E.ON Next Solar Panels: Prices, Kit and the 17.5p Catch

E.ON Next has the cheapest entry price of the big three energy suppliers, the best finance terms, and an export rate of 17.5p per kWh that you cannot get anywhere else — but only if E.ON installs the system.

That export rate is the strongest argument any supplier currently makes against using an independent installer. It deserves a straight answer rather than a defensive one, so that is where we finish.

The prices

Array sizes run from 6 to 16 panels, roughly 2.85 kWp to 7.60 kWp. There is currently £200 off solar with battery, or £150 off solar only.

That £4,995 entry price is genuinely the lowest of the suppliers — below British Gas at £5,610 for eight panels and well below Octopus, whose minimum two-panel installation starts at £6,663.

Read the assumptions, though. E.ON's prices assume concrete tiles rather than slate, scaffolding to one elevation only, a single-phase supply, and no complications. Slate roofs, two elevations of scaffold, a consumer unit that needs replacing, or a three-phase supply all move the number. That is not a criticism unique to E.ON — it is true of every headline price in this industry, ours included — but it is why the figure you are quoted after survey is the only one that matters.

The finance is the best on offer

0% APR over up to five years, part-funded by the government's Warm Homes Loan Scheme, provided through HomeServe Finance with E.ON acting as broker.

Eligibility: 21 or over at application and under 79 at the end of the term, minimum individual income of £12,000, named owner of the property, three years of address history, and payment by direct debit.

For comparison, British Gas's representative finance example has you repaying £14,160 on £6,753 borrowed over twenty years. E.ON's 0% over five years is in a different league, and we will say so plainly: if you need to spread the cost, this is a better deal than anything a small independent installer can arrange.

One thing to watch — if you pay cash, E.ON's published payment schedule is 25% deposit, 50% when materials are ordered, and 25% on completion. That is a lot of money out before anyone is on your roof. Octopus takes £500 and bills the rest on completion. We invoice on completion.

What kit you get

E.ON does not name the panel or inverter manufacturer on its own pages.

What we could establish: SolarEdge technology is named in E.ON's "Optimise" package. A September 2026 E.ON blog post named Tesla Powerwall 3 and Sunsynk 5.1 kWh battery modules — but that was a promotion which ended on 24 September 2026, so do not assume those are what you would be offered now. The current page describes a 5.12 kWh battery with 4.6 kWh usable, brand unnamed.

Third-party reviews assert the panels are typically Longi or JA Solar. We could not confirm that from E.ON, and neither should you — ask them to name it.

The warranty gap

E.ON publishes a 30-year panel performance warranty. That is it.

No published inverter warranty. No published battery warranty. No published workmanship warranty length, and no statement about whether workmanship cover is insurance-backed.

For a purchase of this size, over a lifespan this long, those are the three warranties that actually determine what happens when something fails in year seven. Get them in writing.

Who installs it

E.ON's own installation page says both — installation partners in some areas of the country, and E.ON's own internal installers in others. The split is not stated, and you will not know which you are getting until it is arranged.

This is more honest than British Gas, which does not install at all and says so only in Hive's FAQ, and less transparent than Octopus, which runs an in-house MCS-certified team.

The 17.5p export rate, and whether it is worth it

Here is the honest version.

E.ON Next Export Premium v3 pays 17.5p per kWh, fixed for 12 months. To get it you must take your electricity supply from E.ON Next and have had the solar installed by E.ON. It cannot be renewed, and it excludes smart tariffs. If E.ON did not install your system, the best you can get from them is Export Exclusive v3 at 13p with an E.ON supply, or 6p standalone.

Several suppliers do the same thing. Good Energy pays 25p on an install-exclusive basis, Ovo 20p, EDF 18p, So Energy 20p.

Why this matters less than it looks:

These are twelve-month introductory rates that revert. Good Energy's 25p drops to 15p after a year. So Energy's 20p drops to 4.5p. E.ON's 17.5p cannot be renewed at all — when the twelve months end, you are on whatever they offer next.

Meanwhile an MCS certificate from any installer gets you into the supply-linked tier, currently around 12p to 16p — Ecotricity at 16p, EDF and E.ON's non-install rate at 13p, Outgoing Octopus and British Gas Export Premium at 12p — and you can move whenever a better one appears.

On a typical domestic system exporting perhaps 1,500 to 2,500 kWh a year, the install-exclusive premium is worth somewhere around £60 to £110 in year one, then largely evaporates. It is real money and we are not pretending otherwise. It is not usually worth choosing your installer over, and it is certainly not worth accepting a system two panels smaller than your roof could take.

Run the arithmetic for your own export volume before deciding. If your figures say otherwise, go with E.ON — we would rather you did the sums than took either of our words for it.

E.ON Next Gen Home

Worth knowing about: a no-upfront-cost bundle covering solar, battery, heat pump, EV charger and app, repaid over up to ten years, piloted with twenty customers in the Midlands from July 2025 with a wider rollout intended.

The question nobody has answered publicly is who owns the equipment during and after the contract. Before signing anything along these lines, ask that question and get the answer in writing. Rent-a-roof arrangements caused real problems for homeowners trying to sell or remortgage, and any no-upfront-cost offer deserves the same scrutiny.

What we would do

E.ON Next is the most competitively priced supplier route and has the best finance by a distance. If you want a package deal with 0% credit and a big name behind it, it is a reasonable choice.

Ask them, before you commit: which panel and inverter, what the inverter and battery warranties are, how long workmanship is covered and whether it is insurance-backed, whether it is their own team or a partner, and what the export rate reverts to after twelve months.

If the answers are vague, get an independent quote alongside. We will name every component, size the system to your roof rather than to a package, and publish our workmanship terms. We cover Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.

One deadline worth noting either way: 0% VAT on domestic solar and batteries ends on 31 March 2027 and reverts to 5%.