What E.ON Next Solar is (and isn’t)

E.ON Next is the retail arm of E.ON UK, supplying around five million homes. Its solar business sells fixed-price packages — six or twelve Aiko panels with a hybrid inverter, or larger systems up to 20 panels on quotation — plus Sunsynk and Tesla batteries, across mainland Great Britain (not the Scottish islands, the Isle of Wight or Northern Ireland). You design the system online, get a price, have a survey and then a regional MCS-certified contractor fits it under E.ON’s contract. E.ON is the company you’re buying from and the one that owns the warranty relationship; it isn’t the company whose van arrives.

Two things it isn’t. It isn’t a “free solar” or grant scheme, whatever the Facebook adverts say — see below. And it isn’t the same as E.ON’s older solar operations: “E.ON Solar” from the 2010s used different kit and different contractors, so a 2019 review tells you little about a 2026 install. The panel brand alone has changed twice.

E.ON solar panel prices (2026)

E.ON publishes its prices, which most installers don’t. These are its September 2026 figures, all including the inverter, scaffolding, installation, MCS certification and 0% VAT, next to what a good local installer typically charges for the same specification.

*Our ranges from 2026 quotes; see solar panel cost UK for the full breakdown by size. The existing-customer codes (SOLAR200 / SOLAR150) come off these prices. Two caveats E.ON’s own pages make: the “from” prices assume a straightforward roof — slate, three storeys, in-roof or awkward scaffolding are quoted higher after survey — and they’re single-phase, so a three-phase home is priced separately. Neither is unusual.

The number that stands out is £6,495 for 5.82kWp of Aiko. Per kW installed that’s about £1,115, against a national average of £1,300–£1,800, for a panel that most installers would put a premium on. E.ON is plainly using its buying power on panels and making its margin on batteries and the tariff relationship, which is a rational strategy and worth knowing when you decide what to buy from them.

What panels, inverter and battery do E.ON use?

Panels: Aiko Neostar 3S 485W. This is a premium choice. Aiko’s back-contact “ABC” cells put all the wiring behind the panel, giving around 23% efficiency, a clean all-black face and better shade tolerance than conventional panels, with a 30-year product and performance warranty. In the best solar panels UK rankings it sits in the top tier alongside REC and SunPower, and our Aiko review goes into the technology. Older E.ON systems used Longi or JA Solar — fine panels, but a notch down — so make sure the quote you receive names Aiko if that’s what you’re expecting.

Inverter: not named. E.ON’s pricing pages say “hybrid inverter” and leave it there. Third-party reports over the past two years list Solis, Huawei and Sunsynk hybrids depending on region and package, all reputable. But an unnamed inverter is the single most common complaint about big-brand solar, because it’s the component most likely to fail in year 8–12 and the one whose warranty length varies most (5 to 12 years). Ask for the make, model and warranty in writing before you pay a deposit. Our inverters guide explains what to look for.

Batteries: Sunsynk Elite or Tesla Powerwall 3. The Sunsynk is a 5.12kWh module (4.6kWh usable at 90% depth of discharge) that stacks up to enormous capacities, with built-in heating for cold garages and a 10-year warranty. The Powerwall 3 is 13.5kWh with its own inverter and optional backup gateway. Both are good; the choice is really 5kWh increments versus one big box. GivEnergy and Fox ESS have appeared in E.ON quotes in some regions — again, ask.

E.ON solar panels and battery: should you add one?

Roughly six in ten E.ON solar buyers add a battery, and it’s where E.ON’s pricing is least competitive. £3,995 for 4.6kWh usable is about £870 per usable kWh; a local installer fitting the same Sunsynk, or a GivEnergy or Fox equivalent, typically lands at £650–£800. On a 12-panel system that’s the difference between £10,490 and roughly £9,700 for the same thing. The Powerwall 3 is the exception — at £7,795 E.ON is at or below most local prices, because Tesla controls Powerwall margins tightly.

So the sensible E.ON purchase is often panels from E.ON, battery from whoever’s cheapest — except that splitting the job costs you the shared scaffolding and commissioning, and E.ON’s 17.5p tariff requires the system to be E.ON-installed (adding a third-party battery later doesn’t remove the tariff, but check the current terms). Run the numbers both ways with our are solar batteries worth it guide, what size battery, and adding a battery later.

The 17.5p export tariff — is it worth being locked in?

E.ON’s Next Export Premium v3 pays 17.5p per kWh for everything you export. That’s among the highest fixed export rates in the UK — Octopus Outgoing Fixed is around 12p, most suppliers’ standard SEG rates are 4–8p — and on a 5.8kWp system exporting 2,500–3,500kWh a year it’s worth £440–£610 annually, £140–£190 more than Octopus’s fixed rate.

The conditions: you must be an E.ON Next electricity customer, and the solar or solar-and-battery system must have been installed by E.ON. Switch your import supply away and you lose it. Had panels fitted by anyone else and you get E.ON’s standard SEG rate instead, which is a different and much smaller number — our E.ON SEG tariff guide covers that side, including how to register and submit export readings.

Is being locked in a problem? Only if E.ON’s import tariff becomes uncompetitive, which you’d notice on the bill. Two things to weigh against it: a battery owner on Octopus Intelligent Go or Flux can do better overall by charging cheaply overnight and exporting at peak, which E.ON doesn’t match; and 17.5p is a v3 — the rate has been revised before and will be again. Treat it as a strong bonus, not a 25-year guarantee.

E.ON solar discount codes, offers and finance

• SOLAR200 — £200 off solar panels and battery together, existing E.ON Next customers, entered at checkout.
• SOLAR150 — £150 off battery storage alone (E.ON’s promotional page also references £150 off panels alone; check which applies when you order).
• Seasonal offers — E.ON ran a “spring saver” of up to £700 off panel-and-battery installs for customers in 2026. Worth asking whether one is running; they’re not always advertised on the buy page.
• Discount codes for non-customers, NHS codes, “£99 offers”: nothing current we can find. Switching your supply to E.ON Next first, to qualify for SOLAR200 and the 17.5p tariff, is the legitimate version.
• Finance: 0% APR over up to three years, or 7.9% APR over five or ten years. The 0% deal is real and unusual — a £6,495 system at £180 a month for 36 months — and beats most installer finance at 8–12%. The 7.9% ten-year option adds around £2,800 in interest on £6,495; if you need ten years, a personal loan or mortgage further advance is usually cheaper.
• Paying outright: 25% deposit, 50% when materials are ordered, 25% on completion. That’s more upfront than the £500 deposits common locally; make sure the contract states the deposit is refundable if the DNO refuses connection.

Who installs E.ON solar panels, and how long it takes

E.ON doesn’t employ the fitters. Installation is by regional MCS-certified contractors working under E.ON’s contract and standards, which is how British Gas and most national brands operate too (Octopus is the exception, with its own teams). The upside is national coverage; the downside is that the quality of your install depends on which firm covers your postcode, and the reviews reflect that — excellent in some regions, patchy in others. You can and should ask which company will do the work and look them up on the MCS register and Google.

Timescales: six to ten weeks from enquiry to install is typical — online design, survey, DNO application (needed for the 12-panel package, as anything over 3.68kW), then one to two days on site. Winter is quicker; spring and early summer are slower. That’s in line with the market; a good local firm is two to eight weeks. How long solar installation takes covers what each stage involves.

E.ON solar warranties — read this bit

The panel and battery cover is as good as it gets. The workmanship warranty is the weak line: two years is the legal minimum territory, and workmanship — a roof hook that lets water in, a cable chafing in year four — is what goes wrong on real installs, not the panels. A decent independent installer gives ten years, usually backed by an insurance scheme so it survives if they go bust. E.ON’s counter-argument is that it will still be trading in 2050 to honour anything it chooses to; that’s worth something, but it isn’t a written ten-year guarantee. Ask whether the regional contractor’s own workmanship cover extends E.ON’s, and get it in writing. Our solar panel warranties guide explains which of these actually pay out.

What E.ON solar customers say

E.ON Next’s headline Trustpilot score — 4.5 from over 230,000 reviews — is for energy supply, not solar, so it tells you almost nothing about the install. Reading solar-specific reviews across Trustpilot, Google and the forums, the pattern is consistent:

• Praised: the price, the panels, the clarity of the online quote, the 0% finance, and the tariff once it’s set up. Customers who got a good regional contractor are very happy.
• Criticised: vague equipment specifications on the quote (the inverter again), inconsistent installation quality between regions, delays between survey and install, and confusion over finance terms. A minority mention pressure to accept the quote quickly — treat any “price valid until Friday” as a reason to slow down, not speed up.
• Neutral: aftercare is via E.ON’s call centre rather than the fitter, which some like (one number) and some don’t (nobody who knows your roof).

None of this is unusual for a national brand; it’s the trade you make for the price and the balance sheet. Our how to choose a solar installer guide has the ten questions that flush most of it out before you sign.

“E.ON free solar panels” and grants

E.ON does not give away solar panels. What exists is ECO4: E.ON, like every large supplier, is legally obliged to fund energy-efficiency measures for lower-income households in poorly rated homes, and for eligible homes — mainly those without gas heating — that can include solar PV, delivered through E.ON’s ECO team until the scheme closes in December 2026. If you’re on a means-tested benefit in an EPC D–G home, that’s a real route and worth pursuing through E.ON or any ECO4 installer; our free solar panels guide sets out exactly who qualifies. Everyone else pays, and an advert for “E.ON free solar panels” with a postcode checker is a lead-generation form that isn’t E.ON’s. The SOLAR200 code is a £200 discount, not a grant; the wider grants guide covers what else is available.

Already have panels? Registering them with E.ON

A lot of people searching “E.ON solar panels” already own a system and want to sort out the export side: registering for SEG, submitting export meter readings, transferring a Feed-in Tariff after moving house, or getting a smart meter that works with solar. That’s all E.ON-the-supplier rather than E.ON-the-installer, and it’s covered in our E.ON SEG tariff guide. In brief: you need your MCS certificate and a smart meter that records export; E.ON’s standard SEG rate is well below the 17.5p installer tariff; FiT payments transfer to a new owner with the right form; and smart meters do work with solar — see solar panels and smart meters and moving house with solar panels.

E.ON vs Octopus vs British Gas vs a local installer

Full reviews: Octopus Energy solar and British Gas solar. The pattern across the three big brands is the same — a fixed, fairly transparent product with less flexibility and shorter workmanship cover than a good independent, offset by the comfort of a company that won’t disappear. E.ON’s distinct edge is the panel price and the 0% finance; Octopus’s is the installer quality and tariffs; a local installer’s is the battery price, the named kit and the ten-year guarantee. Finding a local installer explains how to check one properly.

E.ON solar panels: pros and cons

E.ON solar panels: frequently asked questions

Prices, packages, panel models, tariff rates, discount codes and finance terms are as published on E.ON Next’s website in September 2026 and change without notice; the workmanship warranty figure is as listed on that page at the time of writing — confirm all terms in your own quote. “Typical local quote” ranges are Going Solar UK estimates from 2026 installer pricing. Going Solar UK is an independent introducer, has no commercial relationship with E.ON, and our rating reflects our assessment of publicly available information and customer feedback rather than a test installation.