Free solar panels are available in 2026 through the Warm Homes: Local Grant for eligible English households. Solar was the most-installed Warm Homes measure (38% of all installs to end-July 2026). Here’s exactly who qualifies and how.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund fully funded solar panel installation for eligible homeowners and private tenants in England. Solar accounted for 38% of all WH:LG installations reported to end-July 2026.
Free solar panels through the Warm Homes: Local Grant require:
There is no general 'free solar for everyone' scheme: The Warm Homes Local Grant is needs and income-tested. Any website suggesting free solar is available to all UK homeowners without criteria is misleading.
The Government publishes eligible postcode data. Some areas have priority-postcode routes that don’t require income verification.
271 local authorities are involved in WH:LG. Some areas may have exhausted their current year allocation.
The Warm Homes Local Grant is administered by councils. Contact your local authority or their WH:LG delivery partner.
Private solar installation with 0% VAT and Smart Export Guarantee income may still make financial sense. We can match you with one local MCS-certified installer.
Yes. The Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund free solar installation for eligible English homeowners and private tenants. Eligibility is based on EPC rating, household income and local authority participation. It is not available to everyone.
Yes, in specific circumstances. ECO4 can include solar PV within qualifying whole-home projects, subject to a 10kWp generation-capacity cap — typically for electrically heated or off-gas homes where panels contribute to the required efficiency uplift. It is not a universal free-solar grant; England's main funded solar route is the Warm Homes: Local Grant, where solar was 38% of all installs to end-July 2026. Solar is funded through the Warm Homes: Local Grant instead.
You can still benefit from 0% VAT on solar installation and the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). The Warm Homes Loan Scheme (Rollout developing — consumer products launching as lenders are approved) may also offer subsidised finance.