- The Warm Homes Plan aims to improve energy efficiency, cut heating costs, and promote cleaner energy
- It builds on schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), offering grants and financial support for greener technologies
- The plan targets up to 300,000 home upgrades by 2026 by expanding funding, streamlining planning rules, and supporting vulnerable households
The UK Government’s new Warm Homes Plan is an initiative to improve energy efficiency, reduce heating costs, and promote cleaner energy in homes. It includes measures such as grants for heat pumps, insulation upgrades, and support for low-income households and renters.
The Warm Homes Plan includes several key features for UK residents, including offering a series of £7,500 grants for residents in England and Wales to help install heat pumps under the existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
The scheme is targeting around 300,000 homes for potential upgrades throughout 2025 and 2026 with a budget, at the time of writing, of £3.2bn.
The plan also includes other proposals beyond funding for home energy efficiency upgrades, including eliminating the need for planning approval for homes to install heat pumps.
The Government claims this will help save families around £100 annually on heating bills compared to like-for-like gas boiler heating.
Removing barriers to heat pump adoption
The Warm Homes Plan will effectively remove the one-metre rule when installing heat pumps from early next year. This rule previously stipulated that heat pumps had to be sited at least one metre away from a property boundary to help mitigate noise concerns about heat pumps when in operation.
This move will also amend existing planning rules on the heat pump size allowed for a home from 0.6m3 to 1.5m3.
It will also allow UK residents to freely install multiple heat pumps in detached homes and install heat pumps that provide cooling rather than heating. While the new plan reduces some planning permissions restrictions, it will still require all installations to comply with relevant Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Planning Standards.
The plan also includes measures to help provide financial support for vulnerable groups to install energy efficiency measures in social housing and other low-income households.
It also aims to reduce fuel poverty, cut energy bills, and advance the UK’s clean energy goals. It will also help promote green energy in the UK by giving financial backing to UK heat pump manufacturers to improve their standards and make them more competitive.
Hopefully, this will turn the UK, as the government puts it, into a “clean energy superpower” using renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels to become energy independent.
How does the Warm Homes Plan scheme work?
The Warm Homes Plan is not a single new funding scheme but a broader, strategic initiative to enhance and expand existing programs like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and to promote the adoption of green technologies in the UK.
It focuses on increasing funding for established measures, such as heat pump grants and energy efficiency upgrades, while implementing reforms and investments to remove barriers, encourage innovation, and build a sustainable green energy market.
Key elements include boosting the BUS budget, streamlining planning regulations (e.g., removing the one-metre rule for heat pumps), and introducing incentives for manufacturers through mechanisms like the Clean Heat Market Mechanism.
This proposed system would encourage competition and help reduce the prices of clean heat technologies.
The Warm Homes Plan also prioritises support for vulnerable households, such as renters and low-income families, and invests in developing British green technology industries.
Overall, it’s a coordinated effort to accelerate the UK’s transition to cleaner, more energy-efficient homes and to support its net-zero goals.
What does the Warm Homes Plan cover?
The Warm Homes Plan is not a separate funding scheme, but a mechanism to boost that already exist.
This plan will primarily impact people in England and Wales if they apply for funding through the BUS.
The Warm Homes Plan will cover the lion’s share of installing a new heat pump to replace an existing gas or oil boiler in your home. This comprises a grant of up to £7,500 towards the transition to a heat pump.
The existing BUS is a ‘first-come, first-serve’ scheme that will run until its budget is exhausted. This scheme only covers the cost of installing heat pumps and cannot be used for hybrid systems that combine gas boilers with heat pumps.
The BUS originally envisaged 60,000 homes benefiting from the initiative. Still, the Warm Homes Plan should significantly increase that, given that it has pledged an additional £30m for 2024 and doubled the budget to £295m for 2025.
The UK Government hopes this will enable around 300,000 homes to benefit from installing a heat pump.
Am I eligible for the Warm Homes Plan?
Once again, the Warm Homes Plan is not a separate funding scheme, but eligibility for the BUS is as follows:
To be eligible for the BUS grant, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must own the property you’re applying for, including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants
- You must be replacing a fossil fuel heating system, such as oil, gas or LPG
- You must have a valid EPC certificate
An EPC is not required for custom-built homes, as they must comply with current eco-friendly building regulations. However, you must be the person who built the house, and a business must not have previously owned it.
If you meet these criteria, an accredited installer can apply on your behalf to receive a discount on an air or ground source heat pump.
How do I apply for the Warm Homes Plan?
From May 23, 2022, until the scheme ends in 2028, installers can apply for vouchers to cover heat pump or biomass boiler installations on a first-come, first-served basis.
Once a voucher is issued, the installer has 120 days to complete the installation of an air-source heat pump or biomass boiler or six months for a ground-source heat pump. After the installation, the installer can redeem the voucher to lower the homeowner’s overall cost.
Summary
- The Warm Homes Plan is a comprehensive initiative to enhance home energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty across England and Wales
- It provides grants of up to £7,500 for heat pumps, helping homeowners transition away from oil, gas or LPG boilers
- Planning reforms, such as removing the one-meter rule, aim to make heat pump installations faster and easier
- Vulnerable groups, including renters and social housing residents, are prioritized with targeted financial support
- With increased funding and a focus on green technology, the plan supports the UK’s net-zero ambitions and boosts the domestic heat pump industry.
