Home / 2026 benefits
Checked 7 October 2026What helps you right now, what it is worth to a Herne Bay house, and when it ends. Every figure comes from a page we opened.
Benefit 1
HMRC's VAT Notice 708/6 sets a zero rate on installing energy-saving materials in a home, including solar panels, from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027, and from 1 February 2024 batteries too. From 1 April 2027 the reduced rate of 5% applies. On £8,500 to £12,500 for 4.5 kWp and 5 kWh, 5% is about £400 to £600 (our arithmetic). to the deadline.
Benefit 2
Ofgem's price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kWh for electricity, with a 54.83p daily standing charge, and there is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Every unit your panels make and you use is a unit you do not buy at that price.
Benefit 3
Under the Smart Export Guarantee suppliers must pay a rate above zero. On the pages we read on 7 October 2026 it ran from 3p to 18p per kWh: 3p to 4.1p open to anyone, 12p to 13p with that supplier's electricity, and 17.5p to 18p where that supplier fitted the system. See the rates table.
Benefit 4
GOV.UK says approved kits of up to 800W can be plugged into a home and could save up to £110 a year. The Energy Saving Trust says £70 to £100 and from about £450. You register before use, renters need permission, and under the planning order in force from 27 August 2026 it cannot go on a wooden wall, timber cladding or a wooden fence. Rules in full.
Benefit 5
Octopus's page for Intelligent Octopus Go lists 7.6p per kWh for smart-charging an eligible car, with six hours of cheap power a night from 11:30pm to 5:30am, and says only fixed rates are on offer at the moment. A battery can fill at rates like these. The honest sums.
Benefit 6
A car gives a battery something to do. Octopus's own sum puts 7,000 miles at about £160 on its cheap rate. From 21 October 2026 a new planning order widens where a wall-mounted charger can go, with limits in conservation areas. EV charging with solar.
What this means for a Herne Bay house. The 0% VAT deadline is the only benefit with a hard end date, and quotes, surveys and network notice take weeks. If solar is right for you, starting this autumn gives time to be installed before 31 March 2027. If a battery is only a maybe, check the paybacks first.
For most houses it is the saving on power you use directly, then export payments, then the 0% VAT on the install. The VAT relief is a one-off saving of about 5% of the price and it ends on 31 March 2027.
The Energy Saving Trust says there are no dedicated UK Government grants for solar panels. Government support schemes such as the Warm Homes Plan have been announced, but we have not confirmed their current terms for homeowners, so we do not count any of them in our sums.
A little. Removing VAT from household electricity from 1 October 2026 lowers what you pay per unit, so it slightly lowers what solar or a battery saves. The Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh is the figure our estimates use.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Rules and rates change, so check dates before you sign.
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