After the solar sector denounced a rumoured weakening of the Future Homes Standard, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has called the claims inaccurate.
Yesterday (23 October), following a report published by media outlet the Guardian, David Cowdrey, acting chief executive of the MCS Foundation, a charity that certifies solar installations, said: “The government’s apparent failure to require solar panels on all new builds is extremely disappointing, and represents an enormous missed opportunity.
“Allowing loopholes with vague ‘encouragements’ to developers simply is not enough to meet the demands of net zero and make the most of the opportunity to get solar on roofs.
“Just last week, more than 50 MPs, peers and charities signed an open letter calling on the government to make solar panels mandatory on all new builds. Polling shows exceptionally high levels of support for mandatory solar PV.”
When Current± asked the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government if the Future Homes Standard is likely to be watered down to ‘encourage’, not require, new build properties to have solar panels installed, a spokesperson responded: “These claims are inaccurate—we are not weakening the rules on low-carbon standards. We want solar panels on as many new homes as possible.”
Will the Future Homes Standard mandate solar panels?
The ministry spokesperson continued, however, that although solar panels are a “vital technology” in achieving net zero, they “may not be the best option for all new homes, like those surrounded by trees or with lots of shade overhead”.
“It’s also crucial we set standards for new homes in a way that allows for future innovation and flexibility in technology and design, which is why the building regulations do not mandate one particular option.”
All of this is to suggest that while new build properties will still be subject to mandates requiring they are low carbon, it will not necessarily have to be achieved using solar panels.
In December 2023, the UK government published its Future Homes Standard, stating that all newly built properties in the UK would be ‘net zero ready’ by 2025. This mandated the installation of heat pumps, or access to a heat network, and while some element of solar PV was expected to be a part of the ‘default package’, the technology was not included as a compulsory component.
It is worth noting that no plans have been announced to weaken the Future Homes Standard in its current form. What the industry is criticising, and what the ministry did not acknowledge, is the absence of an obligation for new builds to include solar systems.
After the Labour government came into power, promising to unleash a solar “rooftop revolution”, the industry appeared hopeful that the Future Homes Standard might be updated to meet calls for the mandate. The definitively pro-solar stance appeared likely to up installation rates and it was suggested that ministers were looking to bring in solar-related standards for new-build properties from as soon as next year.
As mentioned by Cowdrey, a letter addressed to housing minister Matthew Pennycook asked for a mandate that all newly built homes in the UK be fitted with a “meaningful array” of solar panels. There is widespread support for the scheme which promises, according to MCS figures, to save households an average of £1,342 a year on energy bills.
CEO and co-founder of residential solar firm GRYD, Mohamed Gaafar, said: “The new government’s green growth agenda cannot be realised without an unapologetic commitment to the Future Homes Standard. This will give the property sector the clarity and stability it needs, and deliver a clear message that the future of Britain’s housing will be driven by innovation and no longer plagued by inertia.”
Gaafar acknowledged that the Future Homes Standard will bring challenges for housing developers—pushback from whom is likely a factor in the decision-making—but that “new regulatory measures do for any sector”.
He also pointed out that until now, the government has heavily focused on the decarbonisation of homes through subsidies for retrofits. However, retrofitting is more expensive and often more complex than building to include solar arrays; the importance of rooftop solar is widely known, and the preference of local community groups protesting large-scale solar PV developments.
As Cowdrey said when the open letter was published, “we should not be building homes next year and the year after that will have to be retrofitted in ten years’ time”.
