Is the £15,000 Warm Homes Loan cap enough for solar panels?

For most homes, yes. The scheme caps solar panels at £15,000, and South Coast Solar Solutions' published solar-only packages start at £4,995 for 8 panels and £5,895 for 14 panels, subject to survey.

Can one Warm Homes loan cover solar panels and a battery together?

Yes. One loan can cover more than one improvement, with each technology held to its own cap: up to £15,000 for solar panels and up to £15,000 for a battery.

Warm Homes Loan Caps vs Real Solar and Battery Prices 2026

Q: Does South Coast Solar Solutions arrange Warm Homes loans?

No. South Coast Solar Solutions is not a lender or credit broker and does not arrange the loan. You apply to a participating lender; GOV.UK lists the lenders taking part.

The scheme caps solar panels and batteries at £15,000 each. Here is where our published South Coast prices sit against those caps, what the loan will not cover, and why the lender, not the cap, usually decides.

The Warm Homes Loan Scheme sets a ceiling for each technology, and most people reading about it want to know one thing: is that ceiling enough for the system I actually want? Here are the scheme's loan caps for solar panels and batteries set against the installed-from prices South Coast Solar Solutions publishes, so you can see where a typical home lands before you speak to a lender.

The caps for solar panels and batteries

Technology	Maximum loan under the scheme
Solar panels	£15,000
Battery storage	£15,000
Air to water heat pump	£20,000
Ground source heat pump	£35,000

Those figures come from the scheme rules (September 2026) and the government factsheet of 27 October 2026. Insulation is not eligible, an EV charger counts only as an add-on to solar or a battery, and air to air heat pumps are not yet eligible. The caps are ceilings, not offers: the lender decides whether to lend, how much and on what terms.

Our published prices against those caps

Package (installed from, subject to survey)	What it includes	From	Cap that applies
Solar only, 8 panels	3.6kWp, Fox 3600 inverter	£4,995	£15,000 solar
Solar only, 14 panels	6.3kWp, 6kW inverter	£5,895	£15,000 solar
Solar and battery, 8 panels	Fox EP6 5.76kWh battery	£6,995	solar and battery
Solar and battery, 16 panels	18kWh SigenStor	£13,500	solar and battery
Solar and Tesla Powerwall 3, 16 panels	13.5kWh Powerwall 3 and Gateway	£13,560	solar and battery
Battery only, Tesla Powerwall 3	13.5kWh, added to existing panels	£7,450	£15,000 battery
Battery only, Powerwall 3 with Expansion	27kWh	£13,950	£15,000 battery

Every price in that table is a starting point from our solar packages, and the survey sets the final figure. Even so, the pattern is clear: none of our published packages comes close to the £15,000 cap for solar panels on their own, and the largest battery we list, a Powerwall 3 with its Expansion unit at £13,950, still sits under the £15,000 battery cap.

Solar and a battery on one loan

The scheme lets one loan cover more than one improvement, with each technology held to its own cap. A 16-panel system with an 18kWh SigenStor starts at £13,500 and a 16-panel system with a Tesla Powerwall 3 at £13,560. In both cases the panels and the battery each sit well inside their own limit, so for a typical South Coast home the cap is not the thing that decides what you can have. The lender's credit and affordability checks are.

Adding a battery to panels you already have

If you already have panels, the battery cap is the one that matters. A Powerwall 3 retrofit starts at £7,450 and a 27kWh Powerwall 3 with Expansion at £13,950. If you are weighing up storage on its own, our guide to battery storage without solar explains when a battery pays its way with no panels at all, and our Sigenergy SigenStor page covers the modular option.

What the loan will not pay for

Three things catch people out. Insulation is not covered at all. An EV charger is covered only as an add-on to solar panels or a battery, not on its own. And air to air heat pumps are not yet eligible, because the scheme waits for MCS to be able to certify them. The installer must be MCS certified for the technology: South Coast Solar Solutions is on the MCS register for solar PV and battery storage.

The cost of borrowing is set by the lender

The scheme does not set one interest rate. Some loans are interest-free; rates vary by lender, and terms differ too. Compare the total amount repayable and the length of the loan, not just the monthly payment. South Coast Solar Solutions is not a lender or credit broker and does not arrange the loan: you apply to a participating lender, and GOV.UK publishes the list of lenders taking part. Our Warm Homes Loan Scheme guide walks through who can apply and how.

Combining the loan with 0% VAT

Whichever way you pay, solar panels and batteries installed in homes are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. That applies to cash purchases and loan-funded installations alike, so it is not a reason to borrow, but it is worth knowing when you compare a quote with the cap.

What a South Coast roof gives back

The point of the system is the electricity it makes. PVGIS 5.3, the European Commission's model, puts a 4kW unshaded, south-facing array in Portsmouth at about 4,524 kWh a year. Yields along the coast are among the stronger figures in the UK, and our solar panels Portsmouth page shows how that plays out on local roofs.

Avoiding scams

New schemes attract scammers. The government and lenders never cold-call to sell Warm Homes Loans or charge a fee to apply. If something feels wrong, report it to Warm Homes Counter Fraud at WHLScounterfraud@energysecurity.gov.uk, and never sign on the spot.

The short version

The £15,000 caps for solar panels and for batteries are higher than any package we publish, so for most homes the cap is not the limit: the lender's decision is. Get an itemised quote first, then compare lenders on GOV.UK using the total amount repayable.