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DESNZ names the first ten Warm Homes loan lenders and caps solar and battery loans at £15,000 each

A 27 October DESNZ factsheet answers what the Treasury left out: ten lenders, loan caps by technology, an up-to-5 per cent cut in interest rates against regular loans, and MCS-certified installers for everything except heat network connections. It still gives no single rate, and says lenders run their own checks.

28 October 2026 · Source: GOV.UK (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Yesterday's Treasury line said the Warm Homes loans scheme launches today but named no lender, rate or loan size. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has now published the detail in a factsheet dated 27 October. The loans are open to households across the UK, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ten lenders are "initially offering loans, some interest free, meaning people can shop around", with "up to thirty years to repay in some cases". The named lenders are Homeserve (partnering with E.On), Hometree Finance, Propensio, Secure Trust Bank, Selina Finance, South Manchester Credit Union, Sunsave, Tandem Bank, The Money Co-op and This Bank. DESNZ calls this "the first part of the scheme's offer", with more lenders and products expected to join.

For solar and battery buyers, the numbers that matter are the caps. The maximum loan supported is up to £15,000 for solar panels and up to £15,000 for an electrical storage battery. Heat pumps, biomass boilers, heat network connections and other micro-renewable systems have their own limits, listed in the factsheet. On cost, DESNZ says it has worked with lenders to deliver "an up-to-5 per cent reduction in interest rates from regular loans offered by banks or high street lenders". Its worked example is a homeowner borrowing £10,000 at 8% over seven years, repaying around £155 a month on a loan available right now, who "could save up to £285 a year on repayments" through the scheme. That is an illustration, not a quoted rate. The factsheet gives no single interest rate, and the words "up to" appear in front of almost every figure.

Two conditions are worth reading closely. First, "All installations, except for heat network connections, will be carried out by MCS-certified installers", and the factsheet adds that some lenders partner with specific installers only, while others allow any MCS-certified installer. Second, "The lender will carry out normal affordability, credit and eligibility checks", so being a UK homeowner does not guarantee approval or the advertised rate. The factsheet also tells borrowers to weigh the total amount repayable, the length of the term and any monthly fees, not just the monthly payment.

For a Sandwich or East Kent household thinking about solar or a battery, this moves the Warm Homes loans from an announcement to something you can compare, but the sensible steps have not changed. Get at least two MCS-certified quotes, ask each installer which of the ten lenders it works with, and ask every lender for the interest rate, the term, any fees and the total repayable in writing before you sign. Check the lender's rate against a plain personal loan or the cash price, because a low headline rate on a long term can still cost more overall than paying a smaller sum upfront. The 0% VAT relief on solar and battery installs is currently due to end at the end of March 2027, so it remains the firmer financial deadline to plan around.

Still unclear after this release: the actual rates each lender will offer on solar and battery loans, which of the ten will lend against a battery-only or solar-only quote, and whether the loan can be combined with other finance on the same job. DESNZ's separate scheme page says a Warm Homes loan cannot be used with other government funding to pay for the same improvement. Treat the figures in the case studies and the £550 a year saving, which is for a heat pump, battery and solar panels installed together, as DESNZ illustrations rather than a promise for any one home.

Read the original: GOV.UK (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). Commentary is Sandwich Solar's own editorial view; the original reporting is credited to its publisher.

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