The Energy Saving Trust has published analysis stating that clean home upgrades can save households up to £800 a year1. The report, "What the UK needs to get the Warm Homes Plan right", sets out the charity's policy recommendations for the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan, which aims to retrofit five million homes across the UK over this parliament1.
The report says the Plan is backed by £13.2 billion in funding, of which £3.4 billion was allocated in the 2024 Autumn Budget1. It notes that progress has been made on some enabling policies, including the publication of the EPC reform consultation and the introduction of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism in April this year, but states that detail is still lacking on how most of the funding will be spent1.
"This report sets out key policies we believe the UK Government should take forward to achieve the ambition of the Warm Homes Plan"
The analysis is organised around five pillars: information, advice and support; access to funding and finance; accelerating deployment of low carbon heat; making the plan long term and comprehensive; and supporting the supply chain1. Recommendations include a national awareness raising campaign, a national retrofit advice service in England, grants tiered by income that can be combined with zero or low interest loans, and grants covering the full costs of retrofit for those in fuel poverty1.
The report cites Citizens Advice's estimate that over 15 million homes across Great Britain have an EPC rating of C or below, and National Energy Action's estimate that those in fuel poverty pay up to £417 more per year for energy because of inefficient homes1. It also cites Heat Pump Association figures of over 98,000 heat pump sales in the UK in 2024, against a need for around 1.5 million a year by 2035 to align with the Climate Change Committee's Balanced Pathway1.
Why it matters for households
The £800 figure is the top end of what the Energy Saving Trust says clean home upgrades can deliver in annual savings, and it sits alongside the report's wider argument that upgrading the housing stock would permanently bring down energy bills and reduce reliance on fossil fuel markets1. For a household, the practical value of measures such as insulation, draught proofing or a heat pump depends on the property, the heating system and how the home is used, so the savings any one home sees will vary. The report's own framing is that the UK has one of the oldest and leakiest housing stocks in Europe, with most existing homes in England more than 60 years old and around one in five more than 100 years old1. That condition is what keeps energy demand, and bills, high, and it is the reason the report treats retrofit as a route to cutting both.
The report also points to the gap between announced funding and delivered work. It says previous policy progress on energy efficiency has been inadequate, and cites the Climate Change Committee's finding that rates of government funded energy efficiency measures decreased between 2022 and 20231. For households considering work, that context matters: the schemes, grants and advice services that would support a home upgrade are still being designed, and the report says detail is lacking on how most of the £13.2 billion will be spent1.
What happens next
The report does not set out a delivery timetable of its own. It calls for enabling policies, such as EPC reform for England and Wales, to be implemented without delay, and for a commitment to invest the full £13.2 billion promised in the manifesto1. No date has been reported for the publication of further detail on how the remaining funding will be allocated1.
Householders in Scotland can access free advice through Home Energy Advice in Scotland and Home Energy Scotland, while Nest is the Welsh Government's home energy scheme. For anyone trying to work out what a specific measure might be worth, the site's guide on how much you could save by improving your home's energy efficiency covers the calculation, and measuring results after the work sets out how to check whether savings have materialised. The getting started hub collects these guides.
Sources1 cited
- What the UK needs to get the Warm Homes Plan right - Energy Saving Trust, energysavingtrust.org.uk