New-build homes will have solar panels as part of a “rooftop revolution” when an updated Future Homes Standard is published in the autumn.
In an update today, the government said this would lead to the installation of solar panels on the “vast majority” of new-build homes.
The Future Homes Standard will amend building regulations to “explicitly promote solar for the first time, subject to practical limits, with flexibility in place for new homes surrounded by trees or with lots of shade overhead”.
The previous government had proposed in 2023 that new builds should have solar panel coverage equal to 40% of buildings’ floor area or none at all, which the government said had “allowed too many exemption[s] and no solar being installed”.
The government said it was planning to “bring forward rigorous proposals, that if developers cannot meet 40% coverage, they would still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage”.
Consequently, it will be a “functional requirement” in building regulations that new homes – with “rare exemptions” – are built with “renewable electricity generation”, which in most cases will be solar panels.
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The government added that a typical existing UK home could save around £530 per year from installing a solar panel, based on the current energy price cap.
Consequently, solar panels would “significantly cut” energy bills for new builds, which would tackle the cost of living for “aspirational young families and new house buyers”.
Proposed changes in the Future Homes Standard mean that new builds will also have low-carbon heating, like heat pumps, and higher energy efficiency, which will lower energy bills.
‘Common sense’ for solar panels to be fitted ‘as standard’
Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary said: “Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard.
“So many people just don’t understand why this doesn’t already happen. With our plans, it will.
“Today marks a monumental step in unleashing this rooftop revolution as part of our Plan for Change, and means new homeowners will get lower bills with clean home-grown power.”
Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: “As part of the government’s Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes, we are maximising the use of renewable energy to cut people’s bills and power their homes.
“The Future Homes Standard will ensure new homes are modern and efficient with low-carbon heating, while our common-sense planning changes will now make it easier and cheaper for people to use heat pumps and switch to electric vehicles (EVs) so they can play their part in bolstering our nation’s energy security.”
Legislation that came into effect last week means more homeowners can install a heat pump within one metre of their property’s boundary without having to submit a planning application.
The government said this would unlock more savings and reduce unnecessary paperwork.
In Q1 2025, applications under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which offers up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump – rose by 73% year-on-year and reached a record high.