What you need to know
🗓️ ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026 ECO4 is the main UK scheme that can fully fund a solar installation for eligible low-income households, according to Ofgem's ECO4 guidance and Uswitch's 2026 grants guide. Applications must complete before 31 December 2026 for the scheme to fund the work.
🏠 Most UK installations are not grant-funded Sunsave's 2026 grants guide reports that between April 2025 and February 2026, 164,800 UK households went solar, and only 12.9% of those installations were grant-funded. The "free solar panels UK" search results don't reflect how narrow eligibility really is.
📋 Eligibility is tight and household-specific ECO4 supports households on certain means-tested benefits or with very low incomes in energy-inefficient homes. Whether any specific home qualifies depends on benefit status, EPC rating, and the supplier's available scheme funding. The scheme is heavily oversubscribed.
🛠️ The Warm Homes Plan replaces ECO4, with the 0% loan expected from 2027 The government set out the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026, a £15bn programme covering grants and loans for heat pumps, solar and batteries, targeting 5 million homes by 2030, according to gov.uk. The Eco Experts (2026) and OVO's Warm Homes guide both note the 0% loan element is not expected to be fully operational until 2027.
🧾 0% VAT on residential solar and batteries runs to 31 March 2027 Separate from ECO4 and the Warm Homes Plan, qualifying residential solar panels and battery storage are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027 (GreatBritishEnergy 2026 grants guide; iHeat 2026 battery storage guide). This applies whether or not a household qualifies for a grant.
If you've searched anything like "free solar panels UK" in the last few months, you've probably seen pages promising fully-funded installations with no obvious catch. The picture is more complicated than the search results suggest. ECO4, the main UK scheme that can pay for solar for some low-income households, closes on 31 December 2026 (Ofgem; Uswitch 2026), and most households aren't eligible for it in the first place.
Below, we'll explain what ECO4 actually is, who qualifies for help with solar today, what's coming under the Warm Homes Plan, and the other routes that will still exist in 2027, without overpromising on any of them.
If you'd like to find out how much a solar & battery system could save you on your electricity bills, answer a few questions below and we'll provide an estimate for you.
What ECO4 is and when it closes
ECO4 is the fourth iteration of the Energy Company Obligation, the UK scheme that requires larger energy suppliers to pay for energy-efficiency upgrades in eligible homes. It runs from 2022 to 31 December 2026, according to Ofgem's ECO4 guidance and Uswitch's 2026 solar panel grants guide.
Under ECO4, eligible measures can include insulation, heating upgrades, and in some cases solar PV. The exact mix of measures available to a given household is set by the supplier and the surveying installer, rather than chosen freely by the homeowner.
The 31 December 2026 close date is a hard deadline for new ECO4 applications. After that, replacement support routes take over.
Who can actually qualify
ECO4 targets low-income households living in energy-inefficient homes. In practice, this usually means a combination of two tests: a benefit or low-income test, and an EPC-rating test on the property itself, with both needing to be met.
Sunsave's 2026 grants guide is a useful anchor on how common this is. Between April 2025 and February 2026, 164,800 UK households went solar, and 12.9% of those installations were grant-funded. That means roughly 87% of recent UK solar installs were paid for by the householder, not through any grant scheme.
The implication is that "free solar panels UK" search results overstate eligibility. Many households assume they qualify based on a search result and only later find out they don't. The schemes are real and the funding is real, but they're narrow by design, and oversubscribed.
Whether a particular home qualifies for ECO4 is something a supplier-approved installer survey is best placed to confirm.
What replaces ECO4: the Warm Homes Plan
The government announced the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026, a £15bn programme covering grants and loans for heat pumps, solar and batteries, with a 5-million-homes-by-2030 target (gov.uk Warm Homes Plan; The Eco Experts 2026; OVO Warm Homes guide).
The detail is still being filled in. The 0% loan element of the plan, the part homeowners outside the lowest-income brackets are most likely to be able to use, is not expected to be fully operational until 2027. Until that point, the plan is best read as set out by the government, not as something a homeowner can apply for today.
The plan operates differently across the UK's nations. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own delivery routes, so the way Warm Homes support shows up will depend on where the household is, which is something the rollout detail in 2027 will clarify.
Other routes still available next year
ECO4 closing doesn't mean every form of UK support for residential solar ends. Three main ones continue into 2027.
0% VAT on residential solar and batteries. This zero-rate applies to qualifying residential solar panels, battery storage and ancillary equipment, and runs until 31 March 2027 (GreatBritishEnergy 2026 grants guide; iHeat 2026 battery storage guide). It applies to the bill, not to the homeowner's eligibility, so it's available to any UK homeowner having qualifying work done in a residential property.
Local and devolved schemes. Beyond the UK-wide picture, there are local authority and devolved-administration schemes, including the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the Home Upgrade Grant, and various Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish equivalents. These vary in eligibility and availability, so the picture is best checked through each scheme's own guidance rather than a national overview.
The Warm Homes Plan rollout from 2027. Once the plan's loan element is operational, it's expected to widen access to support beyond ECO4's narrow eligibility. The detail will become clearer through 2026 and into early 2027.
For a homeowner who is not eligible for grant funding, the typical route is to pay for an installation directly, with the 0% VAT applying to qualifying work until 31 March 2027 and with the choice of standard installer pricing, finance products, or both.
Summary
ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026, and for the small share of UK households that qualify, the next six months are the practical window to apply. For the majority of UK homeowners, around 87% of recent UK solar installations, the more useful information is what's available outside grant routes: 0% VAT through to 31 March 2027, and the Warm Homes Plan rolling out across 2027.
If you'd like to find out how much a solar & battery system could save you on your electricity bills, answer a few questions below and we'll provide an estimate for you.
ECO4 and solar grants: FAQs
Can I get free solar panels in the UK?
A small share of UK households can have solar partly or fully funded through ECO4, depending on benefit status and property energy efficiency. According to Sunsave's 2026 figures, 12.9% of installations between April 2025 and February 2026 were grant-funded, so it's a real route, but a narrow one.
When does ECO4 close?
ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026 (Ofgem; Uswitch 2026). Applications must complete before that date for the scheme to fund the work.
What's replacing ECO4?
The government's Warm Homes Plan was set out in January 2026 as a £15bn programme covering grants and loans for heat pumps, solar and batteries, according to gov.uk. The 0% loan element of the plan is expected to be fully operational from 2027, according to The Eco Experts (2026) and OVO's Warm Homes guide.
Is there still 0% VAT on solar in 2026?
Yes. Qualifying residential solar panels and battery storage are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027 (GreatBritishEnergy 2026; iHeat 2026). This applies to the bill, not to grant eligibility.
Can a website tell me if I qualify for ECO4?
Not reliably. ECO4 eligibility depends on benefits, household income, the property's EPC rating, and the supplier's available funding, and is confirmed through a supplier-approved installer survey rather than an online check.
Sources
Ofgem ECO4 guidance, 2026.
Uswitch: "Solar Panels: Grants & Government Funding 2026".
Sunsave: "Best solar panel grants" guide, 2026.
gov.uk Warm Homes Plan publication.
The Eco Experts: Warm Homes Plan coverage, 2026.
OVO Warm Homes guide, 2026.
GreatBritishEnergy: 2026 grants guide.
iHeat: 2026 battery storage guide.
