Free solar panels & grants
Free solar panels: what's actually available
Genuinely free solar panels exist in the UK for one group: eligible low-income households under the government's ECO4 scheme. For everyone else, 'free solar' adverts mean a finance deal in disguise, or a Power Purchase Agreement, which really does cost £0 upfront but works differently. Here is the honest map of every scheme, discount and incentive live in 2026.
Free panels eligibility check
- On qualifying means-tested benefits
- Home rated EPC D to G
- Commercial roof suited to a £0-upfront PPA
- Everyone else: no free panels, but 0% VAT + export income
Reviewed August 2026 · sourced from gov.uk
Households & businesses
- What's genuinely free (ECO4)
- What's a discount (0% VAT, SEG)
- What's marketing dressed as a grant
The straight answer
Who qualifies for free solar panels?
You may qualify for genuinely free solar panels if you receive means-tested benefits and live in an energy-inefficient home (EPC band D to G), through the government's ECO4 scheme or a Warm Homes Plan local grant. Outside those criteria, there is no scheme in England that gives away solar panels, and any advert claiming otherwise is selling a lease, a loan or your data.
What everyone else gets instead is a strong set of discounts: 0% VAT on home solar and batteries until March 2027, Smart Export Guarantee income on what you export, and for businesses, £0-upfront Power Purchase Agreements plus capital allowances. All funding routes are compared on our funding hub. We set out exactly which of these apply to you before quoting, and if you do qualify for ECO4 we will say so rather than sell you what should be free.
Last reviewed: August 2026. Sources: gov.uk on ECO4, HMRC on VAT for energy-saving materials.
The short version
- On means-tested benefits and in an EPC D-G home: you may get panels free through ECO4.
- A business with a suitable roof: a PPA costs £0 upfront, though we own the system.
- Everyone else: 0% VAT until March 2027, plus export income on what you send back.
- No means-tested benefits and no PPA: nobody can give you free panels.
- Adverts promising free panels outright are selling a lease, a loan or your data.
Scheme by scheme
Every route to cheaper (or free) solar in 2026.
Low-income & vulnerable households
ECO4: the real free-panels scheme
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) funds energy upgrades, including solar, for eligible low-income households in inefficient homes, typically those on qualifying benefits in properties rated EPC D-G. If you qualify, installation can genuinely be free. If you do not, no reputable installer can make it free.
Government policy
The Warm Homes Plan umbrella
Current government efficiency funding, including support that can cover solar, flows through the Warm Homes Plan and its local-authority delivered grants. Eligibility is means-tested and applications go through your local authority, not through installers, so any claim goes through the council, not through us.
Any commercial building
A PPA: £0 upfront, honestly
For businesses, a Power Purchase Agreement is the legitimate version of free: we fund, install, own and maintain the system, and you simply buy its output below your grid rate. No capital, no debt, panels on the roof.
Every homeowner
0% VAT until March 2027
Not free, but the biggest universal discount available: home solar and battery installations carry zero VAT until March 2027, a four-figure saving on a typical system that is legislated to end.
Homeowners & businesses
Smart Export Guarantee
Suppliers must pay for renewable electricity you export. Rates vary widely between tariffs, and a battery usually beats exporting: using your own stored power displaces peak-rate purchases worth more than any export payment.
Businesses
Tax relief & rates exemption
A 50% first-year capital allowance on solar plus a business rates exemption until 2035 on eligible onsite renewables. Not a grant, but for a profitable business the effect on net cost is comparable to one.
Grants & schemes FAQs
Asked every week.
Can I get a grant for solar panels?
Not a universal one. Only through targeted schemes: ECO4 and Warm Homes Plan local grants for eligible low-income households, and occasional regional business funds. There is no universal solar grant in England for a typical homeowner, landlord or business. The reliable universal savings are 0% VAT until March 2027, export payments, and business tax relief.
What is the ECO4 scheme for solar panels?
ECO4 obliges large energy suppliers to fund efficiency improvements for low-income households in inefficient homes, and solar PV can be part of a funded package. Qualification typically requires means-tested benefits and an EPC of D or worse. Applications route through suppliers or council schemes rather than installers.
Is the free solar panels government scheme real?
Yes, but only if you qualify. The phrase usually refers to ECO4 or Warm Homes Plan support, which are real but tightly means-tested. Adverts offering "free government solar panels" to any homeowner are marketing: check whether what is on offer is actually a lease, finance agreement or data-harvesting exercise before signing anything.
Do solar panel grants exist for landlords?
No universal landlord grant exists in England. The commercial case rests on 0% VAT until March 2027, export income, potential tax advantages depending on how the portfolio is held, and EPC compliance. See our Solar for Landlords guide for the full picture.
Will the 0% VAT on solar be extended past 2027?
No extension has been announced: the zero rate is legislated to end on 31 March 2027 and revert to 5%. We review this page quarterly and will update it the moment that changes. Installing inside the window is a guaranteed saving; waiting for a better scheme is a gamble.
What is the Solar Together scheme?
Solar Together is a council-run group-buying scheme that auctions bundled household installations to installers, typically achieving a discount on market rates. It runs periodically in some council areas. It is a legitimate discount route, though quotes are standardised; a directly surveyed quote can be sharper for non-standard roofs.
Landlord with an EPC deadline? Start with Solar for Landlords. Ready to price a system properly? See asset finance.
Stop guessing what you qualify for.
Tell us about your property and we'll set out every scheme and discount that applies, with numbers, before you spend a penny.