The Warm Homes Loan Scheme, explained.

What the scheme actually is

Most people hear about it as a grant. It is not one. The government pays grants to participating lenders, worth up to 20% of each loan, and the rules require every penny of that support to reach you as a cheaper interest rate. You borrow from an FCA regulated lender in the normal way, with normal credit and affordability checks, and repay a smaller amount than you would on a standard home improvement loan.

The fully funded help you may have read about is a separate part of the government's Warm Homes Plan. That support goes to low income households through councils, and it is means tested. The loan scheme is the part for everyone else. No income thresholds, no minimum energy rating, no property type restrictions at scheme level.

We install solar, battery storage and EV charging. We do not lend money, arrange credit or advise on it. What we can do is make sure your installation and your quote meet the scheme's requirements, so a lender can say yes quickly when the loans arrive.

How much you can borrow for each measure

The scheme sets a borrowing cap per technology. The caps that matter for most homes:

Solar and battery have separate caps, so a combined project can be financed up to £30,000 at the reduced rate. If your staff or family drive electric, the charger can go in on the same visit and inside the same loan. That combination of solar, battery and EV charging designed as one system is exactly what we do.

Why the timing matters: the double window

Home solar and battery installations in England, Scotland and Wales carry 0% VAT when supplied and installed together, until 31 March 2027. The loan scheme is expected to launch while that relief is still running. For a period of roughly six months, both could apply to the same project: no VAT on the install, and subsidised borrowing to pay for it.

One honest caveat. The VAT deadline is certain. The loan scheme launch date is not, and the government can change the scheme before it opens. The funding also works on a first come first served pot, with six months notice before it closes. We will keep this page updated as lenders go live.

Who qualifies

• Owner occupiers of existing homes, anywhere in the UK
• Private landlords, borrowing personally, with a loan available per property
• Mixed use properties, where the install mainly serves the household
• No income thresholds and no minimum EPC rating at scheme level

Lenders still make their own credit and affordability decisions, and they can add their own criteria. The scheme opens the door. The lender still decides who walks through it.

Nothing to apply for yet, and that matters

Lenders are being onboarded now, with products expected from September 2026 at the earliest. There is no consumer application form anywhere. Websites collecting your details for the Warm Homes Loan Scheme today are gathering leads, not applications. Be careful with them.

What you can genuinely do now is get loan ready. The scheme rules say a lender needs an itemised quote from an MCS certified installer, on headed paper, showing the MCS number and the system size, dated within six months of your application. Every evon quote meets that checklist. Book a survey now and the day the loans arrive, your paperwork is already right.

Correct as of 24 July 2026. The scheme is subject to change before launch. Source: DESNZ Warm Homes Loan Scheme Rules, June 2026.