Solar panel grants in the UK in 2026: what actually exists

Solar panel grants in the UK in 2026 come down to three things: a means-tested council scheme, the VAT zero rate, and being paid for what you export. There is no universal grant for putting panels on an ordinary owner-occupied house, and there has not been one since the feed-in tariff closed.

This is a factual run through what exists, who can get it, and what it is worth. Prices and packages are on the solar panels page.

What exists, and what does not

• No general solar grant exists for a homeowner who is not on a low income.
• The Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund solar panels outright for eligible households in England. It is run by your council.
• Domestic solar installation is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, then the rate goes to 5% (HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6).
• The Smart Export Guarantee obliges large suppliers to pay you for exported electricity. Ofgem sets the obligation, each supplier sets the rate.
• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is £7,500 towards a heat pump, or £9,000 where it replaces an oil or LPG boiler off the gas grid. It does not cover solar panels.
• Solar with a battery starts from £6,995 fitted, and a typical 4.8 kWp system with a 5.12 kWh battery from £9,000, with the VAT saving already in both figures.

Are there solar panel grants in the UK in 2026?

For most households, no. There is no scheme that takes a slice off the price of a solar installation the way the Boiler Upgrade Scheme does for heat pumps.

What exists instead is targeted at fuel poverty. The Warm Homes: Local Grant funds a package of measures for lower income households in England, and solar panels are one of the measures it can pay for. It is delivered by local councils, not by installers, and an eligible household pays nothing towards the work.

Everything else marketed as a solar grant is either that scheme under a different name, the VAT zero rate described as a grant, or a finance product described as a grant. The last of those is the one to watch.

What is the Warm Homes Plan, and does it cover solar panels?

The Warm Homes Plan is the government's home upgrade programme, published in January 2026. It sets out upgrades to up to five million homes by 2030 and it has three parts that matter to a householder.

Fully funded packages for low-income households, which can include solar panels and a battery alongside insulation and clean heat. Government-backed loans at low or zero interest for people who do not qualify for a grant but want to spread the cost. And the continuing Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant of £7,500 towards a heat pump.

So the Warm Homes Plan does cover solar panels, but through the funded packages and the loans, not as a cheque anyone can claim.

Who qualifies for the Warm Homes: Local Grant?

gov.uk sets four conditions, and you need to meet the income test or one of its alternatives.

The property must be in England and privately owned, including if you rent it out. It must have an Energy Performance Certificate of D, E, F or G. Your household income must be at or below the threshold gov.uk publishes, which is worth checking on the day you apply because it has moved. Households above that threshold can still qualify if they live in a designated postcode or receive certain benefits.

You apply through gov.uk and your local council picks it up, usually inside ten working days. The council arranges the survey and the work. Landlords can be asked to contribute towards measures on a rented property.

If that is you, apply through the council before you take a quote from anybody, including us. You should not be paying for something you can have funded.

Are solar panels 0% VAT?

Yes, until 31 March 2027.

The zero rate applies to the installation of qualifying energy saving materials in residential property in Great Britain, which covers solar panels, battery storage and air-to-water heat pumps when they are installed rather than just supplied (HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6). From 1 April 2027 the rate is due to return to 5%.

Two things worth understanding. The relief is on installation, so buying panels online and fitting them yourself does not get it. And on a job of this size the difference is real money, which makes the deadline a genuine reason to move rather than a sales line. Air conditioning and EV chargers are standard-rated throughout and always have been.

Are free solar panels from the government real?

Two different things get called free solar panels, and only one of them is genuine.

The genuine one is the funded route above: if you meet the criteria for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the measures are installed at no cost to you.

The other is the old rent-a-roof model, where a company fitted panels for nothing and kept the income from them. Those schemes belong to the feed-in tariff era and they left a long tail of problems, particularly for people trying to remortgage or sell with a twenty-five year lease attached to their roof. If anyone offers you panels for nothing in exchange for a roof lease, get the lease read by a solicitor before you sign it.

An unsolicited call offering free government solar panels is a sales call. Councils do not cold call about this.

What is the Smart Export Guarantee worth?

The Smart Export Guarantee is the mechanism that pays you for electricity you send to the grid. Suppliers with 150,000 or more domestic customers are obliged to offer an export tariff, and you need a smart meter and an MCS certificate to be on one.

Ofgem created the obligation but does not set the price. Every supplier sets its own rate and changes it, so compare the export tariffs the week your MCS certificate arrives, and check whether the best rate depends on buying your import from the same supplier. Our smart energy tariffs page tracks what is on offer.

Export is the smaller half of the benefit. A unit you use in the house is worth your full import rate. A unit you export is worth the export rate, which is always lower.

What else is out there?

Energy suppliers run their own obligation schemes, aimed at low-income and benefit-receiving households. Eligibility and the measures covered change, so ask your own supplier rather than a third party claiming to act for them.

Some councils and combined authorities run their own retrofit schemes with their own postcodes and criteria. South Yorkshire has had several over the years. They come and go, and they are always worth a phone call to the council before you assume they do not apply to you.

A worked example: a Rotherham semi in 2026

Ten LONGi Hi-MO X10 panels and a Hanchu 5 kW hybrid inverter, 4.8 kWp, on a three-bed semi. The array makes between 4,500 and 4,800 kWh a year on the 950 to 1,000 kWh per kWp we design to. With a 5.12 kWh battery, the job starts from £9,000 fitted.

The household is over the income threshold, so no grant applies. What they do get is the VAT zero rate, already inside that price, and an export tariff once the MCS certificate is issued. That is the whole of the public support available to them, and it is worth knowing that before somebody tells them otherwise on the doorstep.

What to do with all that

Solar panel cost in Yorkshire sets out what the work actually costs, and heat pump grants and costs covers the £7,500 scheme if heating is the bigger question at your house.

If you think you qualify for council funding, apply through gov.uk first. If you do not, Get a quote with your postcode, or ring 01709 278248.