Applying for a government solar panel scheme in 2026
This page used to explain how to apply for free solar panels under ECO4. ECO4 closed on 31 March 2026, so that advice would now be worse than useless. Here is what you can actually apply for in England this year, how each application really works, and the order to do things in.
The 2026 scheme stack at a glance
| Scheme | What you get | Who qualifies | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme | £7,500 off a heat pump | Homeowners in England & Wales replacing fossil-fuel heating | Live |
| 0% VAT | ~£1,000–£1,500 off a typical solar install | Any residential installation | Live until 31 Mar 2027 |
| Smart Export Guarantee | Payment per kWh exported | Anyone with MCS-certified solar up to 5 MW | Live |
| Solar Together | Group-buy discount on installation | Residents of participating council areas | Rounds open periodically |
| Warm Homes (local delivery) | Funded retrofit measures, occasionally incl. solar | Low-income households, mainly EPC D–G | Varies by council |
| ECO4 / GBIS | Was: fully funded measures | — | Ended 31 Mar 2026 |
How a sensible 2026 application actually runs
Step one: establish your starting point. Pull your EPC from the national register — it is free and takes a minute. The certificate tells you your band, and the recommendations list is a reasonable first pass at which measures funding bodies would prioritise for your home.
Step two: check the means-tested routes before spending anything. If anyone in the household receives a means-tested benefit, or your income is low and the home is EPC D or worse, contact your council's energy team or run our eligibility check first. Warm Homes funding is the only place "fully funded" still genuinely lives, and it would be galling to pay for insulation a scheme would have covered.
Step three: get the heating decision right before the solar decision. If your boiler is oil, LPG or elderly mains gas, price a heat pump with the £7,500 grant applied before you size a solar system. Heat pumps roughly double a home's electricity consumption, which changes the optimal panel count and makes solar work harder for you. Doing solar first and the heat pump second usually means wishing you'd fitted more panels.
Step four: buy the installation well. Get at least three quotes, all from MCS-certified installers — verify certification at mcscertified.com rather than taking a logo's word for it. With the free-panel schemes gone, a straightforward paid installation from an MCS-certified firm such as Green Hat Renewables is how most 2026 systems get fitted — and a written quote you can compare beats a "free" offer you can't. If your council runs a Solar Together round, register: it is free to get the auction price even if you walk away. Confirm 0% VAT is reflected in every quote.
Step five: set up the income side. Once installed, compare Smart Export Guarantee tariffs across suppliers — you do not have to use your electricity supplier, and the difference between a poor SEG rate and a good one runs to hundreds of pounds a year on a typical system.
A note on "application services"
None of the live 2026 schemes charges an application fee, and none requires a third-party "agent" to apply. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is applied for by your installer. VAT relief is automatic. SEG is a tariff you sign up to like any other. Council schemes are applied for directly with the council. Any site charging to "process your government solar application" is charging you for filling in a form that either doesn't exist or that someone else fills in anyway — we cover the wider pattern in avoiding free solar scams.
Applying for solar schemes — common questions
Is there one single government solar panel scheme I can apply to?
No — and there never really was. "The government solar panel scheme" has always been shorthand for whichever programme was live at the time: the Feed-in Tariff until 2019, ECO-funded installations until March 2026, and now a stack of smaller measures. In 2026 the support is split across the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, 0% VAT, the Smart Export Guarantee and council-delivered Warm Homes funding. Anyone advertising a single "government solar scheme application" is simplifying at best.
How do I apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
You don't apply directly — your MCS-certified installer does, through Ofgem, and the £7,500 is deducted from your quote. Your job is to choose the installer and confirm you meet the property rules: you need to own the home, and it must have a valid EPC. That installer-led process is actually a consumer protection: the money never passes through your hands, so it cannot be "processed" by a middleman for a fee.
Do I need to apply for 0% VAT on solar panels?
No. The zero rate applies automatically when a VAT-registered installer supplies and fits energy-saving materials in a residential property. It should simply be absent from your quote. If a quote shows 20% VAT on a domestic solar installation before April 2027, query it — the installer is either pricing wrongly or not VAT-registered.
What about my council — how do I find local schemes?
Search your local authority's website for "Warm Homes", "energy grants" or "home energy support", or use the gov.uk "Improve your home's energy efficiency" service as a starting point. Council schemes open and close as funding allocations arrive, which is why our eligibility check asks for your postcode — we flag live local routes where we know of them.
Can I stack these schemes together?
Mostly yes, and stacking is where the real value sits in 2026. A typical strong combination: Boiler Upgrade Scheme for the heat pump, solar panels and battery at 0% VAT, a Solar Together group-buy price on the installation, and a competitive Smart Export Guarantee tariff on the output. What you cannot do is claim two grants for the same measure.
Applicants who want a fuller picture of how the national programme is administered can read this dedicated guide before starting their paperwork.