The UK government has launched what it calls the biggest home upgrade plan in British history – a bold initiative aimed at cutting energy bills for millions of households, tackling fuel poverty and accelerating the transition to cleaner, more efficient home energy systems.
Known as the Warm Homes Plan, this £15 billion investment could see up to 5 million homes upgraded by 2030, helping families save hundreds of pounds on their energy costs while improving comfort long term.
A Nationwide Push to Upgrade Homes
The Warm Homes Plan brings together a wide range of measures to help homeowners, renters and low-income families access energy-saving and low-carbon technologies. From insulation improvements to the installation of solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps, the aim is simple: to make homes warmer, cheaper to run and fit for the future.
Support Designed for Every Household
The Warm Homes Plan is designed to work across all tenures and income levels. It combines:
- Targeted support for low-income families, with fully funded upgrades covering the full cost of technologies where needed.
- Stronger protections for renters, encouraging landlords to invest in energy efficiency and warmth.
- A universal offer for all households through low and zero-interest government-backed loans.
- Investment in social housing upgrades, improving living standards for some of the most vulnerable households.
By 2030, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero estimates that the plan will help upgrade up to five million homes and lift up to one million families out of fuel poverty.
Looking ahead, the plan also raises the bar for new housing. Under the Future Homes Standard, all new homes built from 2026 will include solar panels as standard, ensuring they are cheaper to run from day one and reducing pressure on household finances in years to come.
Why the Warm Homes Plan Matters
Upgrading homes is one of the most effective ways to reduce energy bills for good. Despite strong public demand for clean energy technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps, high upfront costs have put these solutions out of reach for many households.
The Warm Homes Plan directly addresses this challenge by combining fully funded upgrades for low-income households, including insulation, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, alongside low and zero-interest government-backed loans for homeowners. These improvements will deliver warmer homes, lower carbon emissions and new opportunities for skilled workers across the country.
However, delivery will be key. Ensuring upgrades are rolled out efficiently, fairly, and to a high standard will determine whether the promise of savings becomes a reality for families across the country.
The plan also marks a significant moment for the UK’s skilled trades and retrofit sector. As Jambu Palaniappan, CEO of Checkatrade, explains:
The launch of the Warm Homes Plan also represents a significant moment for the nation’s skilled trades. It can help create long-term, sustainable work for installers and retrofit specialists, while giving homeowners the confidence to take action.
– Jambu Palaniappan, CEO of Checkatrade
A Step Towards Warmer Homes
Beyond cutting bills, the Warm Homes Plan will help strengthen the UK’s energy security, support the creation of up to 180,000 skilled jobs, and reduce emissions from buildings, which currently account for over a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas output.
Together, these measures mark a significant step towards making warm, affordable and energy-efficient homes a basic guarantee, not a privilege, for families across the UK.
As Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, states:
A warm home shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a basic guarantee for every family in Britain… Today’s plan marks a turning point. It will help to slash energy costs and lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty… This is a government bearing down on the cost-of-living crisis. By driving bills down for good and upgrading millions of homes, we’re giving people the security and the fair shot they need to get on in life.
– Prime Minister, Keir Starmer
You can read more about the Warm Homes Plan on the UK government website or in the Warm Homes Plan: Policy Plan.
Stay tuned for more information on how this new plan will affect the retrofit industry, PAS, and jobs across the nation.
