Warm Homes Plan: Solar and Home Upgrade Grants

The Warm Homes Plan is the government's £15 billion programme to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes. Published on 21 January 2026, it commits to upgrading up to 5 million homes and lifting up to 1 million families out of fuel poverty by 2030. It takes over from ECO4 (which closes December 2026), with funding committed across this Parliament to 2029/30. If ECO4 does not apply to you, the Warm Homes Plan is the scheme to watch.

What is the Warm Homes Plan?

The Warm Homes Plan brings together several energy-efficiency funding streams under one umbrella, backed by £15 billion of public investment across this Parliament (this headline figure combines the £13.2 billion committed at the Spending Review with a further £1.5 billion announced at the Budget). The government has structured it around targeted grant support for lower-income households and a wider loan-backed offer for everyone else, delivered through several routes:

Warm Homes: Local Grant

Funded by central government and delivered by local authorities in England. It targets lower-income owner-occupiers and private renters in the least energy-efficient homes, providing grant-funded upgrades such as solar PV, insulation and heating measures. The precise per-household income and property thresholds for the scheme are set within government delivery guidance and have been evolving; check the current criteria with your local authority rather than relying on a fixed income figure.

Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund

Delivered through social housing landlords (local authorities and housing associations). Aimed at tenants in social housing with poor energy-efficiency ratings. Funding is allocated to landlords to upgrade their housing stock — individual tenants do not apply directly. The government plans to bring the low-income routes together into a single scheme from 2027/28.

What measures will it cover?

The plan names solar PV, heat pumps, home batteries, insulation and smart heating controls among the technologies it will fund. Based on the published plan and supporting announcements, expect coverage of:

• Solar PV panels
• Battery storage
• Heat pumps (air source and ground source)
• Insulation (loft, wall, underfloor)
• Draught-proofing and glazing improvements
• Heating controls and smart thermostats

Solar is central to the plan's ambitions: the government has said it wants to triple the number of homes with solar panels by 2030, putting panels on up to 3 million more homes.

How does it compare to ECO4?

ECO4 is funded by an obligation on energy suppliers — they fund it through their operating costs, which is ultimately reflected in bills for all customers. The Warm Homes Plan is different: it is direct government spending (the £15bn is public money), which gives the government more direct control over delivery.

In practice, the experience for eligible households should be similar: an assessment, a recommended set of measures, installation by a certified contractor, and ownership of the installed equipment. The key difference may be in the range of measures available and the generosity of the grant relative to installation costs.

The loan offer and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Alongside the grants, the plan introduces a wider offer of government-backed zero- and low-interest loans open to households that do not qualify for full grants but want to fund solar, batteries or heat pumps at lower-than-commercial rates. The government has allocated roughly £2 billion to underpin this loan offer (about £1.7 billion for the loans themselves, plus around £300 million to reduce borrowing costs). The detailed terms — eligibility, maximum loan size and repayment periods — were due to be set out later in 2026.

The plan also extends the Boiler Upgrade Scheme with £2.7 billion to 2030, offering grants of up to £7,500 towards a heat pump. This sits separately from solar, but it is the route most relevant if you are pairing panels with a heat pump.

If your income is too high for an outright grant but you want government-backed financing for solar, the loan offer is the track worth monitoring. Scotland already operates a comparable interest-free loan model — see the devolved nation schemes article.

Should you wait or act now under ECO4?

This is the practical question most people are asking. The honest answer: if you qualify for ECO4 now, do not wait.

• ECO4 is a live scheme with funded installers ready to work. The pipeline is busy but moving.
• The detailed Warm Homes Plan eligibility criteria for the means-tested grant routes are not finalised. You may or may not qualify under the new rules.
• The unified low-income scheme is not expected until 2027/28, and the loan-offer terms had not been published as of mid-2026. Government scheme launches routinely slip or involve initial limited capacity.
• Solar installations in winter are slower to schedule. Acting now means potentially getting a spring or summer install while generation is highest.

If you do not qualify for ECO4 (your income is above the threshold and you do not receive qualifying benefits), the Warm Homes Plan is unlikely to change the picture significantly — it targets broadly the same income groups. For above-median-income households, the most relevant incentives are 0% VAT and the Smart Export Guarantee.

Frequently asked questions