is more fragmented and runs through the Department for Communities and local councils, with schemes that can put around 20% towards solar, heat pumps or solar thermal for eligible low-income or fuel-poor homes. How to apply: check with your local council or the scheme administrator, as availability and budgets change year to year.

Rather than chase one scheme by name, work from your own situation. A few minutes of checks tells you whether any grant is realistic.

Start by finding your EPC rating. Every home has one once it has been sold or let, and you can look it up free on the GOV.UK Energy Performance Certificate register. A D to G rating opens up most schemes. Next, check whether anyone in the household receives a means-tested benefit, since that is the main qualifying route for ECO4, Nest and the Local Grant. If not, look at your council website for an ECO4 Flex or local Warm Homes scheme, because those can reach households that the benefits test misses.

The single best starting point in England is the GOV.UK help-to-heat checker, which asks a few questions and points you to the schemes you may be eligible for. In Wales contact Nest, in Scotland contact Home Energy Scotland, and in Northern Ireland start with your local council. If none of these fit, the realistic position is that you fund the system yourself, with the 0% VAT and the Smart Export Guarantee doing the work that a grant would.

Two things are not grants in the usual sense but cut the real cost for any household, and you do not have to qualify on income.

The first is 0% VAT on solar panels. Until 31 March 2027 there is no VAT on the supply and installation of solar in Great Britain. The installer simply charges nothing on the invoice, so there is no form to fill in.

The second is the Smart Export Guarantee. Once your system is running, your energy supplier pays you for the electricity you send back to the grid. It is not money towards the install, but it is real income over the life of the system, and most larger suppliers must offer it.

Almost every grant, and the Smart Export Guarantee, requires the work to be done by an MCS-certified installer, or an equivalent recognised scheme. MCS is the quality standard for small renewables. A non-certified install can lock you out of both funding and export payments, even if the panels work fine.