The short answer
There is no single “solar panel grant” that pays for a domestic installation outright.
What exists instead is a small set of schemes that each cover a specific part of the picture: a national energy-efficiency obligation that funds solar only in limited circumstances, a VAT relief that removes a fifth of the cost, and a payment scheme for the electricity you export once panels are installed.
Each is explained below, with a link to the government source behind every figure.
ECO4: the Energy Company Obligation
ECO4 requires larger energy suppliers to fund energy-efficiency improvements for eligible households. It has been extended to run until 31 December 2026, per Ofgem’s ECO4 delivery guidance.
The important detail for anyone searching for solar funding: GOV.UK’s own description of the scheme covers insulation and boiler or heating upgrades. It does not list solar panels among the measures it funds.
Where solar is funded under ECO4, scheme guidance indicates it sits alongside insulation work as part of a “whole-house” approach rather than as a stand-alone entitlement. Treat that as indicative rather than guaranteed. It rests on discussion of Ofgem’s delivery guidance rather than a directly quoted clause, and the position for any particular property should be confirmed with a participating supplier or your council.
Eligibility runs through specified means-tested benefits for private-tenure households, or an E, F or G EPC rating for social housing.
Local Authority Flexible Eligibility
If you do not receive a qualifying benefit, your local council may still be able to help through its own “LA Flex” policy. Councils can widen ECO eligibility using routes such as a household income cap, targeting by proxy indicators, NHS referral, or bespoke local targeting. These routes are set out in GOV.UK’s ECO4 Flex bespoke targeting guidance and on Ofgem’s local authorities page.
Criteria are set individually by each council and they change. We do not list specific income thresholds here, because a figure that is right for one authority is wrong for the next and goes out of date quickly. The reliable check is your own council’s published Statement of Intent.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not fund solar panels
This is the most common misconception on this subject, and it is worth stating plainly.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is frequently cited alongside solar funding. It is a heat pump and biomass boiler scheme, and solar photovoltaic panels are not an approved grant category under it. The notice of approved grant categories and values lists only heat pumps and biomass boilers.
From 21 July 2026 the values are:
- £7,500 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump
- £9,000 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump where it replaces oil or LPG heating in an off-gas-grid property
- £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump
- £5,000 towards a biomass boiler in an off-gas-grid property
If you are weighing solar against a heating upgrade, this scheme is relevant to the heating side of that decision. It contributes nothing to the solar side.
0% VAT on solar installation
Solar panels, inverters and the labour to install them currently qualify for 0% VAT at a residential property in Great Britain. The relief is due to end on 31 March 2027, after which the rate reverts to 5%, per HMRC’s notice on VAT for energy-saving materials.
Battery storage is included. Since 1 February 2024 the zero rate has covered electrical storage batteries in residential accommodation, including batteries retrofitted to store electricity from an existing solar system, not only batteries fitted as part of the original installation.
This is the most direct and most broadly available cost reduction currently in place for solar. It is worth checking that any quote states its VAT treatment explicitly.
The Smart Export Guarantee is a payment, not a grant
Once panels are installed, the Smart Export Guarantee pays you for electricity exported back to the grid. It does not reduce installation cost. It is ongoing income, at rates each participating supplier sets for itself, which must be above zero. Ofgem’s Smart Export Guarantee page sets out how the scheme works and which technologies are eligible.
We do not quote a headline export rate here. Rates are supplier-set and move frequently, and any figure published on a page like this one would be out of date before most readers saw it. Compare current rates directly with suppliers.
Your installation will need certification under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme before a supplier can offer its SEG tariff. MCS sets out that requirement on its own site.
What this means for your property
Because no single grant covers a typical solar installation, the real question is usually how the pieces combine: the VAT relief that applies to almost everyone, any ECO4 or LA Flex eligibility specific to your circumstances, and future export income, set against the cost and the suitability of your property.
That is a genuinely individual calculation, which is why we start with a conversation rather than a quote.
Eco Connect Services gives independent advice. We do not carry out installations. Where you decide to go ahead, the work is delivered by our vetted installation partner.
Information and source control
Information correct as of: 24 August 2026
Every scheme figure on this page is taken from GOV.UK, Ofgem or MCS and linked at the point it is used. No figure is taken from a comparison or lead-generation site.
