Developers will be required to install solar panels and heat pumps in all new homes in England.

As part of the long-running saga of the Future Homes Standard guidance has now been published that will introduce a functional requirement to the Building Regulations so that from 2028, new homes will need to be built without gas supply, instead relying on heat networks or heat pumps.

Furthermore, all new dwelling must have solar panels installed covering an area equivalent to 40 per cent of the ground floor space, if feasible.

DESNZ has also said that it will make 'plug-in' solar panels available in shops as quickly as possible, and it will attempt to harness discounted power on windy days in areas where wind farms are paid to switch off to avoid “wasted wind”, and tackle “constraint payments”, in a new trial.

'Plug-in' solar panels are due to be sold in supermarkets such as Lidl and Amazon, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, that are being engaged to enable them to be brought to the UK market. Widely used by households across Europe, with Germany seeing around half a million new devices plugged in per year, such panels can be used directly through a mains socket, without an installation cost, thereby reducing the amount of electricity taken from the grid.

Garry Felgate, CEO of The MCS Foundation, said: “The confirmation that the majority of all new homes in England will have solar panels and low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps is very good news, for energy security, for the UK’s progress toward a carbon-free future, and for the countless households that will benefit as a result. What matters now is implementation, and ensuring households have confidence in the technologies their new home will come with.”

DESNZ has also confirmed the technical details of the Home Energy Model (HEM), the Government’s new quality‑assured methodology that will be one of the approved calculation methodologies to demonstrate compliance with the Future Homes Standard.

---