The government has released plans for its Future Homes Standard which will be published in Autumn, which includes making new homes more energy efficient and boosting the country’s ability to produce homegrown power. These proposed changes are designed to help homeowners to cut their bills and start a rooftop revolution.
The changes are being made as part of the Plan of Change to aid the UK in reducing carbon emissions and it makes solar panels default for all new build homes. This will mean that the new homeowners will not only benefit from energy efficient homes but will be generating their own electricity which can save them hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.
The confidence in solar panels and their use on domestic properties is so great that the government is making this change to support the growth of solar panels in the UK and expand renewable energy applications. This growth is also occurring in the market as the popularity of solar panels has increased over the last few years as energy prices have risen. The solar panel industry hasn’t seen such high levels of solar panel installs since the Feed-in Tariff was reduced in early 2016.
Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband said: “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.”
Trevor Hutchings, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association (REA) said: “Today’s announcement – which the REA has long campaigned for – takes this one step further – not only enabling thousands of future homeowners to experience the benefits of affordable and clean power, but supercharging growth in the British renewable energy industry and driving forward our energy transition.”
The proposed changes also include homes having high levels of energy efficiency and low carbon heating such as heat pumps.
These changes will drive forward more renewable energy and energy efficient homes that will be less reliant on the grid for their energy and the volatile pricing as a result of this. At SolarTherm UK, we welcome initiatives like this in growing the UK’s solar panel community and encouraging as many eligible homes as possible to investigate if solar panels are right for them too.
If you aren’t planning on moving to a new build with solar panels but are interested in finding out how much you could save on your energy bills, you can use our online calculator or contact one of our friendly team to find out more.
