A new route to lifting families out of fuel poverty and slashing domestic emissions has been laid out. Broadly welcomed by energy and local government, nevertheless some warn it could be done cheaper.
Labour’s Warm Home Plan is a £15 billion overhaul of residential power supplies, which promises savings for households, suppliers and the environment.
All types of homes will be eligible, with low income areas prioritised through targeted interventions. Social housing will be upgraded, new protections for rental tenants are set to be introduced, and there will be universal support for home owners who want to upgrade. It is hoped these measures will help lift 1 million families out of fuel poverty.
Government-backed loans will be made available to install solar panels in what has been described as a ‘rooftop revolution’, with cash also offered for electricity storage batteries and heat pumps. Depending on household earnings, 100% of the costs could be covered through the new scheme.
‘This is the breakthrough the industry has been waiting for. Most households want to make greener energy choices, but the first hurdle is the upfront cost. That’s why the Warm Homes Plan is a welcome step towards making comfortable, renewable-powered homes more achievable,’ Good Energy CEO Nigel Pocklington tells us. ‘Done well, efficient and well-insulated homes powered by clean energy can cut bills and reduce emissions, while supporting a more flexible and resilient energy system. However, funding will need to be at scale.’
‘The Warm Homes Plan will accelerate progress towards net zero. It will make it cheaper to install and run low carbon heating, making heat pumps even more attractive, particularly when they are paired with solar PV and battery technologies. The ability to apply for a low or zero interest loan on-top of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant is particularly welcome,’ says Hamid Salimi, Head of Residential Products at climate control specialist, Daikin, going on to say fully funded upgrades for low‑income households were welcome, but flagged the price of electricity as an issue.
At a local authority level, mayors will be ‘in the driving seat’ in terms of underperforming contractors and issues with energy standards. According to the council network UK100, just 17 of 268 councils report being able to take enforcement action due to lack of resources – something which the new policy promises to tackle. Local Area Energy Plans and Regional Energy Strategic Plans have also been cited as powerful tools to coordinate the rollout of network infrastructure, which many regional powers have been asking for.
‘Energy efficiency is a crucial part of keeping our bills down and the lights on. New technologies and support for various forms of ownership could create the conditions that spur local economies — if centralised control is relaxed,’ explains Christopher Hammond, Chief Executive of UK100. ‘The investment case is strong, but it would be even stronger with equivalent commitment to the schools and hospitals where our children learn and our communities are cared for. We urge the Chancellor to address public building funding and enforcement capacity to ensure the Plan delivers.’
Among the shortfalls many have identified is a failure to replace the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which ended in June 2025 after £3.5 billion was spent on upgrades to schools, hospitals and council buildings. Currently, England’s schools shell out £500 million on energy each year, with 8.4 million children studying in cold, damp and draughty classrooms and no clear plan for this.
Many of the proposals focus on energy production, with Labour suggesting previous attempts to run insulation schemes have been fraught with problems – including shoddy and even dangerous work carried out by contractors. However, UK100 is urging ministers not to forget ‘the cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use’. Concerns have also been raised about the size of a new Green Heat Network Fund.
‘At £195m per year, the Green Heat Network Fund is simply not sufficient to deliver the large-scale, regional heat networks needed to take advantage of the vast freely available national heat sources we are currently wasting — including data centres, energy-from-waste plants, industrial processes and wastewater,’ says Adam Fabricius, Heat Networks expert at EnergiRaven. ‘To do this properly, the UK urgently needs government-backed, long-term, low-interest loans to build out regional heat network infrastructure. These are generational, no-regret assets.’
‘The community-owned Lothian Heat Network has estimated a total investment requirement of £1.23 billion to deliver a regional rollout, with projected socio-economic savings of £900 billion over its lifetime,’ he continues. ‘This is precisely the kind of infrastructure that should be supported at a national scale. We are also disappointed to see no government-backed loan support for heat network connections, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to individual heat pumps.’
Image: Dmytro Glazunov / Unsplash
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