Redrow announced in January 2023 that all upcoming Redrow developments would feature air source heat pumps, two years ahead of the Future Homes Standard deadline1. The company's chief executive, Matthew Pratt, described the decision in an interview published by the Future Homes Hub on 2 October 2023, the same day his appointment as co-chair of the Future Homes Standard Implementation Board was announced1.
Pratt said the change was intended to future-proof homes for customers rather than take incremental steps in the build-up to 2025, and that the reception to the announcement had been positive1. He has led Redrow since 2020 and said transitioning to new, low carbon forms of energy had been a long-standing interest, with the climate crisis treated as one of the company's highest business priorities1.
"This culminated in our announcement in January 2023 that all upcoming Redrow developments would feature air source heat pumps, two years ahead of the Future Homes Standard deadline."
The company cited consumer research it commissioned, an Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults carried out in December 2022, which found that 74 per cent of UK adults said living in an energy efficient home was more important to them than a year earlier, and 83 per cent said they would be willing to pay more for an energy efficient home1. Redrow also stated that new homes are already extremely energy efficient in terms of the fabric of the home compared with those on the second-hand market1.
The Future Homes Standard applies in England and was described by the Future Homes Hub as a significant and early milestone in England's pathway to net zero, with substantial implications for how new homes are built1. The Hub said it was setting up the Future Homes Standard Implementation Board to bring industry, government and other stakeholders together over the next three years on delivery of the standard at scale, supported by expert working groups1. The board's role is to anticipate, identify and monitor the key issues and actions needed for successful delivery of the 2025 standard1. Pratt took up the co-chair role alongside Catherine Adams1.
Why it matters for households
For a household buying a new home, the heating system is fixed at the point of purchase, so a developer's decision on what to install determines how the home is heated for years. An air source heat pump runs on electricity rather than gas, which changes a home's exposure to gas prices and its running costs, and it typically works with a well-insulated building fabric rather than against it. Buyers of new homes on Redrow developments covered by the announcement would not be choosing between a gas boiler and a heat pump; the heat pump is the installed system.
The wider significance lies in timing. The Future Homes Standard sets the direction for new-build heating in England, and a volume housebuilder moving two years ahead of that deadline means the equipment, supply chains and installer skills involved reach the market earlier than the regulation alone would require. Households in older properties are not directly affected by the announcement, which concerns new developments only. What the announcement does not cover, and what has not been reported, is the specification of the heat pumps to be installed, their running costs in these homes, or how the change affects the price of the homes.
What happens next
The Future Homes Standard Implementation Board was being set up to work over the next three years on delivery of the standard, with the standard itself described as expected in the month the interview was published, October 20231. Pratt said he looked forward to engaging with Future Homes Hub members over the coming months in his new co-chair role1.