Funded solar panels, explained honestly for 2026
Genuinely "free" solar largely ended with ECO4. What is still live is better described as funded: zero-deposit finance and PPAs, 0% VAT, the Smart Export Guarantee, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and business capital allowances. We will tell you which routes fit your property — and which ones do not.
- No upfront cost routes that repay from your energy savings
- 0% VAT on domestic solar and battery until 31 March 2027
- Straight answers — we never promise "free panels"
0%
VAT on domestic solar & battery storage until March 2027
£7,500
Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for a qualifying heat pump
31 Mar 2026
ECO4 closed to new measures — why "free" is now mostly "funded"
Why we say "funded" and not "free"
Search "free solar panels" and you will find a decade of pages promising panels at no cost. For a while that was partly true: the Energy Company Obligation, most recently ECO4, paid for solar and other measures on low-income and benefit-receiving households. ECO4 closed to new measures on 31 March 2026. With it went the main route to genuinely free domestic solar for most people.
That does not mean solar is now unaffordable — far from it. It means the help has shifted from a grant that hands you panels to a set of mechanisms that fund the system: finance you repay from the savings, a tax discount through 0% VAT, income from exporting power, and tax relief for businesses. Used well, these can mean little or no money out of pocket on day one. But they are not the same as "free", and any installer who tells you otherwise in 2026 is either out of date or not being straight with you.
This site exists to map the routes that are actually live, tell you plainly who qualifies for what, and connect you with vetted, accredited installers when you are ready. We would rather lose your enquiry than win it on a promise we cannot keep. If your property does not suit solar, or no funding route fits, we will say so.
For the means-tested help that may return, keep an eye on the ECO4 successor and the Warm Homes Plan. For everything available right now, read on.
The funded solar routes that actually exist
Six routes do the real work in 2026. Some are for homeowners, some for businesses, and a couple apply to both. The eligibility check matches you to the right ones.
0% deposit / financed solar
The real "funded" mechanism in 2026. Solar PPAs and zero-deposit asset finance let you install with no upfront capital and repay from the energy you no longer buy from the grid.
Read how it works →0% VAT on solar & batteries
Domestic solar PV and battery storage carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 — a straight reduction on the installed price for homeowners across Great Britain.
Read how it works →Smart Export Guarantee
Licensed electricity suppliers must pay you for surplus solar you export to the grid. It is not a grant, but it funds part of the system over its life.
Read how it works →Boiler Upgrade Scheme
A £7,500 grant towards an air-source or ground-source heat pump in England and Wales — heat, not solar, but it pairs well with a PV system on the same roof.
Read how it works →Business capital allowances
Companies can claim the Annual Investment Allowance and 50% First-Year Allowance on commercial solar, cutting the after-tax cost of an installation substantially.
Read how it works →Solar Together group-buying
Council-backed group purchase schemes use collective bargaining to bring down the per-household price. Periodic, area-based, and worth catching when your council runs one.
Read how it works →How the eligibility check works
Tell us about the property
Two minutes: property type, what you are interested in, and your postcode. No documents, no credit check at this stage.
We map your funding routes
We check which of the live 2026 routes apply — finance, 0% VAT, SEG, BUS, business allowances or a group-buy near you — and where you would not qualify.
You speak to an accredited installer
If it stacks up, we connect you with an MCS-certified installer for a free, no-obligation quote. You are never under pressure to proceed.
If you are a homeowner or tenant
Your strongest levers are 0% VAT (to March 2027), the Smart Export Guarantee, and zero-deposit finance that spreads the cost so the monthly repayment can sit below your grid-energy saving. Means-tested help may return through the Warm Homes Plan.
Domestic funding in detail →If you run a business
Commercial solar is funded mainly through tax: the Annual Investment Allowance, the 50% First-Year Allowance, and asset finance or a PPA so the system can be cash-flow positive from year one. Model the numbers before you commit.
Business funding in detail →"Free solar" is now a scammer's favourite line
Because the genuinely free schemes have mostly closed, "free solar panels" has become a hook for mis-selling. Cold callers and paid adverts still use it to get a foot in the door, then steer people into long, expensive finance dressed up as a giveaway. Knowing what is real is your best protection.
We set out the warning signs — pressure to sign today, "government-backed free" claims, vague eligibility, no MCS certification — on our avoiding "free solar" scams page. Read it before you respond to any unsolicited offer.
Funded solar panels — your questions
Are funded solar panels real in 2026?
Can I still get genuinely free solar panels?
What does 0% VAT on solar actually save me?
How does zero-deposit or financed solar work?
Will the Warm Homes Plan bring back free solar?
Do you charge for the eligibility check?
See what funding you qualify for
A two-minute eligibility check tells you which 2026 routes fit your property. Free, honest, no obligation.