New homes will be built with solar panels and heat pumps, while plug-in solar panels will be available in shops “within months” for existing homeowners, the government has announced.
Energy ministers also unveiled plans for energy companies to offer discounted bills to people living in areas with wind farms on windy days when operators would otherwise be paid to turn off due to network constraints.
It is the latest in a series of announcements from the government doubling down on its clean energy drive in response to the Iran war, which has sent fossil fuel prices soaring, and raising the spectre of high prices at the pump and rising home energy bills later this year
The announcement comes the same day as the chancellor is due to announce provisional further support measures the government plans to implement should they be needed to combat rising energy prices.
The government said plug-in solar panels, which can be easily installed with an ordinary plug and are common in places such as Germany, where people hang them on balconies or fences, would soon be in the shops.
Officials said they were working with retailers such as Amazon and Lidl, alongside manufacturers including EcoFlow, to bring them to the UK market, so shoppers could soon see solar panels in the “middle of Lidl” aisle and other outlets.
The panels cut the amount of electricity being drawn from the grid, lowering bills and helping reduce the UK’s dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets for its electricity supplies, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said.
The move to speed up the delivery of plug-in solar is happening as new rules come into force to implement the “future homes standard”, building regulations that will make solar panels and clean heating standard in new homes.
Under the new standards, homes will be built with heat pumps, or linked to heating networks, rather than gas boilers, and the majority of homes, with a few exceptions, will be built with on-site renewable electricity generation.
Heat pumps work by circulating heat from outside into your home, rather than generating heat by burning fuel. Credit: iStock
The long-awaited implementation of the future homes standard comes a decade after net-zero homebuilding standards were scrapped.
Officials said the measures on new homes could save up to £830 a year on each property’s energy bills, compared to a standard home with an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C, and create at least 75% less carbon emissions than those built to the 2013 standards.
Pointing to the conflict in Iran, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said it had, “once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don’t control.
“Whether through solar panels fitted as standard on new homes or making it possible for people to purchase plug-in solar in shops, we are determined to roll out clean power so we can give our country energy sovereignty.”
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The moves have been welcomed by the energy sector, with Dhara Vyas, industry body Energy UK’s chief executive, describing the future homes standard as a “landmark moment” for clean energy in Britain.
“New homes built under this standard will benefit from clean heating solutions and solar, protecting households from volatile gas prices and putting energy security within the home itself.
“Combined with higher fabric efficiency standards, these homes will be warmer and cheaper to run – offering real and tangible change in people’s homes.”
She added that the new standards would give businesses the long-term certainty they needed to invest in manufacturing, scale up supply chains, and build a skilled workforce.
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