Solar Energy UK, the trade association, published The Value of New Build Solar on 1 December 2022, a report modelling the financial and carbon performance of solar technologies in new homes and setting out policy recommendations for England, Scotland and Wales1. The association says installing solar energy technologies on typical newbuild homes saves occupiers around a thousand pounds a year1. Its own resource page puts the figure for a typical new build home at between £974 and £1,1512.
The report models four case studies: a Midlands mid-terrace property, a detached home in southern England, a semi-detached house in northeast Scotland and a housing association end-of-terrace home in London1. For a mid-terrace compliant with the Future Homes Standard 2025, fitted with PV and battery storage, the report estimates lifetime savings of around £40,000 compared with an identical dwelling with no energy efficiency enhancements or low carbon technologies, with the precise figure depending on the heating system used1. Carbon emissions reductions in that case range from 65 to 85 per cent beyond the baseline1.
For a detached home in southern England compliant with the forthcoming standard and fitted with solar thermal, solar PV and battery systems, the report describes running costs of between £2,000 and £3,000 a year, equating to lifetime savings of £202,000 to £242,0001. The Scottish case study was deliberately chosen to be sub-optimal, with panels facing east-west rather than south and smaller-scale systems; even so, the semi-detached home would save £3,000 to £4,000 a year depending on the heat source1. For the socially rented London home, savings would be split with the housing association, which would benefit from excess power exported to the grid; the estimated first-year saving is £496 to £7721.
The report's policy asks are specific to each nation. For England, it says the Future Homes Standard 2025 must mandate solar, with systems specified to provide maximum savings in running costs and carbon1. For Scotland, it says solar PV should be added to the heat pump specification in the Building Regulations1. For Wales, it says solar must be compulsory under Parts L and F and the Building Regulations, with compliance adequately enforced1. It also recommends green mortgage products that reward investment in solar and other low-carbon technologies, and ensuring builders are trained in solar installation1.
"Making clean onsite solar power and heat generation mandatory, as called for in Solar Energy UK's The Value of New Build Solar report"
The MCS Charitable Foundation provided the principal funding for the report, with additional funding from Forster Group, Viridian Solar, City Plumbing and Q Cells1. It was published alongside The Value of Solar Heat: The Role of Solar Heat Technologies in Meeting Scottish Net Zero Target, part of a suite of earlier reports including The Value of Solar Heat, Smart Solar Homes and The Value of Solar Property1. The association's resource page states that 80 per cent of the buildings standing in 2050 are already built, so the remaining 20 per cent will need to be built with energy efficiency measures baked in2.
Why it matters for households
For a household buying a new home, the report's figures describe the running-cost gap between a dwelling built to current practice and one with solar generation, storage and low-carbon heating designed in from the start. The savings quoted are modelled outcomes for specific case studies, not guarantees, and they depend on the heating system, the orientation of the panels and the size of the systems installed1. The Scottish case study is the clearest illustration: even with east-west orientation and smaller systems, the modelled saving remains in the thousands per year1.
The report frames solar as a route to lower exposure to grid prices and to the infrastructure costs that would otherwise be recovered through energy bills1. Its companion heat report argues that solar is a hedge against the rising cost of living and promotes energy security3. For homes in Scotland, the New Build Heat Standard and the Repairing Standard for Rented Homes in Scotland set separate requirements that interact with any solar specification. Buyers in England are affected by the Future Homes Standard, including the choice between Option 1 and Option 2, and by how much lower carbon emissions will be in new homes under it carbon reduction. What buyers currently get in a new home is set out in New Build Homes and Energy. Devolved powers over these matters are explained for Scotland and Wales.
What happens next
The report's recommendations are addressed to government and industry rather than to households. It calls for solar to be mandated in England through the Future Homes Standard 2025, in Scotland through the Building Regulations heat pump specification, and in Wales through Parts L and F and the Building Regulations1. No dates for government decisions on those recommendations are given in the published material.
Sources3 cited
- Cut bills for millions by making solar energy standard on new homes, says industry • Solar Energy UK, solarenergyuk.org
- The Value of New Build Solar • Solar Energy UK, solarenergyuk.org
- The Value of Solar Heat • Solar Energy UK, solarenergyuk.org