The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed on 6 June 2025 that solar panels will be included in the Future Homes Standard, which ministers are publishing in autumn 20251. The government said this will lead to installation on the vast majority of new build homes, with building regulations amended to explicitly promote solar for the first time, subject to practical limits and flexibility for homes surrounded by trees or with lots of shade overhead1.
Under the proposal, it would be a functional requirement of the Building Regulations that new homes, with rare exceptions, are built with renewable electricity generation, which in the vast majority of cases is expected to be solar panels1. In 2023 the previous government proposed that new build homes would either need solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building's floor area or none at all; the current government says that approach would have allowed too many exemptions, and intends that developers who cannot meet 40% coverage would still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage1. The Future Homes Standard will also see homes built with low carbon heating such as heat pumps and heat networks1.
The government illustrated the benefit with a figure of around £530 a year saved by a typical existing UK home installing rooftop solar, based on the April 2025 price cap and a typical 3.5 kW south-facing installation using the Standard Assessment Procedure methodology1. An estimate of the bill savings for a Future Homes Standard home will be included in the final impact assessment published in autumn1. The Future Homes Hub, an industry body, said the announcement does not confirm the extent of the solar requirement, and set out its planning assumptions: legislation laid before Parliament in December 2025, coming into effect December 2026, a 12-month transitional arrangement period running to December 2027, and mass scale building to the standard from mid-20282. It said these timings are assumptions, not confirmed2. A separate industry assessment said it is likely legislation will be laid before Parliament in December 2025 and come into effect a year later, with a transitional period running to December 20273.
The Heat Pump Association, which represents over 130 member organisations covering around 90% of the volume of heat pumps sold in the UK market, welcomed the confirmation that all new homes will be required to have low-carbon heating4:
"The HPA welcomes clarity on the publication timeline for the Future Homes Standard and confirmation that all new homes will be required to have low-carbon heating, such as heat pumps. Coupled with solar PV, highly efficient heat pump installations will result in low consumer energy bills and increase the UK's energy security."
Separately, changes to permitted development rights came into force in England on 29 May 2025, removing the 1m boundary rule so air source heat pumps can be installed within 1m of a property boundary, increasing the size limit for dwellinghouses from 0.6m3 to 1.5m3, doubling the number permitted per detached dwellinghouse from 1 to 2, and allowing air source heat pumps that can be used for cooling as well as heating1. Installations under a permitted development right must comply with a noise assessment methodology including an upper noise limit assessed at the nearest neighbouring habitable room window or door, as part of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Planning Standard1. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides households with up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, received 11,256 applications between January and March 2025, up 73% from the first quarter of 20241.
One manufacturer's analysis disputes the savings case. Wondrwall said a new home built to the Future Homes Standard, with rooftop solar and a heat pump, will cost £6,200 more than a home built to current Part L 2021 standards, with an annual energy bill saving of just £120 per year, meaning it would take over 50 years for the homeowner to break even before borrowing costs or inflation5. It said a 10% deposit increases by £620, stamp duty rises by £310, and annual mortgage repayments increase by £348, leaving the buyer £228 worse off each year with an additional £930 required upfront5. The government has not published a comparable per-home cost figure for the standard; it says an estimate of bill savings for a Future Homes Standard home will appear in the autumn impact assessment1.
Why it matters for households
The standard applies to new build homes, so it changes what a buyer gets as built rather than what an existing owner must do. For a household buying new, solar generation and low carbon heating would be part of the property from the first day, which reduces the amount of electricity a home draws from the grid and, with a heat pump instead of a gas boiler, removes gas from the heating and hot water supply1. That shifts a home's running costs onto electricity and onto whatever the roof generates, which is the practical basis of household energy independence.
For existing homes, the announcement does not impose a solar requirement. The relevant change is the permitted development reform that took effect on 29 May 2025, which widens where and how large a heat pump can be without a planning application1. The government cited figures from Octopus showing 34% of those who order a heat pump are discouraged or drop out for reasons attributed to the need to submit a planning application1. The £530 annual saving figure applies to a typical existing home installing solar, not to a new build, and is based on the April 2025 price cap1. The cost of a new home under the standard, and the effect on mortgage and deposit requirements, has been raised by one manufacturer but not addressed in the government's announcement5.
What happens next
The full Future Homes Standard is to be published in autumn 2025, with technical detail being set with industry beforehand1. The Future Homes Hub hosted a question and answer webinar on 13 June covering what is known and what further detail is expected2. The government has not confirmed the lead-in and transitional arrangement timing; the December 2025 legislation date, December 2026 commencement and December 2027 end of transition are industry planning assumptions2. The Home Energy Model, the new energy calculation methodology, is expected in two phases, a limited capability version in July or August and the fully functional version in the autumn2. The government has also said an upcoming solar road map will set out how it intends to bring clean power to families and businesses, and that one of Great British Energy's first major projects will be to install solar panels on schools and hospitals6.
Sources6 cited
- Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money - GOV.UK, gov.uk
- Future Homes Standard: Update and webinar, futurehomes.org.uk
- The FHBS: specifying roofs for future homes and other buildings | Marley, marley.co.uk
- HPA Chief Executive reacts to clarity on Future Homes Standard - HPA UK, hpauk.org.uk
- Does Adding Solar PV to Future Homes Really Save Money?, wondrwall.com
- Rooftop Solar Power - Hansard - UK Parliament, hansard.parliament.uk