Ministers delay new rules for low-carbon housing in England | Energy efficiency

Buyers of new homes are likely to be squeezed by high gas prices in the coming years as the government has delayed new regulations on low carbon homes coming into force.

Most newly built homes will be fitted with solar panels and heat pumps from March 2028, under updated regulations for England called the Future Homes Standard (FHS), but the government has relented on plans for tougher rules under pressure from housebuilders.

A loophole in regulations allowing wood-burning stoves to be installed in new homes could also help derail plans to make homes entirely carbon-free.

Under the “Future Homes Standard”, which will be published by the government on Tuesday, homes built from 2028 will produce 75% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than those built to the existing 2013 standards.

Housing experts said some of the remaining 25% of emissions were likely to be attributable to wood-burning stoves, which are highly polluting and are not carbon neutral in the short or medium term, but which will be allowed in new homes.

Homes should be equipped with solar panels equivalent to 40% of the ground floor area of ​​the building, but there will be exceptions that allow builders to install fewer.

The government also said “plug-in” solar panels that can be installed on balconies or outdoor spaces, which are commonly used in Germany but have been banned in Britain, would be available to buy in the UK within months.

The delay in introducing the FHS, which was due to come into force next year, is also expected to mean that hundreds of thousands of new homes will be built with gas heating, despite soaring costs caused by the war in Iran.

Last year, data from the MCS Foundation, a charity which certifies low-carbon installations, showed that only 4,000 new homes were fitted with low-carbon electric heat pumps, out of around 140,000 homes.

Jan Rosenow, professor of energy at Oxford University, told the Guardian: “It is scandalous that people are buying expensive homes heated with gas when we have perfectly good technology – heat pumps – that can be installed instead.

“Another two years, this really shouldn’t be happening. We are at war and in the most serious energy crisis, and it would be perfectly easy to ensure that all new homes have heat pumps right now.”

The Future Homes Standard was more than a decade in the making: it was supposed to be published by the last Conservative government and was intended to replace an earlier commitment by the last Labor government for a zero-carbon homes standard to come into force from 2016, which was abandoned by David Cameron.

Housing experts said developers would try to get away with the minimum standards possible. Jess Ralston, head of energy at the think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “The Government will likely have to continue to stand up to housebuilders, who may try to achieve new standards at the lowest possible cost to maximize their profits, which will incur costs for homeowners later,” she said.

Households are expected to save around £1,000 a year on their energy bills thanks to the new standards, said Garry Felgate, chief executive of the MCS Foundation.

He said: “Confirmation that virtually all new homes in England will be fitted with solar panels and low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps is very good news – for energy security, for the UK’s progress towards a carbon-free future and for the countless households who will benefit. »

The government also refused to say whether hydrogen would be ruled out for domestic heating in the future, despite years of strong evidence showing it could not be an economically viable heat source for homes. Rosenow said: “They should just rule out hydrogen for home heating, that would be the reasonable thing to do. »

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “Building 1.5 million new homes also means building high-quality homes that are cheaper to run and warmer to live in.

“As we transition to clean, local energy, the current standard is what the future of housing can and should look like.

“Not only will these changes protect hard-working families from shocks abroad, they will also reduce their energy bills by hundreds of pounds each year. »