Grants for Solar Panels from the ECO Scheme
Apply today, limited funding available

Solar panels are a collection of photo-voltaic solar cells usually mounted in a rectangular frame.

Solar panels receive sunlight as a source of energy and convert it into direct current (DC) electric energy. The solar panels supply electricity into your home so that you don’t have to buy it from your energy supplier.

Electricity from your solar panels is ‘free electricity’ which means that you will save on your ever rising energy bills. In addition, if your solar panels generate  more electricity than you need, you may be be able to sell the excess back to you energy company.

This means that you not only save money, you may even make some!

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Installing solar panels to create electricity to power the electrical appliances and lighting in your home you are not only saving money on your energy bills; you are reducing your carbon footprint.

Solar panels produce environmentally friendly, clean, green electricity and they don’t produce any greenhouse gases. This means that you are helping to reduce carbon emissions and contribute towards reducing the effects of climate change.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

To qualify for free solar panels, the following five conditions must apply to you and your home:

1. You must be a homeowner or a tenant of a private landlord.
2. You must live in a house or a bungalow with sloping roof.
3. Your home must NOT have a mains gas supply.
4. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) must be E, F or G. You can see the EPC for your home HERE if you live in England or Wales and HERE if you live in Scotland.
5. You, or someone living permanently in your home, must receive one of the following qualifying benefits:

• Pension Credit – Guarantee Credit
• Pension Credit – Savings Credit
• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Income Support
• Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Child Benefit (subject to maximum household income)
• Housing benefit

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Homes with south facing roofs will generally bring the best results from installing solar panels as they receive the sun’s light for the longest period of the day.

However, advances in the electricity generating capabilities of modern solar panels means that good results can also be achieved with west and east facing roofs. The solar panels don’t need direct sunlight to work and will still generate electricity on a cloudy day. Nevertheless, the more sunshine they receive the more electricity they will generate.

The vast majority of homes have a roof suitable for solar panels and we can explain the particular benefits to you during your free survey.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

A typical solar panel system will need around 20 square metres of roof space and the vast majority of houses and bungalows have at least that their south, east or west aspects. This can be explained in more detail during your free survey.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

The installation of solar panels is deemed to be ‘permitted development’ so in the vast majority of cases planning permission is not required.  However, permission may be required if you live in a listed building, in a conservation area or a national park.

When installing solar panels you must register with your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), the company which supplies your electricity. Your installation company will normally do this for you.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Solar panels generate electricity during daylight, even if it is cloudy but they don’t generate electricity during the night. Unless you have a battery which stores electricity for use when it’s dark, you need to use the electricity generated by solar panels as they generate it.

This means that you should try to use more electricity during the daytime. For example, it makes sense to use your electrical appliances such as your washing machine, iron and dishwasher during daylight hours rather than at night.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Savings in electricity bills achieved by installing solar panels vary according to the number of panels installed, which direction your roof faces and your electricity usage whilst they are generating energy.

The Energy Savings Trust has developed a tool which can be used to estimate the annual energy bill savings for each home and this can be found by clicking HERE. When asked for the solar panel installation size, it should be 4 kWp.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Solar panels need very little maintenance and given that they are installed on a sloping roof they will be cleaned by rainfall.

Once solar panels are fitted, your installer should leave details of any maintenance checks that you should carry out to ensure everything is working properly.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Solar panels should last for around 25 years.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Solar electricity is low carbon form of renewable energy. A typical home solar PV system should save around one ton in carbon emissions per year, depending on where you live in the UK.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Solar panels installed under the ECO4 Grant Scheme are usually 400 w each and depending on the size of your home, between 10 and 16 panels would be fitted.

This system could generate up to 6.4 kilowatts of electrical energy to power your home.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page

Once you have completed the application form on this page we will call you back to confirm the details and fill in any gaps.  Your free home survey would normally take place within two weeks with the installation around two weeks after that.

Grants for solar panels can be accessed by completing the form on this page