NAPIT welcomes Future Homes Standard announcement

The certification body and training provider NAPIT has welcomed the Government's Future Homes Standard, saying it could create significant opportunities for its members involved in installing solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and electric vehicle chargers¹. The announcement was published by NAPIT on 24 March 2026¹.

Under the standard, the Government says that from March 2028 new homes will be built with solar panels and heat pumps¹. New homes, with some exceptions including high-rise buildings, will be built with on-site renewable electricity generation, which will be mainly solar panels, and with low carbon heating such as heat pumps and heat networks¹. The Government also says plug-in solar panels, which can be run into the home network and which NAPIT describes as common in places such as Germany, where people already hang them on balconies, in gardens or on terraces, will be available in shops "within months" for existing homeowners¹. NAPIT states that these can be installed without the need for a qualified electrician¹.

Earlier in 2026 the Government published its Warm Homes Plan, which gave details of how existing homes could be retrofitted with low carbon energy sources¹. NAPIT's statement follows that plan¹.

Stephen Melton, NAPIT Director of Commercial and Compliance, said:

"The new standards have been a long time coming but it makes total sense for all new homes to be built with solar panels and alternatives to gas heating installed as standard. Coming on the back of the Warm Homes Plan, it should offer further clarity and opportunity to our members involved in the low carbon energy sector and provide significant growth strands for their businesses."

Melton added that installation and adoption at new build stage are more cost effective, efficient and attractive to homeowners than retrofitting an existing home, and that this would act as a shop window for existing homeowners considering switching to low carbon technologies, providing they are installed correctly by certified, competent installers¹. On plug-in solar, he said: "Whilst we welcome any initiative that promotes the wider use of solar PV systems, the announcement around plug in solar panels without the need for a qualified electrician, does raise concerns over safety. We look forward to working with the relevant industry organisations to ensure the safe roll out of these products."¹

Why it matters for households

For a household in a new home, the standard as described by NAPIT means on-site renewable electricity generation and low carbon heating would be part of the build rather than an addition, which changes the starting point for a home's energy independence: generation and heating would be designed in, subject to the exceptions noted for high-rise buildings¹. For households in existing homes, the relevance is different. The Warm Homes Plan sets out how existing homes could be retrofitted with low carbon energy sources¹, and plug-in solar panels sold in shops are presented as a route that does not require a qualified electrician¹. NAPIT has raised safety concerns about that route and says it will work with industry organisations on a safe roll out¹. The detail of the Future Homes Standard, including how far it lowers carbon emissions in new homes and how its options compare, sits in the standard's own provisions rather than in NAPIT's statement¹.

What happens next

The Government says the new build requirements take effect from March 2028¹. Plug-in solar panels are said to be available in shops "within months" for existing homeowners¹. NAPIT says it looks forward to working with the relevant industry organisations to ensure the safe roll out of these products¹. No further dates have been reported¹.

Sources1 cited

1. NAPIT Welcomes Future Homes Standards Announcement, napit.org.uk