ECO4 and solar panels: what its closure means
For several years, ECO4 was behind much of the advertising for no-cost solar on lower-income homes. It ends on 31 December 2026, and nothing like it follows. Here is what ECO4 was, what the closure means for work in progress, and why ECO4 offers still need care.
The short answer
Don't plan around ECO4. It ends on 31 December 2026, the extension is only for finishing existing work, and the government has said there will be no successor supplier obligation. Lower-income homes in England should look at Warm Homes: Local Grant instead.
Facts checked at source on 2 and 3 November 2026 · Solar PV Panels Grants is an independent explainer from SEO-DONS LTD, not a scheme
How ECO4 worked
The Energy Company Obligation is not a grant scheme in the usual sense. It places a legal obligation on larger energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency improvements in eligible homes, mainly lower-income and vulnerable households, and Ofgem administers it. ECO4 is the fourth phase. Suppliers meet their targets by funding installers and other delivery partners to carry out work, which is why households usually heard about ECO4 from an installer or a marketing company rather than from their supplier.
Under ECO4, a package of measures was designed for each home to improve its energy rating, and solar panels were among the measures that could be part of a package. Whether a particular home got solar depended on the package rules and the home, not on a request from the household.
Its partner scheme, the Great British Insulation Scheme, ended on 31 March 2026.
The extension, and the decision on what follows
ECO4 was extended by nine months to 31 December 2026. The government's response to its consultation on the extension says plainly that the extra time is solely to let suppliers complete their existing obligations. It is not a new window for new households.
The government announced in the November 2025 Budget that there will be no successor supplier obligation. The Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, moves low-income support to publicly funded, council-led delivery instead. The House of Commons Library, summarising the position, reports that suppliers have already stopped advertising or accepting ECO4 applications, although the scheme is still officially open until the end date.
ECO4 work in progress
If you had an ECO4 assessment and were told solar or other work would follow, the end date is what matters now. Ask the installer, in writing, which energy supplier is funding the work and whether it will be completed before 31 December 2026. Then check with that supplier directly, using contact details from its own website.
If the work cannot be finished in time, ask what happens to anything you were asked to sign. A household should not end up paying for work it was told would be funded, and if that is being suggested, get advice from Citizens Advice before agreeing to anything.
If work has been done badly, the installer's own complaints process comes first, then the consumer code or certification body it belongs to.
Why ECO4 adverts need extra care now
A scheme in its final months is a magnet for misleading offers. Adverts may still promise no-cost solar under the ECO4 name, or call it a government scheme, after suppliers have stopped taking new work. The Advertising Standards Authority has already upheld complaints against advertisers that presented ECO4 offers as if run by GOV.UK, with crown imagery, finding that they implied government endorsement. Since April 2025, falsely claiming approval by a public body has been banned outright under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
The checks are simple. ECO4 is funded by energy suppliers, so a genuine offer can name the supplier. It isn't run by GOV.UK, so an advert using government branding is a warning sign. And a scheme that ends on 31 December 2026 can't sensibly be sold as a new opportunity in its last weeks.
Where low-income support goes next
| ECO4 | Warm Homes: Local Grant | |
|---|---|---|
| Funded by | Energy suppliers | Government, through councils |
| Run by | Suppliers and their installers, Ofgem oversight | Councils and their partners |
| Can include solar | In some packages | Yes, for eligible homes |
| Where | Great Britain | England |
| Ends | 31 December 2026 | 31 March 2028; merging from 2027/28 |
In Wales, Warm Homes Nest continues. In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland funds heat pumps and insulation but not solar PV.
The routes that are open
If you were hoping for ECO4-funded solar, check these in order.
1. Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, for homes with EPC D to G and household income usually of £36,000 or less. How it works.
2. Warm Homes Nest in Wales, for low-income owners and private tenants.
3. The Warm Homes Loan Scheme, borrowing for owner-occupied homes. How it works.
4. 0% VAT on installed solar to 31 March 2027, and export payments, for everyone in Great Britain.
ECO4 questions
Can I still apply for ECO4 solar panels?
ECO4 officially runs to 31 December 2026, but the extension exists only so suppliers can finish existing work, and the House of Commons Library reports that suppliers have stopped advertising or accepting ECO4 applications. It is not a route to plan around.
What replaces ECO4?
No supplier obligation replaces it. The government said in the November 2025 Budget that there will be no successor. Low-income support continues through Warm Homes: Local Grant in England, which is due to merge into a new area-based scheme from 2027/28.
Is ECO4 a government grant?
Not directly. ECO4 is an obligation on larger energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency work in eligible homes, administered by Ofgem. The money comes from suppliers, not from a government grant budget.
Someone says I qualify for ECO4 solar. What should I do?
Ask which energy supplier is funding the work and check with that supplier directly. Ask in writing whether the work can be completed before 31 December 2026. Be wary of anyone using government branding or asking for a fee.
Where these facts come from
- Ofgem — Energy Company Obligation (ECO) — checked 2 November 2026
- GOV.UK — Extending the ECO4 end date: government response — checked 2 November 2026
- House of Commons Library — briefing CBP-9585 on home energy support (PDF) — checked 2 November 2026
- GOV.UK — The Warm Homes Plan (January 2026) — checked 3 November 2026
- ASA — ruling on ECO4U Ltd (ECO4 adverts styled as government), December 2024 — checked 2 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk — DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 (banned practices) — checked 2 November 2026
- GOV.UK — Apply for Warm Homes: Local Grant (England) — checked 2 November 2026
Not sure which route, if any, fits your home?
Tell us where you live and what you are looking into. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, the publisher of this explainer, and we answer by email. We are not a scheme and cannot approve anything, but we can point you to the right door.
What happens next
- Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this explainer.
- We reply by email with the scheme or council page that fits, if there is one.
- Any application is between you and that scheme.