UK Governments Warm Homes Plan – Our Thoughts

This week, the Government announced its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan, and it did not disappoint.  A long-term commitment of £15 billion of public investment, to upgrade 5 million homes and lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030

We share some of the key highlights and our thoughts on the plan.

Here are the key things we think you need to know about the plan:

  • Solutions for all tenures, including grants for low-income families and interest-free loans for homeowners, along with funding for heat pumps
  • Funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, however, distribution will be decided by the devolved administrations
  • An emphasis on improving homes using light fabric improvements with Solar PV, Batteries and Heat Pumps
  • New Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for private rented properties to be met by 2030, ensuring all homes reach a minimum of EPC C, along with an EPC reform and new HEM tool
  • A new Warm Homes Agency, which will ensure consumers will have access to impartial advice and quality installations
  • The Future Homes Standard to include solar panels on new build homes as standard, and will be implemented in Q1 2026
  • A focus on Heat Networks, Passive Cooling (to avoid overheating) and Smart Homes
  • An emphasis on Local Authorities, Registered Landlords, and the DNO working closer together to deliver area-based retrofit, along with a more accessible and quicker integration with the electricity grid
  • A recognition for alternative funding models, including Energy-as-a-Service

The plan does cover a lot, it’s extensive, so we recommend a good read through, and you can do so by clicking here.

Our thoughts on the plan…

At Sero, we’ve spent many years working alongside social landlords to deliver programmes including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund, and the Welsh Government’s Nest Warm Homes Programme with British Gas. Through this work, we’ve seen how a whole-home approach, delivered well, can make a real difference for households experiencing fuel poverty.

We therefore warmly welcome the Government’s new Warm Homes Plan. It provides a significant piece of the jigsaw, offering longer-term certainty that will be essential for scaling up retrofit across the UK. The Plan recognises the need for a pragmatic blend of measures, combining low-cost insulation with technologies such as solar PV, battery storage and heat pumps, while still assessing each home holistically. This balance closely reflects the approach we’ve championed and delivered for more than five years, so it’s encouraging to see it reflected in national policy.

We’re particularly pleased to see a stronger focus on residents themselves. Ensuring households can benefit from improved comfort, lower bills and better energy security is ultimately what matters most.

While grant funding is welcome, the acknowledgement that grants alone are not enough is even more important. The inclusion of Energy‑as‑a‑Service, alongside blended finance routes, is a positive and much-needed step for enabling large-scale, long-term retrofit that works for landlords and residents alike.

We also strongly welcome the intent to improve the way homes integrate with the electricity grid, from installation through to enabling consumer flexibility. Many providers continue to face challenges with DNO engagement, so a smoother, more collaborative approach will be key to unlocking area-based retrofit at scale.

The creation of a Warm Homes Agency is another noteworthy step. We welcome its introduction but look forward to seeing further detail on how it will support delivery, coordination and best practice across the sector.

Finally, we are encouraged to see the proposed replacement for ECO adopt more of a whole-home lens. In Wales, the Nest Warm Homes Programme is already showing the benefits of this approach, and we’re proud to be part of that work.

There is, of course, substantial work ahead for government, industry, landlords, financiers, regulators, DNOs and the supply chain. But this is an important moment. By aligning around best practice and long-term thinking, we can not only meet the targets set out in the Plan, but help deliver what truly matters: lifting one million homes out of fuel poverty and strengthening energy security for people across the country.

We look forward to continuing to share our experience and learning through our work with social landlords, our partnerships across Wales and the UK, and our ongoing Energy‑as‑a‑Service projects with landlords and investors.