The Warm Homes Plan is the UK government’s largest ever programme aimed at upgrading existing homes to make them cheaper to run, more energy efficient, and less reliant on fossil fuels.
A total of £15 billion has been committed, with the stated aim of upgrading around 5 million homes and lifting 1 million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. The funding supports measures such as insulation, heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage, and wider electrification.
This article explains what the Warm Homes Plan actually is, how the funding is structured, who is likely to qualify for grants or low interest loans, and some practical pitfalls homeowners should be aware of.
The Warm Homes Plan is not a single grant scheme. It is an umbrella programme that brings together several funding routes, each aimed at different household types and income brackets.
Its core objective is to reduce household energy bills by improving efficiency and shifting homes away from gas and other fossil fuels towards electric technologies. In practice, this means a strong focus on insulation first, followed by technologies such as heat pumps, solar PV, and battery storage.
Of the £15 billion total, £1.5 billion has been allocated to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with delivery handled by devolved administrations.
The remaining £13.5 billion applies to England and is split across several key programmes.
£5 billion is ringfenced for low income households. This funding is intended to fully fund packages of upgrades rather than provide partial contributions.
Eligible measures may include insulation, solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps, depending on what is most appropriate for the property. This follows a similar model to previous schemes such as ECO4.
While final eligibility rules have not yet been published, past schemes have typically targeted households receiving income related benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, or households below a certain income threshold.
This element of the Warm Homes Plan is aimed at households with the poorest energy performance and the highest exposure to rising energy costs. Most owner occupiers will not qualify for this fully funded support.
£2.7 billion has been allocated to expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which currently provides a £7,500 grant towards the installation of a heat pump.
This includes air to air heat pumps, which can also provide cooling. Although this funding does not directly pay for solar panels, it reflects a clear policy direction towards home electrification.
Solar panels and battery storage often complement heat pumps by reducing running costs and increasing self consumption of electricity.
£2 billion has been set aside for a government backed programme of zero and low interest loans covering solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps.
These loans are designed to reduce upfront cost barriers by allowing homeowners to spread the investment over time. While the detail is still limited, the expected structure is that lenders provide the finance and the government subsidises the interest.
It is important to note that these are not grants for solar panels. They are finance products, meaning the system still needs to stack up financially over its lifetime.
A further £2.7 billion is allocated to innovative finance, including green mortgages that may offer lower interest rates for homes with good energy performance and installed technologies such as solar and heat pumps.
This signals a longer term shift towards linking property finance more closely to energy efficiency.
Alongside funding, a new Warm Homes Agency is expected to oversee delivery and customer journeys, replacing several existing bodies.
Energy Performance Certificates are also set to change, moving to a new Home Energy Model that measures energy bills, space heating demand, carbon emissions and smart readiness. Homes with good insulation, solar PV and electrified heating are likely to perform far better under the new system.
Large government schemes often increase demand quickly, and the Warm Homes Plan is no exception. When funding and subsidised finance become available at scale, many more households move forward at the same time. Quality installer capacity does not expand overnight, which can lead to longer lead times and firmer pricing across the market.
In periods of high demand, installation prices rarely fall. Labour costs rise, subcontractors become more expensive, and established installers have little incentive to discount once their order books are full. Even if equipment prices remain stable, the overall cost of delivering a compliant installation tends to increase when demand accelerates.
High demand also attracts new entrants. Some are capable and well run. Others are opportunistic, with limited experience of designing and supporting complex energy systems. Solar and battery systems are long term assets. A good installation depends on proper system design, structural assessment, electrical engineering, grid compliance, commissioning, and long term aftercare. These are not areas where inexperience shows immediately, but problems often surface years later.
This is where homeowners need to be particularly careful of so called cowboy installers. Warning signs often include vague survey processes, pressure to sign quickly, unclear responsibility for aftercare, or reliance on subcontractors without clear accountability. A system that is poorly designed or inadequately commissioned can underperform for decades, regardless of the hardware used.
Before proceeding under any Warm Homes funding route, homeowners should take a few practical steps to reduce risk:
The Warm Homes Plan is a wide ranging, long term retrofit strategy rather than a single grant. Some households may qualify for fully funded upgrades, while others may benefit from heat pump grants or low interest loans for solar panels and batteries.
Understanding which parts apply to your household, and choosing experienced, well established installers, is just as important as the funding itself.