Solar Together can be a genuinely good deal — council-backed group buying has delivered discounts of 20–35% on solar installations in some areas. But it comes with real trade-offs: you get the scheme's chosen installer, the panels they bid with, and their timetable — not your own. Whether it's worth it depends on your situation, so here's the honest comparison.
How does Solar Together work?
Solar Together is a group-buying scheme that helps households in England and Wales to get solar panels at lower costs. It's a council-backed scheme for solar PV — and in many areas battery storage and EV chargers too — that uses a reverse-auction format to secure bulk-discounted pricing from vetted installers, then passes the savings on to individual households.
It's not technically a government grant — it's a procurement mechanism — but it's council-led, free to register, and one of the few schemes available to owner-occupier households regardless of income or property type.
Here's the step-by-step process:
- You register your interest for free — no obligation to proceed.
- Pre-vetted installers bid in a reverse 'auction' to win the installation contract.
- You receive a personal offer based on the winning installer's bid plus a desktop survey of your specific roof.
- You decide whether to accept. If you do, the installation is booked in line with the scheme's calendar.
Some local councils offer Solar Together to make solar panels more affordable through group buying — all installers under this scheme must be MCS certified. You can register to participate for free and without an obligation to install.
Is Solar Together worth it? What the discounts actually look like
Solar Together can deliver real savings — but the size of the discount varies considerably by area and round.
The scheme can help people go solar for less — it's secured 20–30% reductions in cost, according to the Greater London Authority (GLA). In the West of England, three Solar Together schemes in 2021, 2023, and 2025 secured discounts of 22%, 34%, and 41% respectively.
To put that in real money: as of June 2026, the average price of a solar panel system is around £1,785 per kilowatt for a 4–10kW system, meaning a 4kW system costs on average around £7,140. A 25% discount on that would bring it to roughly £5,355 — a saving of nearly £1,800. That's worth having.
The catch is that discounts aren't guaranteed. They depend on how many people register in your area and how aggressively installers compete. Some rounds deliver modest savings; others are exceptional.
What are the downsides of Solar Together?
This is where being straight with you matters. The scheme has real limitations that the council promotion pages tend to gloss over.
You don't choose your installer or your panels. You get the winning installer, the panel and inverter range they bid with, and the scheme's timetable — installations follow the acceptance window, so if your roof needs doing next week, this is the wrong queue.
Hardware quality can vary. If you go with Solar Together, you run the risk of ending up with subpar hardware and a below-average installer. The minimum requirements that iChoosr sets for its installers' products are low compared to the market standard today, which means you risk ending up with inferior hardware. This matters because panel quality affects how much electricity you generate over a 25-year system life.
Timing is fixed and windows are short. Registration windows are short and don't run continuously — Solihull's most recent round, for example, ran from late February to late April 2026. If your council isn't running a round right now, the honest answer is to register your interest on solartogether.co.uk and wait — some councils go 6 months or more between rounds.
Bespoke roofs can price poorly. Bespoke requirements — in-roof panels, unusual roof coverings, complex scaffolding — sometimes price poorly through the standardised survey model. If your roof is straightforward, the bulk pricing works in your favour; if it's complex, the scheme's desktop-survey approach may not give you the sharpest price.
The price can move at final survey. The personal offer is firmed by a final on-site survey — occasionally prices change at this stage if the roof is more complex than the desktop survey assumed.
Can I get a better deal than Solar Together by going direct?
Yes — sometimes. It depends on how well you shop around.
The open market is competitive. The average price is the average for solar panel systems of all sizes, and the price you pay could be much lower or higher — the biggest factor being labour costs. Shops around for the best price because you are likely to save a bit if you don't take the first quote that comes your way. Getting three quotes from MCS-certified installers gives you genuine competition — and you choose the panels, the installer, the inverter, and the install date.
The risk with going it alone? You need to know what a good quote looks like. See our guide to comparing solar quotes step by step — and if you're worried about getting ripped off, our solar quote red flags guide covers exactly what cowboy installers hope you won't notice.
The honest answer: in areas where Solar Together is running with strong uptake and competitive installers, its bulk discounts can match or beat what an individual homeowner can negotiate alone. In areas where the scheme is thin or the winning installer's hardware spec is mid-range, three independent quotes will often do as well — or better — with a panel and installer you've actually chosen.
What about VAT and the Smart Export Guarantee — do these work with Solar Together?
0% VAT: Eligible solar panel and battery installations benefit from 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, before reverting to 5% from 1 April 2027. This applies whether you go through Solar Together or the open market — it's not a scheme-specific benefit.
Smart Export Guarantee (SEG): The Solar Together offer includes installation, MCS certificate, scaffolding, DNO notification, and SEG eligibility — so you can sign up for export payments regardless of which route you take. The Smart Export Guarantee is a government-backed scheme that requires larger electricity suppliers to pay households for the surplus renewable electricity they export to the grid. Choosing the right tariff makes a real difference: as of August 2026, advertised UK export rates range from around 3p per kilowatt-hour on basic tariffs to 25p per kilowatt-hour on premium offers. See our guide to the best Smart Export Guarantee rates in 2026 to make sure you don't leave money on the table after installation.
Who should use Solar Together — and who shouldn't?
Solar Together is likely worth doing if:
- Your council has an active round open right now (check solartogether.co.uk).
- You have a standard roof — south-facing or south-west, no unusual coverings, straightforward scaffolding access.
- You're not in a rush and can wait for the scheme's installation calendar.
- You'd rather have the council's procurement process do the vetting than do it yourself.
You're better off going direct if:
- There's no active round in your area and you don't want to wait 6+ months.
- You have specific requirements — a particular panel type, a hybrid inverter for a battery you've already researched, or an in-roof system.
- Your roof is complex and the scheme's desktop survey is likely to produce a quote that changes at site visit.
- You want to compare hardware specs and installer reviews properly before committing.
One approach worth considering: use both. Register for Solar Together for free — there's no obligation — and at the same time get two or three independent quotes. When the scheme offer arrives, you'll have a genuine like-for-like comparison. While scheme installers are vetted and the framework includes consumer protections, you should still run the same checks you would on anyone: MCS certification, insurance-backed warranty, references.
The bottom line
Solar Together is a legitimate, council-backed scheme that has saved homeowners real money in areas where it runs well. It's not a scam, and the MCS certification requirement means you're not dealing with cowboys. But it is a one-size-fits-most model — and for a purchase that typically costs £6,000–£8,000 fully installed for a typical 4kW system, the spec of the panels and the quality of the installer matter as much as the headline price.
If you want to know what the open market will offer you — with full control over panels, installer, and timing — get free, no-obligation quotes from vetted local installers through FairSolar. It costs nothing, there's no pressure, and it gives you a real benchmark whether you ultimately go with Solar Together or not.
Frequently asked questions
Is Solar Together worth it in 2026?
It can be — the scheme has delivered discounts of 20–35% on solar installations in some areas, according to the Greater London Authority and West of England data. Whether it's worth it for you depends on whether your council has an active round, how competitive the tender is, and whether the winning installer's hardware spec matches what you'd choose yourself. Registering is free and non-binding, so there's little reason not to check if your area is running a round.
Does Solar Together use MCS-certified installers?
Yes. All installers under the Solar Together scheme must hold MCS certification, which is the UK's national quality mark for small-scale renewables. MCS certification is also a requirement to access Smart Export Guarantee payments, so this is an important baseline — but you should still check an installer's current certification status yourself via the MCS website before signing anything.
Can I get a better deal than Solar Together by getting my own quotes?
Possibly, yes. If you get three quotes from MCS-certified installers and compare them properly — panel spec, inverter, warranties, and not just headline price — you may match or beat the scheme's bulk discount, and you'll have full control over what's installed and when. The key is comparing properly: one quote is rarely enough.
Does Solar Together qualify for the Smart Export Guarantee?
Yes. A Solar Together installation includes the MCS certificate required to register for Smart Export Guarantee payments, so you can earn money for any surplus electricity you export to the grid. Export rates vary by supplier — from around 3p to 25p per kWh in 2026 — so it's worth shopping around for the best SEG tariff after installation rather than defaulting to your existing energy supplier.
My council isn't running Solar Together right now — what should I do?
You can register your interest at solartogether.co.uk to be notified when your area opens a new round — some councils run multiple rounds a year, others less frequently. In the meantime, there's nothing stopping you getting independent quotes now. The solar market is competitive and 0% VAT applies until March 2027, so waiting for the scheme isn't always the right call.