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Solar & Heat Pump Grants UK 2026 — What Actually Exists

Everything available to reduce the cost of solar panels, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers in the UK right now.

Updated 29 October 2026 · Verified against current DESNZ and Ofgem guidance

Start here: there is no solar grant

Not for a normal owner-occupied home. We would rather say that plainly than let you find out after three phone calls. Heat pumps are the exception — those do have a real grant, and it is £7,500.

What you actually get

Two things, and both are real. 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, worth roughly £1,300 on an £8,000 system. And export income through the Smart Export Guarantee, which is payment rather than a grant but still money coming back.

ECO4 — ends 31 December 2026

Ofgem confirms ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026 following a nine-month extension. It is means-tested, delivered through energy suppliers, and in practice funds insulation and heating far more often than solar. Ofgem does not name a successor scheme.

The Warm Homes Plan — now partly open

The umbrella programme, not something you apply for. Two parts of it are live. The Warm Homes: Local Grant is free, but narrow: low-income households in England (broadly £36k household income or under, EPC D–G), applied for through your council, and several councils have paused it due to demand. We are not a delivery contractor for it — if you qualify, apply directly and don't pay anyone to do it for you.

The Warm Homes Loan Scheme opened on 27 October 2026. It is a loan from a participating lender, not a grant — the government subsidises the lender to bring the rate down. There is no income test, but there is a credit check, and the installer must be MCS certified. Details and the lender list are on GOV.UK: Warm Homes Loan Scheme.

What's Available in 2026

Below is every scheme that touches solar, storage, heat pumps or EV charging, with who each one is actually for.

0% VAT
Tax saving

Zero VAT on Solar & Battery

All residential solar panel and battery storage installations qualify for 0% VAT until at least March 2027. On a typical £8,000 system, this saves £1,333.

Who qualifies: All homeowners with a residential property in England, Scotland, or Wales.
Read more →
7–12p/kWh
Ongoing income

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

Get paid for surplus solar electricity you export to the grid. Income varies by supplier — the best flat rates currently around 12p/kWh from Octopus Energy.

Who qualifies: Anyone with an MCS & NAPIT certified solar installation and a smart meter.
Read more →
Up to £500
EV charger grant

OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant

75% of the cost, up to £500, off a home EV charger installation for qualifying customers: flats, rentals, landlords, and homes with on-street parking using a cross-pavement solution. We handle the application. Runs to 31 March 2027.

Who qualifies: Homeowners in flats, or tenants with landlord permission, who own an eligible EV.
Read more →
£7,500
Heat pump grant

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

£7,500 off an air source or ground source heat pump in England and Wales. Your installer applies and takes it off the price — you never pay it and claim it back. Off-gas-grid homes on oil or LPG can get £9,000.

Who qualifies: Owners of homes and small non-domestic properties in England and Wales replacing a fossil fuel heating system. No EPC recommendations requirement since 28 April 2026.
Read more →
VAT saving

0% VAT on Solar Panels — How It Works

From 1 April 2022, the UK government reduced VAT on solar panel and battery storage installations to 0%. This is currently confirmed until at least March 2027.

What's covered at 0% VAT

  • Solar panels (all types)
  • Hybrid and string inverters
  • Battery storage systems
  • Mounting systems and scaffolding
  • All associated labour

What's NOT covered

  • EV chargers (20% VAT applies)
  • General electrical works unrelated to the solar installation
  • Consumer unit upgrades (20% VAT — though typically a small cost)

What does it actually save?

  • £6,500 system → saves £1,083 vs 20% VAT
  • £8,500 system → saves £1,417 vs 20% VAT
  • £12,000 solar + battery → saves £2,000 vs 20% VAT

The 0% rate applies to the entire installation — panels, inverter, battery, mounting, cabling, and labour — when purchased as a single service from an installer. All our quotes are issued at 0% VAT for qualifying residential installations.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

The SEG replaced the old Feed-in Tariff in January 2020. Unlike the FiT, there's no fixed government rate — suppliers compete to offer the best rates.

Supplier Tariff Name Export Rate Notes
Octopus Energy Outgoing Octopus 12p/kWh Flat rate, requires smart meter
EDF Energy SEG Tariff 3–7p/kWh Fixed rate options available
E.ON Next Next SEG 4.1p/kWh Fixed rate, 12-month term
British Gas Solar Export 3.4p/kWh Standard rate, no time-of-use

Important: To qualify for SEG, your installation must be MCS certified and your property must have a smart meter (or be willing to have one installed — free from your energy supplier). We issue MCS certificates on every installation we complete.

A 4kWp system with no battery exports approximately 2,500 kWh/year. At 7.5p/kWh average, that's around £187/year in export income. This is why battery storage improves economics — it lets you use more of that energy yourself at 26.32p/kWh rather than selling it for 7.5p.

EV charger grant

OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant — up to £500

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) pays 75% of the cost of installing a home EV charger, up to £500, for qualifying customers. The scheme runs to 31 March 2027. See GOV.UK: EV chargepoint grants.

Who qualifies?

  • Homeowners living in a flat
  • Renters with landlord permission
  • Must own or have ordered an eligible EV or PHEV
  • Must use an OZEV-approved installer (we are)
  • Landlords of residential property
  • Off-street parking, or on-street with a cross-pavement solution

Who does NOT qualify?

  • Homeowners in detached, semi or terraced houses (unless renting)
  • Businesses (a separate workplace scheme applies)

How does it work?

  • We apply on your behalf at no extra charge
  • Grant is deducted from your invoice directly
  • You don't handle any money — it's seamless
  • Allow a few extra days for grant approval before booking

The grant reduces a standard smart charger installation from £1,000 to around £650 (check your own price) for qualifying customers. Call us or use the calculator to get a fixed quote — we'll confirm your eligibility during the assessment.

Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) — up to £500 per socket

The OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme is a government grant for businesses, charities and public sector organisations installing EV chargepoints at their premises. It is up to £500 per socket, up to 40 sockets per business — so up to £20,000 per business — and it runs to 31 March 2027. See GOV.UK: Workplace Charging Scheme.

Who qualifies:

  • Registered UK businesses, charities and public sector organisations
  • Must have dedicated off-street parking
  • Must use an installer authorised for the scheme
  • Must install OZEV-approved chargepoints (we install only approved hardware)

We do not claim the WCS for you. Depth of Light is OZEV-authorised for residential schemes only, so the workplace claim is one you make yourself.

Find out about commercial EV charging

Survey, install, certification and 12-month support.

Commercial EV Charging

Renting? Balcony solar for tenants

Balcony and plug-in solar has been legal in the UK since BS 7671 Amendment 4 came into force in April 2026, with ENA-certified kits on the compliance register since 27 August 2026. It's a good fit for tenants because a proper hardwired install is small and fully reversible — but whether you can fit one still comes down to your tenancy agreement and your landlord's permission.

If you're a tenant in Milton Keynes or Buckinghamshire and want to add a small solar setup, we can help you make the case:

  • A written specification you can hand to your landlord before you ask
  • Confirmation that the installation is fully reversible and won't damage the property
  • An MCS certificate on completion

Always ask before fitting anything, including a plug-in kit on a socket — some landlords will be comfortable with a reversible, documented install; some won't.

See our balcony solar service

Legal under BS 7671 Amendment 4 — MCS certified hardwired install for renters and flat owners.

Balcony Solar

0% VAT — quick summary (current to March 2027)

Until 31 March 2027, the UK applies 0% VAT to:

  • Solar panels — residential installations
  • Battery storage — residential, including standalone (no solar required)
  • EV chargers — residential
  • Heat pumps — residential installations, air source and ground source
  • Commercial solar — also currently zero-rated

For a typical solar + battery + EV charger combined install in 2026, the 0% VAT relief is worth around £2,000-£3,500 compared to the standard 20% rate — applied automatically by your installer, no claim form needed.

Important: the 0% VAT is currently legislated to end on 31 March 2027. If you're considering an install, doing it before that date locks in the saving.
Heat pump grant

Boiler Upgrade Scheme — £7,500 off a heat pump

This is the one real grant on this page. Unlike solar, heat pumps have proper government money behind them, and it comes off your price before you pay. See our air source heat pump installation page for what the work involves.

What you get

£7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump. £9,000 if your home is off the gas grid and currently heated by oil or LPG — available from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump, and £5,000 for a biomass boiler in limited rural cases.

How it reaches you

You do not apply, and you do not claim it back. The MCS-certified installer applies to Ofgem for the voucher with your consent, and the grant is taken off your price before you pay. The figure you sign for is the net one. The installer carries the risk on the voucher, not you.

Who qualifies

Homes and small non-domestic properties in England and Wales, replacing a fossil fuel system — gas, oil, LPG or direct electric. One grant per property. The old requirement to clear loft and cavity wall insulation recommendations on your EPC was removed on 28 April 2026.

What we do

We install heat pumps. The design, installation, commissioning and MCS certification are carried out by MCS-certified heat pump engineers, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher is applied for against that certification — which is what makes the £7,500 valid in the first place. The price we quote you already has the grant taken off.

Where a heat pump and solar go in together, the two get sized against each other rather than bolted on: a heat pump roughly doubles a typical home's electricity use, which changes how much of your own generation you use rather than export. Run the heat pump calculator or read how the two work together.

We will not tell you we offer ECO4 or the Warm Homes: Local Grant. We don't hold TrustMark or PAS 2030, so those aren't ours to administer, and we will say so rather than take your details. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme runs to 2030 — the Warm Homes Plan committed funding to 2029/30 (GOV.UK summary business case). The budget is set each year rather than being unlimited, so there is no cliff edge — but there is no open cheque book either.

Read more on this

What the cold calls leave out

We get asked about these every week, usually after someone has already been told otherwise.

"You qualify for a government grant"

Almost always means ECO4, which is means-tested on benefits or household income and mostly funds insulation and heating. If you are not on qualifying benefits, it does not apply to you. It also ends on 31 December 2026.

"Free solar panels"

Rent-a-roof. A company installs at their cost and keeps the export income and often the generation benefit, on a lease measured in decades. It can complicate remortgaging and selling. It is not free; you are paying with your roof.

"You've been approved for Warm Homes funding"

The Warm Homes Loan Scheme is real and opened on 27 October 2026 — but nobody approves you for it over the phone. It is a loan from a named lender, subject to a credit check. The free one, the Warm Homes: Local Grant, is applied for through your council, and nobody legitimate rings out of the blue offering free solar under it. If someone says you're "approved", ask which scheme, which lender, and for it in writing.

"Grant" that is really a discount

Some installers present their own price reduction as a grant. If it is a grant, ask which scheme, who administers it, and for the reference. A real scheme has a name and a paper trail.

"The deadline is this week"

The genuine deadlines are public and months away: ECO4 on 31 December 2026, 0% VAT on 31 March 2027. Anything more urgent than that is a sales tactic.

What we do

We quote the job at 0% VAT, tell you what your export is likely to earn, and say so if a scheme genuinely applies to you. If none does, you get a price rather than a story.

Claim What You're Entitled To

We'll advise on every available incentive during your free survey — and handle all applicable grant applications on your behalf.

Get Free Quote Call 01908 714446

MCS & NAPIT certified • OZEV approved • Based in Milton Keynes