Everything you need to know about the Warm Homes Plan

• The Warm Homes Plan is the biggest home energy initiative in UK history, worth about £15bn
• The new plan involves cheap and low-interest loans for solar panels and protects the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
• The plan targets up to 300,000 home upgrades by 2026 by expanding funding, streamlining planning rules, and supporting vulnerable households

The UK Government’s new Warm Homes Plan is a £15bn initiative to improve energy efficiency, reduce heating costs, and promote cleaner energy in homes through solar panels batteries, and insulation.

Refreshed and relaunched in January 2026, it includes measures such as grants for solar panels, grants for heat pumps, insulation upgrades, and support for low-income households and renters.

The Warm Homes Plan includes several key features for UK residents, including offering a series of £7,500 grants for residents in England and Wales to help install heat pumps under the existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

The scheme will roll out upgrades to 5 million homes, a move taken to save hundreds of pounds off the average energy bill and lift a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030.

Read our dedicated guide on the best heat pump installers to get started.

The plan also includes other proposals beyond funding for home energy efficiency upgrades, including eliminating the need for planning approval for homes to install heat pumps.

The Government claims this will help save families around £100 annually on heating bills compared to like-for-like gas boiler heating.

What does the Warm Homes Plan include?

The Warm Homes Plan has three pillars.

Direct support for low-income families

• Low-income households will receive free of charge packages of clean energy upgrades, depending on what technology is most suitable for their home.
• Families could receive fully-funded installations of solar panels and a battery to the full average cost, somewhere between £9,000 to £12,000).
• Social housing residents could see upgrades to entire streets at a time, according to the government.

An offer for everyone:

• Everyone will be entitled to government-backed, zero and low interest loans programme to help homeowners install solar panels. The new low-interest loans for solar panels will be available to everyone regardless of income.
• The government says this will triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030.
• It will be easier for anyone who wants to get a heat pump as the government is maintaining the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and extending it to air-to-air heat pumps that can cool homes in the summer.

New protections for renters

• Make landlords more responsible to ensure rented accommodation is safe, warm and affordable.
• This will help bring an estimated half a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030.

What energy upgrades are included in the Warm Homes Plan?

Solar panels and heat pumps are the two biggest upgrades included in the Warm Homes Plan, although it does include some forms of insulation. Some low-income homeowners will be able to get both solar panels and a battery worth between £9,000 and £12,000.

Specifically, the Warm Homes Plan includes these energy upgrades:

• Solar panels and battery storage

Low-interest loans will help people buy and install solar panels to generate their own energy. The government has committed £2 billion to pay for these loans.

• Heat pumps

The Warm Homes Plan integrates with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides £7,500 grants toward the cost of installing air-source heat pumps or ground-source heat pumps.

• Insulation

The Warm Homes Plan covers big insulation improvements, including loft, cavity wall, and external wall insulation. The aim is to bring properties up to an EPC rating of C.

What has been the reaction to the Warm Homes Plan?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Warm Homes Plan “marks a turning point” an claimed it will “slash energy costs” and “lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty”.

“By driving bills down for good and upgrading millions homes, we’re giving people the security and the fair shot they need to get on with life,” he said.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the government was beginning “a national project to turn the tide” and that it was “waging war on fuel poverty”.

Greg Jackson said electrifying homes is “the best way to cut bills for good” and escape the “yoyo of fossil fuel costs”.

“Solar panels can slash energy costs – and paired with a battery we get the electricity when we need it,” he said.

“With the right finance, simpler rules and a big push from manufacturers, heat pumps will increasingly be the best solution for many homes – as they are in other countries like Sweden, Norway and Finland. 

“We still need to focus on getting electricity costs lower for everyone, building on the changes in the budget, but this plan sends a clear signal that the future of home heating is electric.” 

Removing barriers to heat pump adoption

The government has already removed the one-metre rule when installing heat pumps from early next year. This rule previously stipulated that heat pumps had to be sited at least one metre away from a property boundary to help mitigate noise concerns about heat pumps when in operation.

This move will also amend existing planning rules on the heat pump size allowed for a home from 0.6m3 to 1.5m3.

It will also allow UK residents to freely install multiple heat pumps in detached homes and install heat pumps that provide cooling rather than heating. While the new plan reduces some planning permissions restrictions, it will still require all installations to comply with relevant Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Planning Standards.

The plan also includes measures to help provide financial support for vulnerable groups to install energy efficiency measures in social housing and other low-income households.

It also aims to reduce fuel poverty, cut energy bills, and advance the UK’s clean energy goals. It will also help promote green energy in the UK by giving financial backing to UK heat pump manufacturers to improve their standards and make them more competitive.

Hopefully, this will turn the UK, as the government puts it, into a “clean energy superpower” using renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels to become energy independent.

If you’re interested in financial help, including double-glazing grants for over-60s, have a look at our guide.

How does the Warm Homes Plan scheme work?

The Warm Homes Plan is not a single new funding scheme but a broader, strategic initiative to enhance and expand existing programs like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and to promote the adoption of green technologies in the UK.

It focuses on increasing funding for established measures, such as heat pump grants and energy efficiency upgrades, while implementing reforms and investments to remove barriers, encourage innovation, and build a sustainable green energy market.

Key elements include boosting the BUS budget, streamlining planning regulations (e.g., removing the one-metre rule for heat pumps), and introducing incentives for manufacturers through mechanisms like the Clean Heat Market Mechanism.

This proposed system would encourage competition and help reduce the prices of clean heat technologies.

The Warm Homes Plan also prioritises support for vulnerable households, such as renters and low-income families, and invests in developing British green technology industries.

Overall, it’s a coordinated effort to accelerate the UK’s transition to cleaner, more energy-efficient homes and to support its net-zero goals.

What does the Warm Homes Plan cover?

The Warm Homes Plan is not a separate funding scheme, but a mechanism to boost that already exist.

This plan will primarily impact people in England and Wales if they apply for funding through the BUS.

The Warm Homes Plan will cover the lion’s share of installing a new heat pump to replace an existing gas or oil boiler in your home. This comprises a grant of up to £7,500 towards the transition to a heat pump.

The existing BUS is a ‘first-come, first-serve’ scheme that will run until its budget is exhausted. This scheme only covers the cost of installing heat pumps and cannot be used for hybrid systems that combine gas boilers with heat pumps.

The BUS originally envisaged 60,000 homes benefiting from the initiative. Still, the Warm Homes Plan should significantly increase that, given that it has pledged an additional £30m for 2024 and doubled the budget to £295m for 2025.

The UK Government hopes this will enable around 300,000 homes to benefit from installing a heat pump.

Who is eligible for the Warm Homes Plan?

Low-income homeowners and social housing tenants in properties with EPC rating of D, E, F, or G are the main groups eligible for the Warm Homes Plan. This is because the scheme is aimed at cutting fuel poverty.

However, every single household in the UK will be eligible for the low-interest loans for solar panels. The loan scheme will likely follow the framework of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which prioritises homes where upgrades will have the biggest impact.

Specific eligibility for the BUS is as follows:

To be eligible for the BUS grant, you must meet the following requirements: 

• You must own the property you’re applying for, including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants
• You must be replacing a fossil fuel heating system, such as oil, gas or LPG 
• You must have a valid EPC certificate

An EPC is not required for custom-built homes, as they must comply with current eco-friendly building regulations. However, you must be the person who built the house, and a business must not have previously owned it.

If you meet these criteria, an accredited installer can apply on your behalf to receive a discount on an air or ground source heat pump.

How do I apply for the Warm Homes Plan?

From May 23, 2022, until the scheme ends in 2028, installers can apply for vouchers to cover heat pump or biomass boiler installations on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once a voucher is issued, the installer has 120 days to complete the installation of an air-source heat pump or biomass boiler or six months for a ground-source heat pump. After the installation, the installer can redeem the voucher to lower the homeowner’s overall cost.

Summary

• The Warm Homes Plan is a comprehensive initiative to enhance home energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty across England and Wales
• It provides grants of up to £7,500 for heat pumps, helping homeowners transition away from oil, gas or LPG boilers
• Planning reforms, such as removing the one-meter rule, aim to make heat pump installations faster and easier
• Vulnerable groups, including renters and social housing residents, are prioritized with targeted financial support
• With increased funding and a focus on green technology, the plan supports the UK’s net-zero ambitions and boosts the domestic heat pump industry.

Written By

Christopher McFadden Contributor

Christopher is an Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) specialist with extensive experience advising consumer and trade clients on energy efficiency and sustainability.

With a Master’s in Earth Sciences from Cardiff University, Christopher has attained professional energy and sustainability auditing qualifications and various postgraduate certificates and diplomas. He is a qualified and accredited Level 3 and Level 4 non-domestic and domestic energy assessor, a Green Deal assessor, and a Practitioner member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). He also recently qualified as a level 5 Retrofit coordinator.

In addition to his day job, Christopher has also honed his skills as a STEM writer for several well-known online publishers, sharing his knowledge and passion for science, engineering, and dinosaurs with millions of readers around the world.

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Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

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