Future Homes Standard Details Finally Published

Government is today laying the regulations for the Future Homes Standard and publishing its details.

It will introduce a functional requirement to the Building Regulations that by 2028 most new homes are to be built with rooftop solar panels.

The Future Homes Standard will also see homes built with low carbon heating such as heat pumps and heat networks.

It’s estimated the move will save up to £830 a year on a family’s energy bills, compared to a standard home with an EPC rating of C. The rules aim to create at least 75% less carbon emissions than those built to the 2013 standards. A wider impact assessment has been published today.

Installer Competence

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) says it strongly supports the expansion of rooftop solar and is eager to see it done correctly and efficiently. However, significant gaps in installer competence standards, cross-trade responsibility delineation, and fire safety testing remain unresolved, and today’s announcement accelerates deployment before those gaps have been sufficiently resolved.

Ben Rowlands, NFRC Head of Solar PV, said: “The direction of travel is right, and we want solar to succeed. But rooftop solar is a roofing system decision as much as an electrical one, and the current accreditation framework does not reflect that. Industry is still working through where responsibilities between trades begin and end, and consumers are bearing the risk in the meantime.

“The more solar we put into the built environment, the more important it becomes to get the basics right. Solar-related fires are already rising at roughly twice the rate of installations. We cannot keep scaling deployment and hope the safety framework catches up. This not only risks homeowner safety, but also the future of the industry.”

NFRC calls on the Government to ensure roofing expertise is represented in the workforce that will deliver the Future Homes Standard and Warm Homes Plan, and to treat rooftop solar as part of the building envelope, not a bolt-on electrical product distinct from the built environment.

NFRC CEO, James Talman, added: “Rooftop solar is a roofing decision as much as an electrical one. You cannot responsibly put a solar system on a building without properly understanding the roof it’s sitting on. Until that is reflected in the accreditation framework, consumers are being left exposed.

“If the Government wants a green skills workforce that can deliver on their ambitions, the most logical place to start is with roofers, our members. They already understand roof systems. As confirmed today, solar will account for 40% of new-build foundation area. Supporting roofers to upskill into solar is not just good for the industry, it is the safest and most scalable route to getting this done properly.”

Future Homes Standard

The Future Homes Standard turns the page on over a decade of failure by previous governments. More than a million homes were built old energy infrastructure following the cancellation of the Zero Carbon Homes standard in 2015.

Since the conflict in the Middle East began, interest in solar has shot up by 50%, heat pump and electric cars are also seeing surges.

Chris Hewett, Chief Executive, Solar Energy UK, said: “Expanding solar energy and battery storage is a rapid and inexpensive solution to the looming energy crisis – for cutting bills, for the economy and for our nation’s energy security. From the largest installations to the smallest domestic systems, every battery and panel counts towards weaning us off reliance on imported and polluting fossil fuels. That’s why ensuring that new homes and other buildings are built with solar and boosting retrofits is so vital, and so welcome.”

Neil Hargreaves, Managing Director of Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, added: “Housebuilders will be pleased today. A standard to deliver more efficient and comfortable homes for their customers, but without requiring wholesale reinvention. In most cases, fabric compliance will be readily achievable using non-combustible insulation in 150mm wall cavities and more efficient lofts.

“That should buy space to address an inherent mid-term risk. With fine-tuned heat pumps replacing brute force gas boilers, any fabric performance gap will be much more keenly felt by homeowners (and seen on their electricity bills). Couple that with EPC Reform soon giving them the right to have their new home assessed, and the SMETER programme giving them the means to do so, and ‘as-built’ performance quickly becomes an acute concern.

“For all housebuilders, the right Future Homes adoption strategy will include design and process choices that mitigate this risk to prevent future headaches.”

Home Energy Model

Government is also confirming the technical details of the Home Energy Model (HEM), one of the approved calculation methodologies to replace SAP and demonstrate compliance with the Future Homes Standard, by publishing the HEM:FHS consultation’s Government Response.

Plug In Solar

Other measures being explored in response to rising fuel and energy costs is the rollout of “plug-in” solar panels – low-cost panels that can be put on balconies or an outdoor space. The panels can be used directly through a mains socket without an installation cost, reducing the amount of electricity taken from the grid and cutting energy bills.

Retailers like Lidl and Amazon, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, are working with Government to enable them to be brought to the UK market.

Officials will work with the Energy Networks Association, DNOs and Ofgem to update the G98 distribution code and wiring regulations BS 7671 to allow UK households to connect <800W plug-in solar panels to domestic mains sockets, without the need for an electrician and with tailored safety standards.

Plug-in solar is already widely used by households across Europe, with Germany seeing around half a million new devices plugged in per year.

Ending Constraint Payments

Government is also enabling energy companies to offer discounted energy bills to customers on windy days, rather than continuing the previous default practice of paying those companies to turn off wind turbines at times of excess generation.

Currently, wind farms are paid so-called ‘constraint payments’ to switch off on windy days, because the system can’t use all the power being generated, due to historic underinvestment in the grid required to match this supply with demand across the country.

Call for Evidence – Warm Homes Plan

The government has also launched a call for evidence on the next steps for the £5 billion Warm Homes Fund, as part of the roll out of the £15 billion Warm Homes Plan.

The fund includes £1.7 billion already allocated to consumer loans for clean energy technology, supported by £300 million capital investment. As set out in the Warm Homes Plan, the remaining £3.3 billion will be available as innovative finance for investments and loans in the building upgrade and retrofit sector, including £600m to be allocated to support low-income homes.

The government is engaging with the industry on the options for this investment and further details will be published later this year.

Garry Felgate, CEO of The MCS Foundation, said: “What matters now is implementation, and ensuring households have confidence in the technologies their new home will come with. So, it’s vital that housebuilders consider quality and consumer protection, by ensuring every installation is delivered by an MCS certified installer, to MCS standards.”

>> Read more about solar in the news