What grants can I get for installing solar panels?

Installing solar panels in Cornwall can prove a costly investment, so any financial assistance is welcome. Now there a number of financial benefits and support packages to help with the switch to solar panels and battery storage in Cornwall, some domestic and commercial clients.

Domestic

When looking to purchase a solar and/or battery installation for your home, you want to first be looking at the ROI (return on investment), basically how long will it take to get your money spent on installing the system back in savings. For example, if the install cost you £10,000 but saves you £2,000 a year in electric, then it would have an ROI of 5 years, everything past that 5 years will be you making money!

Now this doesn’t help the original upfront installation, unless you look to spread the install across on a loan for example, so as you are saving on electric you are just paying it back to the loan, so you feel no less off.

The main benefit for domestic clients in the UK looking to install solar panels is not having to pay VAT! This is an instant 20% saving on your installation. The UK Government has locked this in until 2027, so not more than ever is the time if you are thinking of adding solar to your property.

To access this you need to use a VAT registered UK installer of solar panels, who must carry out the entire turnkey installation and then they claim the VAT back themselves and pass on that saving to you in your final invoice.

The latest saving the Government has added to its renewable incentive is to add stand-alone battery to the VAT free saver. As a domestic client in the UK if you wish to just have a battery installed to your home then from February 1st 2024 you no longer have to pay 20% VAT, the same system as the solar panel installation.

This is great for home-owners looking to add a battery to their already installed solar system or for people looking to have a stand-alone battery to charge up on cheap rate electric and use at peak times.

There are also a number of Government funded income based grants available, but always be very careful with these and read up on your rights / warranty period that covers the installation, as the solar industry was hit by overnight setup businesses that disappeared as fast as they started when the first run of solar financial assistant came about.

Commercial

Commercial clients don’t benefit from the VAT free installations as they already claim back their VAT, but there are other ways businesses in Cornwall can look to have financial benefits with solar and / or  battery storage installed.

The main point is ROI (return on investment) for commercial premises is mostly a lot better than domestic clients due to a couple of main factors.

• Commercial premises roofs are usually a lot bigger than domestic properties, meaning they can produce more solar energy
• A lot of commercial premises have 3-Phase electric supplies, meaning that can connect a lot bigger systems if they have the space for it
• They usually use more electric, especially factories and production etc. This means that if they are making more electric from larger installs then they are saving more per year. For example, a company with a commercial install of £20,000 and making savings of £5,000 a year in electric would have an ROI of 4 years. Everything after that would be free energy.

Another Government push for green energy is to assist companies to make the jump to green technologies and to take on renewables.

Grants have been passed on to local networks to help companies in that area get financial assistance in the transition to green technology like solar, battery and EV infrastructure.

In Cornwall we have the Growth Hub and its “Net Zero for Business” Grants & Support. This can assist with:

• Renewable energy generation infrastructure
• Energy storage
• Fabric energy efficiency measures e.g. insulation
• Low carbon heating measures
• EV charging infrastructure for business use only vehicles

This hub is there to advise on the above technologies, how to adapt them and even financial help with an up to 50% matched funding.

Check out how your Cornwall business can benefit from the Hub here.

Conclusion

Whether you are a homeowner or business Cornwall, making the switch to solar power can be assisted. The 20% saving on VAT for domestic clients is huge and is around for a while and local business grants / support should be made the most of to help companies make the switch.

Always do your research, if a “Free” option is available then be very diligent with what it includes and the T&Cs that come with it. What are you signing up for?

Nothing in life is free!