Sources
Where our facts come from
Each page lists its sources at the foot. Here they all are, grouped, with what each supports and the date we read it.
Where you stand
The councils' and Combined Authority's own scheme pages, GOV.UK and the government's guidance to councils for the rules, HMRC for VAT, the Planning Portal and Liverpool City Council for planning, and DESNZ, PVGIS and the Census for Liverpool's figures.
The scheme in Liverpool and nearby
- Liverpool City Council › Apply for a Warm Homes Local Grant. Liverpool’s award, measures (including solar PV and PV batteries), pathways, year two and year three, the steps. Read 3 November 2026.
- Liverpool City Council › Fuel bills and energy efficiency. Liverpool’s energy help, ECO4 description, Household Energy Payment 2027. Read 3 November 2026.
- Sefton Council › Warm Homes Local Grant. Sefton’s scheme to April 2028, measures, landlord contributions, the £315,000 limit, the survey. Read 3 November 2026, in a browser.
- Liverpool City Region Combined Authority › Warm Homes Local Grant. The £31.8 million award, who delivers where, the pathways, excluded benefit income, photo ID. Read 3 November 2026, in a browser.
National rules
- GOV.UK › Apply for the Warm Homes: Local Grant to improve a home. England only, privately owned homes, EPC D to G, income and other routes. Read 3 November 2026.
- DESNZ › Warm Homes: Local Grant policy guidance for local authorities, July 2026 (PDF). After-housing-costs thresholds, cost caps, batteries only with solar, RdSAP10, verification. Read 4 November 2026.
- DESNZ › Warm Homes: Local Grant eligible postcodes, 2026 (XLSX). The 2026 eligible postcode list; our Liverpool count. Read 4 November 2026.
- DESNZ › Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund statistics (England). The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. Read 4 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Find your local council. Finding your council. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Find an energy certificate. Finding an energy certificate. Read 3 November 2026.
Paying yourself
- HMRC › VAT Notice 708/6, energy-saving materials and heating equipment. Zero rate for solar and batteries installed in homes until 31 March 2027, then 5%. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Warm Homes loan. The Warm Homes loan. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Warm Homes loan: eligibility. Who can borrow and what for; MCS installers. Read 3 November 2026.
- Financial Conduct Authority › The Financial Services Register. Checking a firm offering credit. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Smart Export Guarantee. Smart Export Guarantee conditions. Read 3 November 2026.
- MCS › Find a certified installer. Checking installer certification. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Boiler Upgrade Scheme: what you can get. Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants (heat pumps, not solar). Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Boiler Upgrade Scheme: how to apply. How the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is applied for. Read 3 November 2026.
- GOV.UK › Extending the ECO4 end date: government response. ECO4’s end date and purpose. Read 2 November 2026.
Planning and data
- Planning Portal › Solar panels. Permitted development for solar. Read 3 November 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk › SI 2026/896, permitted development for solar in England. The 2026 permitted development changes in England. Read 2 November 2026.
- Liverpool City Council › Conservation areas. Liverpool’s 36 conservation areas and Article 4 directions. Read 3 November 2026.
- Liverpool City Council › Listed buildings consent. Listed building consent in Liverpool. Read 4 November 2026.
- Liverpool City Council › Landlord licensing. Liverpool landlord licensing. Read 3 November 2026.
- DESNZ › Regional renewable statistics (renewable electricity by local authority, 2014 to 2025). Solar PV installations and capacity in Liverpool, 2014 to 2025. Read 3 November 2026.
- European Commission JRC › PVGIS photovoltaic tool (v5.3, SARAH3). Solar output for central Liverpool. Read 3 November 2026.
- Nomis › Census 2021 TS044, accommodation type. Accommodation type. Read 3 November 2026.
- Nomis › Census 2021 TS046, central heating. Central heating. Read 3 November 2026.
- Nomis › Census 2021 TS054, tenure. Tenure. Read 3 November 2026.
Consumer protection and the publisher
- legislation.gov.uk › Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20. Banned practices, including false time limits and ignoring a request to leave. Read 3 November 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk › Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30. The cancellation period for contracts made at home. Read 3 November 2026.
- ASA › Ruling on Rock Paper Click Ltd ("Government Solar Checker"), 2019. The 2019 ruling on a "Government Solar Checker". Read 3 November 2026.
- Citizens Advice › Scams. Spotting and reporting scams. Read 3 November 2026.
- Companies House › SEO-DONS LTD, company 16766013. SEO-DONS LTD’s company record. Read 30 October 2026.
A note on two sources
Sefton Council's and the Combined Authority's pages turn away automated reads, so we read them in an ordinary web browser on 3 November 2026 and checked our wording against them there. Where the councils' pages and GOV.UK word a rule differently, as they do on the income used for the after-housing-costs test and on how rented homes register in Liverpool, our pages say so and point to the council for the final word. If anything we say differs from an official source, the official source is right; please tell us.
A question about solar funding in Liverpool?
Tell us what you're trying to find out. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, which publishes this guide, and we answer by email. We don't run any grant scheme, decide eligibility or install panels, but we can point you to the scheme and the council that does.
What happens next
- Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, publisher of this guide.
- We answer by email, pointing to the scheme or council that applies.
- Any application is made to the council or scheme itself.