On the 21st of January 2026, the UK Government launched the Warm Homes Plan. This strategic green initiative is the country's commitment to improving the standard of living for millions of families by 2030, while supporting our goals for net-zero.*
It aims to achieve this by:
Upgrading 5 million homes.
Lifting one million families out of fuel poverty.
Implementing new protections for families who live in rented accommodation
Reducing the country's reliance on natural gas
Tripling the number of UK homes with rooftop solar panels.
And it aims to do this through the following initiatives:
Increasing funding and grants for green technologies.
Streamlining planning regulations
Encouraging innovation within Britain's clean energy market to help lower the cost of green technologies.
Introducing manufacturer incentives through mechanisms like the Clean Heat Market Mechanism.
The Warm Home Plan aims to help everyone, including low-income families and renters, throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It could potentially offer different levels of support for each group of people, and focuses greatly on households with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D, E, F, or G.**
Lower-income households who earn under than £36,000 could receive free home upgrades, such as a fully funded solar and home battery storage system worth up to £12,000. While social housing residents could see entire street upgrades.
Landlords will be tasked with ensuring their rented accommodation achieves new minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030, making all properties safe, warm and affordable.
The government will make zero- and low-interest loans for green initiatives available to everyone, regardless of income. It also plans to expand its heat pump offering to include air-to-air models.
Overall, £15 billion of public money has been made available for the Warm Homes Plan budget. This has been split into the following categories:
£5 billion will be used for heat pumps, insulation, solar, and battery storage installations for low income households;
£2 billion will be used as low-cost, zero-interest loans
£2.7 billion to expand the boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) throughout 2029/30
£1.1 billion for heat networks
£2.7 billion for innovative financing solutions
Please note, these figures were sourced from solarpowerportal.co.uk
The Warm Homes Scheme serves as a central framework for several new and existing energy-efficiency schemes. To better deliver on its goals, the government will establish the Warm Homes Agency (WHA), a new single body that will oversee all energy upgrade schemes across the UK by April 2027. This will include, but may not be limited to:
Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) & ECO4: The Warm Homes Plan will support these existing supplier-led schemes until they end in 2026, and then replace them.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS): This will merge with the Warm Homes Plan and will continue to provide heat pump grants of up to £7,500 as well as air-to-air heat pump grants of up to £2,500.
Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG): This forms part of the £5 billion package of energy-efficient upgrades for low-income, fuel-poor households and social renters.
Warm Homes Fund (WHF): This forms part of the new £5 billion fund that will provide low- or zero-interest loans for homeowners.
Warm Home Discount Scheme: The Warm Homes Plan will continue to provide £150 rebates on electricity bills for low-income households.
National Wealth Fund: Forming part of the government's overall strategy, the Warm Homes Plan will provide investment for low-carbon housing and infrastructure.
Future Homes Standard: Part of the government's overall strategy, this new standard will ensure newly built homes are highly energy-efficient and feature low-carbon heating and solar panels.
Today’s Warm Homes Plan offers a full range of energy efficiency products, enabling homes to benefit from a tailored solution. This will include:
£2 billion has been made available as low-interest loans for households looking to install solar PV (photovoltaic) and thermal panels, as well as home storage batteries that can store unused electricity for later use.
By merging the Boiler Upgrade Scheme with the Warm Homes Plan, families can continue to benefit from grants toward the cost of installing ground-source, air-source, and air-to-air heat pumps.
To help homes reach a minimum EPC rating of C, the Warm Homes Plan can provide loft, floor, cavity wall, and external wall insulation, as well as high-quality draught proofing.
By integrating smart controls, such as thermostats and timers, with cutting-edge heat pumps, solar panels, and battery storage, homeowners can optimise energy use and reduce bills.
With home battery storage systems, homeowners can recharge them using a low-cost off-peak tariff and utilise the energy during peak times. They can also be paired with solar panels to store unused solar energy.
Here's how to get started.
To be eligible for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, you must:
If you do, you can apply online through the GOV.UK website or directly through your local authority.
Alternatively, homeowners can apply for a low- or zero-interest loan through the Warm Homes Fund, via your bank. However, these details are yet to be finalised.
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Correct as of February, 2026.
**Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/families-to-save-in-biggest-home-upgrade-plan-in-british-history