The Warm Homes Plan promises to invest 拢15bn of public money by 2030 to support the installation of domestic solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and insulation.
Low-income households will get free upgrade packages, with whatever technologies are most suitable for their homes.
Others will be offered government-backed, zero and low interest loans to install solar panels and a 拢7,500 grant for heat pumps.
New rules under the Future Homes Standard will also mean that all new homes 鈥� where practicable 鈥� will be fitted with rooftop solar panels. According to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNEZ)聽, this will triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030.聽
A new Warm Homes Agency is being set up, bring together existing functions from Ofgem and other government s bodies, to offer consumer support.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 plan marks a turning point. It will help to slash energy costs and lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty.鈥�
Adam Scorer, chief executive at National Energy Action, said: 鈥淧eople struggling in fuel poverty desperately need the Warm Homes Plan. Cheaper energy costs, efficient heating systems and homes that keep the warmth in are all essential for the plan to succeed. There is a lot of work to be done, but today鈥檚 publication and commitment to lift a million households out of fuel poverty is a welcome, landmark occasion.鈥�
Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry said: 鈥淭he launch of the government鈥檚 long awaited Warm Homes Plan is a critical step forward. A 拢15bn programme to cut bills and upgrade homes, with the ambition to improve up to five million properties with energy efficient upgrades by 2030, is something which the FMB welcomes, but we must keep sight on the remaining 25 million UK homes that will still need upgrading at some point to make them fit for the future. While this intervention from government is needed, there must be incentives to get the industry moving, to make sure they are competent and skilled up to upgrade the majority of the UK's homes."
Berry continued: 鈥淔ocusing on the now, the task will be delivery. The new Warm Homes Agency must get up and running quickly to coordinate programmes and consumer protections, with procurement routes that give SMEs a fair chance to win work. The creation of a new Workforce Taskforce is also an important step. If the plan is to succeed, the government must give industry a genuinely stable pipeline: multi-year funding, a clear timetable, and certainty over future standards and regulations. Consistency will be essential if small builders are to invest in skills."
Energy consultant David Dundas said: 鈥淭he Warm Homes Plan for heat pumps is a good idea but misses the real opportunity for ground source heat pumps (GSHPs), which are far more energy efficient than air source heat pumps (ASHPs), which rely on expensive electricity to heat buildings in winter when the air source outside is cold and cannot extract enough heat. Yes, ASHPs are cheaper to install but they can disturb neighbours with their noise when they are running; GSHPs are not heard from outside the building and make very little noise. The subsidy for GSHPs ought to be higher than ASHPs to give greater incentive to install them.鈥�
The GMB trades union 鈥� representing boilermakers originally but today a wide range of trades 鈥� is not at all impressed. The UK simply does not have the supply chain to deliver the plan, it pointed out.
GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast said: 鈥淭his is exactly the kind of muddle-headed top down bureaucracy that gives the green transition a bad name. We will never hit net zero in the country if ministers don鈥檛 listen to the voices of the people who work in energy, keeping our lights on and our homes warm.
鈥淗anding out massive heat pump subsidies to a sceptical public doesn鈥檛 work but the government seems hell bent on doubling down. The idea that we will deploy more than one and a half million heat pumps a year within a decade is a fantasy; we don鈥檛 have the supply chains, skills or public appetite.
鈥淭his is money that could have been spent decarbonising a popular, successful gas network. Instead we are throwing good money after bad to a public who don鈥檛 want what DESNEZ is selling.鈥�
David Barnes, head of policy and public affairs at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), is also concerned about the lack of available skills to deliver the programme.
He said: 鈥淲e welcome the publication of the government鈥檚 Warm Homes Plan and its focus on improving energy efficiency across the UK鈥檚 housing stock.聽 Improving energy efficiency at scale will be critical for the UK government to meet its wider net zero ambitions and reduce consumer bills.
"However, we believe these targets will only be met if there is a significant investment in skills and training. The importance of a trained and competent workforce advising and carrying out energy efficiency installations cannot be understated in light of recent, well-documented failures that have resulted in severe defects and low consumer confidence.
鈥淚nstalling and maintaining evolving technologies requires a well-trained workforce, otherwise we risk having systems which do not provide maximum benefit for the consumer.
鈥淭o succeed, the government must ensure the plan is delivered in close consultation with the construction industry. Historically, issues with schemes have arisen when industry has not been engaged, while stop-start approaches and sudden funding withdrawals have further stunted progress and confidence.鈥�
Scott Sanford, head of technical services & certification at the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers鈥� Federation (SNIPEF), said: 鈥淚mproving insulation, expanding access to solar and heat pump technologies, and targeted support for low-income households are vital steps in delivering warmer homes, tackling long-term energy costs and contributing to net zero objectives.
鈥淗owever, the plan lacks explicit and substantial detail about investment in the training and skills development required to deliver quality home upgrades at scale. SNIPEF is clear that without a properly trained and competent workforce, large-scale retrofit and low carbon heating deployment will falter.
鈥淲e have already seen the consequences of this approach. Previous government-supported insulation schemes allowed complex work to be carried out by inadequately trained and poorly supervised installers. In practice, this meant almost anyone could undertake publicly funded retrofit work, leading to serious failures, as seen in the recent spray foam insulation scandal, which has damaged homes, blighted homeowners and is now costing millions to resolve.
鈥淚f this programme is to succeed, investment in homes must go hand in hand with investment in people, skills and competence. Quality, safety and consumer confidence must be built in from the start, not dealt with after the damage is done.鈥�