Solar Together, Warmer Homes or a Local Quote in Fareham?

Fareham Borough Council's website is one of the first places people land when they look into solar in the borough, and it points to several routes at once. That is helpful, but it can be confusing, because the routes do different jobs. One is a way to buy panels, one is free advice, one is an online tool and one can pay for the work. Here is how they fit together, and how to compare whatever you are offered with a quote from a local installer.

Solar Together is a group-buying scheme for solar panels and battery storage. The council's page explains that residents can register free and without obligation by giving details about their roof. Pooling many households is meant to secure a more competitive price. You then receive an offer and decide whether to go ahead. It is a legitimate way to buy, and registering costs you nothing.

LEAP is a free energy advice service. The council describes it as providing an in-depth energy advice session at no charge. It is a sensible first step if you are not sure whether solar, insulation or a heating change should come first, and it doesn't commit you to anything.

Go Renewable is an online service the council promotes to make it simpler to find the right renewable technology for your home. Use it to narrow down your options before you ask for quotes.

Warmer Homes is the route that can pay for the work. Fareham Borough Council's Warmer Homes page describes a government-funded programme, led by Portsmouth City Council for a group of local authorities, offering up to £38,000 per household for measures including insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels. It is aimed at lower-income households in homes that are not very energy efficient, and eligibility is set by the programme, not by any installer. If you think you might qualify, contact the council before you commit to buying a system yourself.

If Warmer Homes isn't for you, the choice is usually between a group-buy offer and a direct quote. There is no reason not to get both. What matters is comparing them on identical terms: the panel model and number of panels, the inverter, the battery make and usable capacity, who surveys your roof and whether that happens before the price is fixed, who files the grid application, and who you ring if something goes wrong years later.

The grid application deserves its own line in that comparison. Fareham is on SSEN's network. A small system up to 3.68kW per phase can be notified under G98 after it is installed, but a battery or a larger inverter needs G99 approval from SSEN before installation. Ask every provider who submits it and when.

Price comparisons only work if you know the starting point, so here are ours. Solar only starts from £4,995 for 8 panels. Solar with a Fox ESS 5.76kWh battery starts from £6,995. Our Standard packages with AIKO 475W panels and EcoFlow or Sigenergy storage start from £8,418, and solar with a Tesla Powerwall 3 starts from £12,920, with a £375 Tesla rebate available. All are subject to survey, and residential solar panels and batteries currently carry 0% VAT.

Your home makes a difference to which route suits you. The larger detached homes around Locks Heath, Park Gate and Warsash can often take a bigger array with a battery, which is where a detailed survey and a design built around your usage matter most. A standard offer may suit a simple, unshaded semi. Fareham has 13 conservation areas. In most of the borough, panels on the roof slope of a house keep permitted development even in a conservation area, but Titchfield's Article 4 direction means the properties it specifies need planning permission for solar panels visible from a highway or open space, and listed buildings need consent checked first.

If you would like a local quote to put next to a Solar Together offer, our page on solar panels Fareham sets out what a 4kW array produces across PO14 to PO17 and how we handle the SSEN application. If you are mainly interested in storage, read about solar and battery systems first. For the county-wide picture - SSEN, prices and the survey - see solar panels Hampshire.