Free loans for solar panels among 'Warm Homes Plan' measures.
The Aims of the Warm Homes Plan
The newly unveiled Warm Homes Plan, backed by £15 billion in public funding, is designed to reduce long-term energy costs. Despite the lack of details at the moment, homeowners can potentially expect government-supported interest-free loans for solar panel installation along with other green technologies. This plan will support the pre-existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provided up to £7,500 to incentivise traditional fossil fuel boilers being replaced by heat pumps. The aim of this plan is to eventually modernise five million homes and to help one million families escape fuel poverty.
What this means for UK households
Renters:
The Warm Homes Plan will include new protections for renters, one of these being the minimum energy performance certificate being a grade C as opposed to the current grade E. In conjunction with this, houses will be assessed differently to accommodate different uses for the properties.
Homeowners
This plan will allow all homeowners - of any income - to apply for the scheme to receive an interest free loan for the installation of solar panels and other green energy sources. Alongside this, the boiler upgrade scheme still can provide a £7,500 grant to replace fossil fuel boilers with heat pumps.
What happens next?
Despite the scheme just being unveiled, eligibility criteria, timelines and the application process hasn't been revealed yet. At the current time, lower EPC ratings will be prioritised, so getting an up to date evaluation is vital.