The short answer
Cheshire East’s Warm Homes: Local Grant can include solar for lower-income owner-occupiers and private tenants in homes rated EPC D to G, until 31 March 2028. The 2026 Switch Together registration ran from 3 August 2026 to 25 September 2026 and has closed. Installed solar is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, and exports can be paid under the SEG.
The routes at a glance
| Route | Who it is for | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | Lower-income owner-occupiers and private tenants, homes rated EPC D to G | Open until 31 March 2028 |
| Switch Together | Households registering for the council’s group-buy | 2026 registration shut 25 September 2026 |
| 0% VAT | Anyone having panels or a battery installed at home | Until 31 March 2027, then 5% |
| The SEG | Households exporting from certified systems up to 50 kW | Ongoing, rates set by suppliers |
| ECO4 | Work already arranged through energy suppliers | Until 31 December 2026, to finish work under way |
Just one of the five is a grant as most people would understand the word. The others reduce the price, organise buying, or pay for output. Each is explained below, with the council or government page that sets it out.
Warm Homes: Local Grant
Cheshire East Council runs the Warm Homes: Local Grant for the borough, with funding until 31 March 2028 (council page). It pays for insulation and renewable measures, which can include heat pumps and solar panels, in homes rated EPC D to G. The aim is to raise each home by at least two energy bands, so panels are usually one part of a package, often alongside insulation.
To qualify, the household must meet the council’s criteria on who lives there and on income:
- a homeowner living in the property as their main home, or a private tenant;
- a household on an income-related benefit, or whose total income is at most £36,000 a year before tax, or at most £20,000 once housing costs are paid;
- for a rented home, the landlord’s agreement, and a landlord contribution of at least 50% of the cost for each property after their first.
The government’s page on applying for the Warm Homes: Local Grant sets out the national framework; the council decides locally what each home is offered after an assessment. A household that qualifies does not choose solar from a menu. The assessor recommends the measures that will do most for the rating, and on some homes that will not include panels. Tenants and landlords will find the rented-home details on renters and landlords.
For households outside the grant, the government has published a factsheet on its Warm Homes Loan Scheme. Read it for the current terms and whether it is accepting applications. Costs in Congleton covers the other ways to pay.
Applying for the grant, step by step
- Check the rating. Look up the home’s energy certificate by postcode. If it is rated A to C, the grant is not designed for it.
- Check the household. Work out whether anyone receives an income-related benefit, or whether total household income falls under either of the two limits.
- Contact the council. Use the route on the Cheshire East page rather than any number or link given by a caller.
- Have the home assessed. An assessor visits, looks at the fabric and heating, and recommends a package.
- Agree the work. The council confirms what will be funded, which firm will do it and when. A landlord confirms their share at this point.
The assessment looks at the whole house. A loft with little insulation, single glazing or an old boiler may come ahead of panels, because they move the rating further for the money. Solar tends to feature where the fabric is already reasonable and the roof is suitable. An unshaded south-facing roof helps; a listed building or a roof that needs repair before anything can go on it may push solar down the list.
Keep copies of everything: the assessment, the offer letter, the certificates issued after the work and the warranty documents. They will matter if the house is sold or let, and the MCS certificate is needed to register for export payments.
Switch Together
Switch Together is the group-buy run with Cheshire East Council, in which households register their interest and a supplier is chosen to offer panels, and batteries, at an agreed price. It is not a grant: the household pays, and the benefit is in the price and the vetting. Registration for 2026 ran from 3 August 2026 to 25 September 2026; that round has closed (council page).
If a later round opens, it is worth registering to see the offer, since registering does not commit anyone to buy. Compare the price you are offered with quotes gathered independently, using the same system size and the same checks on the firm. Storage options are covered on batteries.
VAT relief
Every household benefits from this one. Fitted solar panels and home batteries carry 0% VAT up to 31 March 2027, moving to the reduced rate of 5% on 1 April 2027 (HMRC). The relief applies to the installed job, not to equipment bought on its own and fitted later by someone else. A quote should show VAT as its own line, and if the work might run past the end of March 2027, ask the firm how that would be handled.
Payments for exported electricity
Under the SEG, larger electricity suppliers must offer an export tariff paying more than zero to households with systems up to 50 kW (Ofgem). Eligible systems need an MCS certificate plus metering that can measure exports. Each supplier sets its own rate, so it pays to compare. These payments are not a grant but income for units sent to the grid, and they are usually worth less per unit than electricity used at home: export and self-use explains why.
Energy company schemes
ECO4 runs only until 31 December 2026, and only so that energy suppliers can finish work already under way. A household not already in that process should not expect to start a new ECO4 application for panels now, and anyone contacted with an offer under that name should check it carefully with the council before agreeing to anything (a neighbouring council’s summary of the dates).
A separate insulation scheme has also finished. The Great British Insulation Scheme ended on 31 March 2026. It funded single insulation measures rather than solar, so its closure changes little for panels, but it may come up in conversations with firms or callers.
Heat pumps and solar together
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme supports replacing fossil-fuel heating with a heat pump. It does not fund solar panels. Mains gas heats more than four in five Congleton homes, so for most households a heat pump would be a bigger change than panels, but those considering both should think about the order. A heat pump raises electricity use, especially in winter, which affects how large a solar system makes sense.
Schemes change, so check the date
Help with home energy is announced, revised and withdrawn more often than most households expect. In the space of a year, one supplier scheme has been confined to finishing existing work, an insulation scheme has stopped, a council group-buy has opened and shut its registration window, and the VAT relief has a fixed end date. Everything on this page was checked against the council, government and regulator pages on 3 November 2026. Before acting on any of it, open the linked page and confirm the current position, especially income limits and closing dates, which are the details most likely to move. For how far solar has already spread in the borough, see take-up near Congleton.
Calls, doorstep offers and checks
Grant schemes attract cold callers who imply that panels come at no cost to anyone who asks, or that the council has sent them. The council’s own page is the place to start, not a caller’s description of a scheme. Before agreeing to anything:
- ask which scheme, by its exact name, and check that name on the council or government page;
- never sign on the doorstep, and remember that contracts made at home usually carry a cancellation period;
- check the firm’s certification and consumer code membership yourself;
- do not hand over bank details to confirm eligibility.
Choosing an installer has the full set of checks.
Old buildings and the schemes
A grant does not change the planning position. A listed building still needs planning permission and Listed Building Consent for any panel, and walls facing the road in a conservation area still need permission. Some assessors will steer away from solar on such buildings because of the extra steps, and recommend other measures instead. If you live in the old town, ask early: listed buildings and conservation areas explain the rules, and the question form takes questions about a specific home.