If the upfront cost has been the thing stopping you from getting solar, the government has just moved it. On 27 October 2026 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero launched the Warm Homes Loan Scheme: government-backed loans for solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps, with some lenders offering 0% on solar and batteries.
The headline numbers
- Up to £15,000 for solar panels and £15,000 for a battery, which can be combined.
- Up to £20,000 for an air-to-water heat pump and £35,000 for ground source.
- Interest rates up to 5 percentage points below what the lender would normally charge. Some products are interest-free.
- Terms from three years, and up to 30 years with some lenders.
- Ten lenders in the first wave, including Hometree Finance, HomeServe, Tandem Bank, Secure Trust Bank and Sunsave.
- Open to homeowners anywhere in the UK. The installer must be MCS-certified.
What it is not
It is not a grant. You borrow the money and pay it back. The point is that the borrowing is cheaper than a normal personal loan, so the monthly cost of a system can sit below the monthly saving on your bill from day one. If you are on a low income, the separate Warm Homes: Local Grant may give you solar for free, and that is worth checking first.
Our honest take
We think this is the most useful piece of solar policy in years, because it fixes the real problem, which was never whether solar pays back but whether people could find £8,000 to £15,000 up front. Two cautions though. First, rates and terms differ between lenders, and the government has not published them yet, so ask for the APR and the total repayable. Second, a cheap loan on an overpriced system is not a cheap system. Get two quotes and compare the installed price, not just the monthly figure.
What it means if you are local
DES Renewable Energy is MCS-certified, so our installations qualify, and we are already an introducer for Hometree Finance, one of the ten approved lenders. Ask about a Warm Homes loan when you get your quote and we will tell you which products are available for your system. Residential solar and batteries are also still 0% VAT until March 2027, which stacks with the loan.
We have put everything we know, including eligibility, the lender list, the small print and the questions to ask, on one page: Warm Homes Loan Scheme explained. We will keep it updated as lenders publish their rates.
If you want real numbers for your own roof, request a free quote or call 01202 985 888 and ask about the Warm Homes Loan Scheme.
Sources: GOV.UK Warm Homes Loan Scheme; DESNZ factsheet, 27 October 2026.