The Warm Homes Loan Scheme and solar panels
The Warm Homes Plan's main offer to households that can pay is not a grant but a loan scheme. It can finance solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, and it comes with rules for the lenders and the installers involved. Here is how it works, and the checks worth making before you borrow.
The short answer
It is borrowing, not a grant. The scheme finances solar through participating lenders for owner-occupied homes, with lower interest than ordinary borrowing according to the government. You repay it in full, and the installer must be MCS certified for each measure financed.
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 the loan scheme works
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme is a government scheme delivered through private lenders. The government sets the scheme rules and supports the lending so that interest is lower than it would otherwise be; the lenders make the loans, run their own affordability and credit checks, and collect the repayments. According to the government's factsheet of 27 October 2026, it is open UK-wide for owner-occupied homes.
You apply to a participating lender, not to the government. The lender assesses the application in the normal way, and if it approves the loan, the money pays for the work. The scheme covers solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, each up to a maximum amount set in the rules, and the installer must be certified by MCS for the specific measure being financed. That last rule matters: an installer certified for solar panels is not automatically certified for battery storage, which is a separate MCS technology.
Because only approved lenders may use the scheme's branding, the name itself is a check. A finance offer that calls itself part of the Warm Homes Loan Scheme should come from a lender on the government's published list. For households that can pay, this loan is the main help the government now offers, as our overview of public funding for solar explains.
Three things the loan scheme is not
It is not a grant. Every pound borrowed is repaid, with interest, so an offer that pairs this loan with the word "free" is misdescribing it (see offers of panels at no cost). The interest is lower than ordinary borrowing according to the government, but it is not zero unless a lender's own terms say so.
It is not automatic. Lenders make their own decisions. Being an owner-occupier makes you eligible to apply; it doesn't mean a lender will lend.
It is not the installer's loan. An installer can tell you the scheme exists, but the loan is between you and the lender. If an installer offers finance from its own panel of lenders, that is a different arrangement, with its own terms, and you should ask whether it is part of the scheme at all.
This site doesn't name lenders or quote rates. Rates and terms change, and comparing credit offers is a decision to make with the lenders' own documents in front of you.
The loan scheme against other ways of paying
| Warm Homes Loan Scheme | Savings | Other borrowing | Local Grant (if eligible) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repaid? | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Interest | Lower than ordinary borrowing, per the government | None (you lose the interest savings would earn) | The lender's rate | None |
| Who chooses the installer | You, MCS certified for each measure | You | You | The council |
| Credit check | Yes, by the lender | No | Yes | Income or benefit evidence instead |
| Who can use it | Owner-occupied homes | Anyone | Depends on lender | Lower-income homes in England, EPC D to G |
How to think about a solar loan
A loan for solar is sensible when the total you repay is comfortably affordable from your monthly budget, and when you have a realistic idea of what the panels will do to your bills. It is less sensible when the case depends on optimistic assumptions about savings, or when the repayments would stretch you.
Three numbers decide it, and only one comes from the lender. The first is the total amount repayable, which the lender must show. The second is your own electricity use: how much you use during daylight, when panels generate, compared with evenings. The third is what you would be paid for exports, which varies by supplier and tariff. A system that suits your use pattern can lower bills meaningfully; one that mostly exports is a slower return.
Don't rely on a single "savings" figure from anyone selling the system or the loan. Ask how it was worked out: which tariff, which usage, which export rate. The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints about savings claims whose basis wasn't disclosed.
Questions to ask a lender and an installer
- Is this lender on the GOV.UK list for the scheme? If not, the loan isn't part of it, whatever the paperwork says.
- What is the total amount repayable, and over what term? Compare totals, not just monthly payments.
- Is the installer MCS certified for each measure in the quote? Check on the MCS installer search, by measure, not just the company name.
- Is the VAT shown correctly? Installed solar in a home is zero-rated until 31 March 2027, then 5%.
- What happens if I sell the home? Ask the lender whether the loan must be repaid on sale.
- Is there a cooling-off period? Credit agreements normally have one; ask how long, and how to use it.
What pays the loan back
A loan for solar is repaid from your income, not from the panels. The panels change your electricity bills, and that change is what makes the borrowing worth it or not.
Two things lower your bills once panels are fitted. The bigger one is usually using your own electricity: every unit you use as it's generated is one you don't buy. The other is export payments under the SEG, where suppliers must offer a rate above zero for electricity you send to the grid, if the installation is certified and metered.
A battery can shift more of your own generation into the evening. It also adds to what you borrow, and is financed under the scheme only with an installer certified for battery storage. Our export payments page explains how the SEG works, without quoting a single rate as "the" rate.
Applying, and where this site fits
The route in is the GOV.UK page on the scheme, which lists the participating lenders and explains how to apply. Start there, not from an advert. If an installer recommends a lender, look the lender up on the GOV.UK list yourself, and check the installer's MCS certification for each measure on the MCS website.
If you are on a lower income and live in England, check Warm Homes: Local Grant before borrowing: it may pay for some or all of the work. In Wales, check Warm Homes Nest. Borrowing should come after you have ruled out any grant you may be eligible for.
Solar PV Panels Grants is an independent explainer published by SEO-DONS LTD. We don't arrange or broker credit, we aren't a lender. If something here doesn't match what a lender tells you, the lender's own documents and the GOV.UK pages are what count, and we'd like to hear about it so we can check.
Loan scheme questions
Is the Warm Homes Loan Scheme a grant?
No. It is a loan you repay. The government says the loans carry lower interest than ordinary borrowing, but the lender still runs its own checks and the agreement is a normal credit agreement.
Who can borrow through it?
The government describes it as UK-wide, for owner-occupied homes. Each participating lender sets its own lending checks.
Does it cover batteries?
Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps are all eligible measures. The installer must be MCS certified for the specific measure being financed, so a battery needs an installer certified for battery storage.
How do I find a participating lender?
The government publishes the list of participating lenders on GOV.UK. Only approved lenders may use the scheme branding, so check any lender against that list before applying.
Does this site arrange loans?
No. Solar PV Panels Grants is an independent explainer. We do not arrange, broker or recommend credit, and we do not name lenders or quote rates.
Where these facts come from
- GOV.UK — Warm Homes Loan Scheme factsheet (27 October 2026) — checked 3 November 2026
- DESNZ — Warm Homes Loan Scheme rules, version 3, September 2026 (PDF) — checked 3 November 2026
- GOV.UK — The Warm Homes Plan (January 2026) — checked 3 November 2026
- House of Commons Library — briefing CBP-9585 on home energy support (PDF) — checked 2 November 2026
- MCS — find a certified installer — checked 3 November 2026
- HMRC — VAT Notice 708/6, energy-saving materials — checked 3 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.