GUIDE · FOR UK SOLAR INSTALLERS · 10 MIN READ

Warm Homes Loan Scheme (WHLS): A Guide for Solar Installers

Loan cap for solar PV, and again for a battery

£15,000

Loan cap for solar PV, and again for a battery

Lenders offering loans at launch

10

Lenders offering loans at launch

Lower interest than a regular loan, says the government

Up to 5%

Lower interest than a regular loan, says the government

Required for the installer on every solar and battery job

MCS

Required for the installer on every solar and battery job

Price is the objection installers hear most on domestic jobs. A government-backed loan with a lower rate changes that conversation, but only if you know what the scheme will and won't pay for before you quote. This guide sets out what installers need to know to offer it.

Last updated 28 October 2026. Rules and figures are taken from the DESNZ factsheet and the Scheme Rules (v3, September 2026), with section numbers, and the FCA's guidance on credit broking. The scheme is new and its rules are written for lenders, so check the current version and your lender's own terms before relying on any of it.

What the scheme is

The Warm Homes Loan Scheme (WHLS) is the loan part of the government's wider Warm Homes Plan (Scheme Rules 1.1). It is a loan scheme, not a grant to the customer. The government pays participating lenders a non-repayable grant of up to 20% of each loan, after the installation is verified, and the lender must pass it on as a lower interest rate (Scheme Rules 3.12, 6.4). The factsheet says that means up to a 5% reduction on regular loan rates, with some loans interest free and some repayable over up to 30 years. Government support only applies to loans of three years or longer.

• Who can borrow: owner-occupiers of existing homes and private rented sector landlords (4.4). There is no income threshold (3.3), and owners of several properties can take a loan for each one (4.8).
• Where: any domestic property in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland (3.7).
• Types of loan: unsecured personal loans, point of sale finance offered with installers, and loans secured on the home (3.8).
• The lender decides: credit checks, affordability, pricing and product design stay with each lender (3.11, 5.18).

The factsheet's example: a £10,000 loan at 8% over seven years costs about £155 a month on a standard loan, and through the scheme the borrower could save up to £285 a year.

The 10 lenders

The factsheet names ten lenders offering loans at launch, and says more lenders and products are expected:

• Homeserve (partnering with E.On)
• Hometree Finance
• Propensio
• Secure Trust Bank
• Selina Finance
• South Manchester Credit Union
• Sunsave
• Tandem Bank
• The Money Co-op
• This Bank

Some of them work only with specific installers, while others let the customer use any MCS certified installer. If you want to offer a particular lender's product at the point of sale, contact that lender about its installer arrangements.

What it covers, and the caps

The total cost of the job, ancillary work included, has to fit under the cap for that measure (4.19, 4.20):

For solar, the rules expect a typical quote to include scaffolding, temporary safety equipment and the grid connection (4.16). For a battery, integration with an existing PV system, monitoring set-up and protection devices (4.17). An EV chargepoint can go into a solar or battery job, but not on its own, and the chargepoint and its installer must be OZEV approved (4.18).

What it won't pay for

• Roofing. The scheme will not fund replacement roofing or other structural work needed before solar goes in (4.16). Lenders can offer a separate, normal loan for it on their usual terms (4.20).
• Insulation, windows and doors (4.15, 4.20).
• A chargepoint on its own, or one the customer already had a grant for (4.18).
• Work funded by another public grant or loan, except the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Home Energy Scotland heat pump grant, which can be combined with it (5.19).
• Business borrowers. Lending to businesses or SPVs is not allowed (3.9).

If a job needs roof work before the panels, say so early and price it separately, so the customer isn't surprised that part of the quote falls outside the scheme.

MCS and the quote rules

You must be MCS certified for the specific measure you install, at the point of installation (4.24). Lenders check this through an API with MCS when the customer applies and again afterwards, using the MCS certificate you generate when you lodge the job in the MCS Installations Database (5.23, 5.25). Our MID guide covers lodging a job.

When the customer applies with a quote (rather than through embedded point of sale finance), the quote must (5.21, 5.22):

It is worth making that your standard domestic quote template now, so no customer's application stalls on paperwork.

How installers can offer it, including point of sale finance

There are two routes, and the Scheme Rules allow both:

1. 1The customer applies to a lender themselves. You give them a quote that meets the rules above and point them to the participating lenders. The customer applies directly (5.17), the lender runs its checks, and you install once the loan is approved.
2. 2You offer finance at the point of sale. The rules allow point of sale finance offered in conjunction with installers (3.8), and customers may apply via an FCA approved intermediary (5.17). This is the route to agree with a lender if you want monthly payments in your proposal.

The FCA side. The FCA says a business selling goods or services that arranges finance with a third-party lender is likely to be credit broking, which is a regulated activity. Depending on how you sell, that means FCA authorisation (limited or full permission) or acting as an appointed representative of a firm that is authorised. Ask the lender how its installer route works and what it needs from you before you put a monthly figure in front of a customer.

When you get paid

This is set by each lender, not the scheme. The rules say the lender decides whether to pay out upfront in full, as a deposit, direct to the installer, after verification, or otherwise (5.27), and that any remaining funds go to the customer or the installer after the installation is verified (5.28). The government only pays its grant to the lender once the MCS certificate verifies the job, so expect lenders to tie at least part of the money to that certificate. Agree payment terms with the lender, and in your contract with the customer, before you order kit.

Complaints are split: the lender handles complaints about the loan, and you handle complaints about the installation and workmanship, under MCS (5.39).

Using it in your sales conversation

• Lead with the bill, then the payment. The factsheet estimates a heat pump, battery and solar panels could save a family up to £550 a year, and a further £300 with a time-of-use tariff. Treat those as the government's estimates, not your promise, and work from the customer's own bills.
• Size to the cap. Know where £15,000 for solar and £15,000 for a battery takes a typical job, so the finance conversation doesn't reopen the quote.
• Battery retrofits. A standalone battery is eligible, so existing solar customers without storage are a fair group to contact.
• Landlords. Private landlords can borrow, for each property they own.
• Mention the government backing correctly. Lenders must use "Funded by UK Government" branding on their products (5.11). Don't imply the scheme is a free grant or that approval is guaranteed: the lender still runs credit and affordability checks.

Commercial and mixed-use jobs

The scheme is for homes. It won't fund a solar system for a business, and lending to business or SPV structures is not allowed (3.9). Mixed-use property is the grey area: the rules say an installation is eligible where it is mainly meant to meet the household's energy needs, and that incidental business use, such as a short-term let, an annexe or converted garage, or someone running a business from home, does not on its own rule a property out (4.7). A farmhouse can qualify; the farm's buildings are a commercial job.

For commercial customers, the finance options are different: asset finance, loans, leases and power purchase agreements, plus the tax treatment our capital allowances guide covers.

Warm Homes Loan Scheme for installers: FAQ