If you have some form of disability you could be eligible for a government grant that will help you get free solar panels fitted at your home. The government ECO scheme is coming to a close at the end of 2026 – but that doesn’t mean that solar funding will no longer be available – in fact you may actually have a greater chance of securing solar grants for disabled people.
Under the new Warm Homes Plan, low-income households living in private accommodation with an EPC rating D-G could be among those eligible for solar funding, enabling them to save money on their energy bills and become more environmentally friendly.
The grants are available to households, including those containing at least one person who has a disability and is in receipt of one of the eligible benefits or whose household income is less than £36,000. The grants are open to people in England whether they own their own home or are a privately renting tenant, but not those who live in local authority run housing.
The ECO scheme has traditionally been a useful and successful way of providing grants for disabled people and other individuals who might struggle with consistently rising energy costs to enable them to get more efficient and cost-effective forms of heating. It was however, not a significant source of funding for installing solar panels – that changes with the Warm Homes Plan where solar panels and solar batteries are very much part of the energy efficiency performance upgrades that are government funded.
This is all part of the government’s effort to reduce carbon emissions and help households with the cost of energy bills in their homes. Solar panel grants of up to £15,000 are available and these allow qualifying individuals to get solar panels installed for free or at a fraction of their normal cost. Before you apply for a solar panel grant it is important to ensure that your home and roof is suitable to have solar panels fitted.
The funding criteria for Warm Homes: Local Grant funding is expected to be broadly similar to that under the ECO4 scheme. Low income (usually £36,000 a year or less) and vulnerable households (including those on specific benefits) living in private accommodation, will be eligible if their home (both rented or owned) has an EPC rating of D-G.
Households not on benefits, but living in certain postcode areas, could still be eligible under Flex arrangements, as under the ECO grant scheme.
Solar panels can be much more energy-efficient and save you a lot of money on your annual bills in comparison to traditional types of heating. Estimates from the Energy Saving Trust show that a household can making savings well in excess of £500 a year, especially if they were to spend the majority of their day at home and therefore make the most of the solar electricity they are producing.
Estimated annual savings for a four bedroom detached property in London, as a result of installing solar and selling excess electricity produced under SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) arrangements, are as follows:
Source: Energy Saving Trust and based on fuel prices July 2025.
Find out more information if one of these applies to you:
Find out how much your home could save with free funding and by going green.
How your new solar set up will work for you
Solar PV panels are made of multiple semiconducting cells that generate electricity when light hits them.
The electricity created can be used, stored in a solar battery, or exported to the grid to receive money from the energy companies.
Solar panels require light, not necessarily direct sunlight, in order to generate electricity.
The world is changing. Climate change is a reality, and there’s a very real need for everyone to shift focus toward renewable energy sources. One
The default source of electricity has traditionally been from the national grid, generated from a range of fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas and oil.
Introduced in 2013, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO Scheme) has been one of the primary ways for UK households to gain free funding for energy
£10,000 in Free Grants to Install Solar in Your Home
