The House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee published its first report of session 2024-25, Retrofitting homes for net zero, on Friday 9 May 20251. The committee calls on the Government to "launch a national warm homes advice service and introduce a carbon metric to certify the energy performance of homes"1. The report is a committee report with recommendations to government, and the Government has two months to respond1.
The committee found that at least 80% of buildings that will be occupied in 2050 have already been built, and that the UK housing stock accounts for around 13% of national greenhouse gas emissions1. Natural gas still accounts for around 85% of fuel used for domestic heating and cooking, and just 5% of homes use low carbon heating systems1. Around 29 million homes will need to be retrofitted by 20501. The committee also reported that two thirds of households live in draughty, damp or overheated homes, and that more than a third of households in England spent over 10% of their income after housing costs on home energy in 20231.
On cost, the committee cited Climate Change Committee estimates that around £250bn of investment will be needed to decarbonise the UK's homes between 2020 and 2050, equating to £8bn each year until then1. It cited Citizens Advice evidence that the average cost of retrofitting an individual home, such as installing a low carbon heating system and energy efficiency upgrades, is just under £15,0001. The same evidence put the benefits of upgrading all homes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C at around £40bn to the UK economy in the period to 2030, including almost £24bn of consumer bill savings, more than £9bn in societal savings, around £4bn in energy system savings and around £2bn in savings to the NHS, with up to £100bn in further benefits over the following decade1.
The report also addresses the certification regime. It notes that the new Government consulted on EPC reform in 2024, which it says will aim to provide households with more accurate information on how to reduce carbon emissions from their home and tackle fuel poverty, and that in 2023 the previous Government consulted on a new Home Energy Model to estimate the energy performance of homes1. On support schemes, the committee said most witnesses told it that government schemes to support home retrofit have lacked the long-term funding commitments needed to provide consumers, installers and the supply chain with confidence1. It notes that in April 2025, while the report was in the process of being agreed, the Government launched a consultation on proposals to expand the Boiler Upgrade Scheme1.
"We call on the Government to provide far longer-term certainty for its retrofit support schemes, launch a national warm homes advice service and introduce a carbon metric to certify the energy performance of homes."
Why it matters for households
The report sets out the scale of what stands between the current housing stock and the UK's legally binding target to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, and its commitment to a clean power system by 20301. For a household, the practical questions are what a home's energy performance actually is, what improvements would change it, and who can be trusted to carry them out. The committee's findings go to all three: it says consumers lack access to impartial advice and are poorly informed by Energy Performance Certificates, and it recommends a national workforce accreditation scheme as a prerequisite for carrying out any retrofit work1. The proposed carbon metric would sit alongside the existing EPC regulations and reform work already under way.
The cost figures frame the decision for any household considering work. A retrofit averaging just under £15,000 is a large sum against bill savings that, on the Citizens Advice figures, accrue mainly in aggregate across the housing stock rather than necessarily to the individual paying1. The committee also notes that electricity is around four times more expensive than gas in the UK, which it says deters many consumers from switching to low carbon heating systems, and it makes rebalancing policy costs and reducing the cost of electricity relative to gas its key recommendation1. That ratio, rather than the technology alone, shapes whether a heat pump lowers a given household's running costs. The report's recommendations now sit with DESNZ, the department responsible for home energy policy, and touch on the wider framework of carbon budgets and net zero targets overseen by the Climate Change Committee.
What happens next
The Government has two months from publication to respond to the report1. The committee also calls on the Government to take a prompt decision on hydrogen heating to provide certainty, and recommends increasing incentives for workers to upskill on low carbon retrofit, including via the Growth and Skills Levy mechanisms1. The report was published ahead of the Government's promised Warm Homes Plan1.
Sources1 cited
- Retrofitting homes for net zero, publications.parliament.uk