Solar panel grants and funding on the Wirral: what is real

The routes side by side

Read at the sources listed below on 3 November 2026.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant in Wirral

The Warm Homes: Local Grant is the government's grant for improving less efficient homes in England, delivered through councils and combined authorities. In Wirral it is administered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which secured the funding for a consortium covering Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral; Liverpool and Sefton run their own schemes. When it was announced locally in October 2025, the Combined Authority said it aimed to help up to 400 Wirral residents over two years.

Who qualifies

• The home must be rated EPC D, E, F or G. Homes rated A to C are not eligible. Among Wirral homes with an EPC, 55.7% are rated D to G (ONS), so many homes pass this test.
• The household must also meet one of three routes: live in one of the eligible postcodes on the national list; receive a qualifying means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit; or have a gross household income below £36,000, or pass the test of income after housing costs.
• Tenure: homeowners and private tenants, with the landlord's agreement. Social housing is funded separately.

What it can pay for

The Combined Authority lists measures including solar panels, solar thermal and batteries alongside solar, as well as insulation, windows and doors, heat pumps and high-retention storage heaters. The scheme assesses the home and decides the package; you do not pick the products or the installer. National guidance sets cost limits per home and runs the scheme to 31 March 2028.

How to apply

Fill in the register-interest form on the Combined Authority's Warm Homes: Local Grant page. If you own your home you can apply through the GOV.UK service instead; private tenants and landlords should use the Combined Authority's form. Wirral Council's energy advice page points to the same routes. Be wary of anyone who knocks on your door claiming to be from the scheme: genuine assessments are arranged after you apply.

The Warm Homes Loan Scheme

Launched in October 2026, the Warm Homes Loan Scheme gives approved lenders government support so they can offer cheaper loans for energy measures, including solar panels and batteries. Some loans are interest-free, others carry reduced interest, and all must be repaid; a loan simply lets you spread the cost over time. The work must be done by an installer certified for that measure, which for solar means MCS. This site is not a lender or broker and does not arrange loans; GOV.UK publishes the list of approved lenders, and you should compare the total amount you would repay with paying outright.

Solar Together: buying as a group

From 2022 onwards the Combined Authority has run group-buying rounds for solar panels with iChoosr, now trading as Switch Together. Households register at no cost, approved installers bid in an auction, and each household receives a personal recommendation it can accept or ignore. In the first round, Wirral had more installations than any other borough in the city region. It is a way to get a competitive price, not a grant, and no current round has been announced. Our Solar Together page explains how it works.

0% VAT until 31 March 2027

Installed solar panels and batteries in homes are zero-rated for VAT in Great Britain until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 the rate is 5%. On a system costing £7,800 that is a difference of about £390. Roofing work done at the same time is charged at the standard rate, so make sure a quote shows the two separately.

Smart Export Guarantee: paid for what you export

Every large electricity supplier must offer an export tariff above zero to households with an MCS-certified installation of up to 50 kW and an export meter, which is normally a smart meter. Suppliers set their own rates: the better fixed rates were around 12 to 13p per kWh in October 2026, and some suppliers pay a few pence. You can choose an export tariff from a different supplier to your import supplier, though some of the best rates require you to buy from them too.

Planned, not yet open: plug-in solar help

In September 2026 the Combined Authority said it plans a £5 million pilot to provide plug-in solar for owner-occupiers in fuel poverty, subject to approval from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with delivery expected by July 2027. It has not opened. If it does, it will be announced by the Combined Authority, not sold door to door.

What does not exist

• No grant pays for solar panels for every household, whatever an advert says.
• No scheme makes panels "free" for able-to-pay households. If a deal says you pay nothing, ask who owns the panels and who keeps the money from them.
• The council does not sell or install panels door to door. Anyone claiming to be "from the council" or "from the government" on your doorstep should be checked with the council directly.