Has anyone used the Warm Homes: Local Grant for Solar Panels?

theonenonly

I've applied through the Gov.uk website and waiting to hear back. Information isn't always clear, and after registering my interest, the landing page suggests eligibility is subject to local funding, despite the funding coming from central government. All a bit confusing, I'm just waiting to hear back.

Anyone has any experiences of this?

FlorayG

It depends on the funds available to your council. Mine is nearly bankrupt and a friend on benefits couldn't even squeeze out of them a small grant to insulate her loft better

tfhnota

Funds are spread over three years, so a postcode lottery as to when it will arrive (mine is next year unless they cut it altogether), this is for people not on welfare etc but low household income and usually the council hand on the details to an energy agent (the council's sole role to check the household income via HMRC). The funding is much lower than the number of applicants and done on first come basis when/if it arrives. You may get solar plus battery plus insulation, part of the process is upping the EPC (D or worse as a starting point) and one important modification from the previous scheme is that the energy agent is not allowed to ask for top-up money from the applicant. It is based on household income but is not means tested (so interest is counted but not capital unlike almost all other welfare stuff), so unusually fair to the hard working or retired - if there are actually any funds available on the day.

theonenonly

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143872#Comment_82143872

Crazy that it's all lottery based, meaning some could end up taking advantage of it (and rightly so!) whilst others are left without.

You said yours is next year; did you find that out from your council website? My council website makes no mention of this grant at all.

tfhnota

Info from the energy agent who ended up with the details, just as general email with dates for various postcodes that they dealt with. They are the same one who were doing Eco4 Flex and offered me solar, heat pump, etc but only if I would top up the grant with five grand, which I refused. This is in Devon, there may be the odd council who is doing it themselves (they tend to do the version for the welfare wallahs themselves, just to confuse matters). The government is also going to open a Warm Homes Agency which supposedly will be linked to HMRC for fiscal checks and is intended to be a more direct route for applicants, but that is probably going to be after this funding round has ended but who knows, with current political mess. Energy companies also offer the odd free install but usually for the benefits crowd only and we are talking a 100 installs a year.