What is the Warm Homes Plan?

The government announced the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026. It’s a scheme to help people upgrade their homes with greener technology – things like solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and insulation.

There’s £15 billion being invested over the next five years, and the targets are fairly ambitious:  upgrade 5 million homes by 2030, get a million families out of fuel poverty, and support around 180,000 new jobs in clean heating.

We’ve taken a look at what the Warm Homes Plan is all about, as well as who it might benefit and how.

Who is the Warm Homes Plan for?

The plan has the potential to reach most households, and what you can receive depends on whether you own your home or rent it.

If you own your home, you will be able to access grants and loans to help with the cost. Heat pumps are a good example – even after grants, you might still be looking at several thousand pounds upfront. The loans are meant to make this more manageable, spreading the cost so you don’t need a big lump sum sitting in your savings account.

According to the Government, it’s estimated that about 2.7 million households are in fuel poverty at the moment. There’s £5 billion set aside specifically to help, and this will be delivered through local councils.

Renting? From 2030, landlords will need to make sure the property hits EPC C as a minimum. Right now it’s E, so you should see better insulation, warmer rooms and lower bills – though you won’t be applying for grants yourself.

What support is available under the Warm Homes Plan?

This depends on your circumstances and what you want to install.

Homeowners have two main routes: grants for heat pumps, or loans for things like solar panels and batteries. If you’re on a low income, there’s more support available – often enough to cover the full cost. And if you rent, you’ll benefit from the new rules your landlord needs to follow.

Here’s what’s on offer:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Up to £7,500 if you’re a homeowner in England or Wales switching from a gas boiler to a heat pump. This now includes air-to-air systems, which heat in winter and cool in summer. The scheme runs until 2030 with £2.7 billion behind it.
• Loans: Low and zero-interest loans to spread the cost of solar panels, batteries and other upgrades. There’s £2 billion of government money backing these.
• Support for low-income households: £5 billion going to local authorities to help with insulation, heating, solar and batteries. There’s another £600 million on top of this just for solar panels and batteries, which covers the full cost if you’re eligible.
• Heat networks and the supply chain: £1.1 billion for heat networks (these serve multiple homes from one system), and £2.7 billion for a fund that helps the businesses doing installations, with the aim of getting costs down.

Renters won’t be able to apply for grants or loans directly, but the new energy efficiency standards mean landlords will need to invest in improvements in order to meet the minimum energy efficiency rating of C by 2030 – this should result in warmer homes with lower energy bills.

How can I access the Warm Homes Plan?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is already up and running. If you’re considering a heat pump, you can apply for the grant now through an MCS-certified installer.

As for the new funding that’s been announced, the details are still being worked out. The government needs to finalise things with lenders and other organisations before they can say exactly how you’ll apply and when it will be ready. Expect more information to come out during 2026.

There’s also a Warm Homes Agency being set up, which should make it easier to work out what you’re eligible for and how to get it.

Want to know more about electric heating? Our guide to electric homes covers what’s involved.

What benefits is it hoped the Warm Homes Plan will bring?

Tackling fuel poverty is a major priority. As well as higher bills, living in a cold, damp home can seriously affect your health. The government aims to get a million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.

Jobs are part of the picture too. According to government estimates, the Warm Homes Plan could support around 180,000 additional jobs by 2030. There’s also a manufacturing push – 70% of heat pumps sold here should be made in the UK by 2035.

On the environmental side, roughly a fifth of UK emissions come from homes and buildings. Getting people to switch from gas boilers to electric heating could make a real dent in that.

Energy security is another benefit. Solar panels help households to generate their own electricity, and less reliance on gas means you’re not as exposed to the price swings we’ve seen over the last few years.

What could the Warm Homes Plan mean for energy bills?

Here’s what people really want to know – will this actually save money?

If you’ve got an average three-bedroom semi and you install a heat pump, solar panels and a battery, you could save around £500 a year compared to a gas boiler according to the government’s calculations in the Warm Homes Plan. Other estimates, including from the likes of the MCS Foundation, put the figure north of £1,000.  

The savings come from a few things. Heat pumps are more efficient than gas boilers, while solar panels generate free electricity during the day. The battery lets you store that power to use in the evening when electricity is more expensive.

There is a catch though. Right now, electricity costs more per unit than gas. That’s why having all three technologies together matters – they work better as a package. You can read more about how electric homes work here.

Our guide on how to save money on energy bills has more tips if you’re looking to cut costs.

The solar target is ambitious – triple the current number of homes with panels by 2030. That’s potentially 3 million homes generating their own electricity.

For renters, the new EPC C standard from 2030 should lead to higher numbers of better insulated properties, which should help to reduce bills for some. The government is also planning to reform how EPC ratings work, so homes with heat pumps aren’t unfairly penalised.

While there are still plenty of details to be confirmed about how some of this will work in practice, the scale of investment suggests help with home upgrades will be more widely available – which can only be a good thing.

For more guidance on making your home more energy efficient, visit our energy efficiency guides.