Warm homes, cheaper bills. How solar, heat pumps, storage, EV charging and small wind fit the Government’s Warm Homes Plan
On 21st January 2026, the UK Government set out the latest detail of its £15bn Warm Homes Plan, positioning home energy upgrades as a central lever for tackling high bills, fuel poverty and emissions. The plan is designed to upgrade around 5 million dwellings and is framed around enabling households to access insulation, solar, batteries, heat pumps and finance options with the aim of cutting energy bills by up to around £1,000 a year for some households when measures are combined and done well.
That direction of travel matters for homeowners, landlords, housing providers, local authorities, and also businesses planning wider electrification. The message is clear: electrification, renewables, storage and good delivery is now the mainstream pathway to permanently lower running costs.
What determines whether bills fall “a bit” or significantly is not any single technology. It’s how well the whole system is designed and delivered from the building fabric, to heating, to on-site generation, to smart controls and storage.
What the Warm Homes Plan means in practice
The Government’s plan (as reported on 20–21 January) is built around several funding routes in England, including support for low-income households and a package of low-cost loans and innovative finance for others alongside continuing support for heat pumps via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
The reporting sets out a breakdown including:
- £5bn for upgrades (including insulation, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps) targeted at people on low incomes
- £2bn towards low‑cost loans
- £2.7bn for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (e.g., £7,500 heat pump grant)
- £1.1bn for heat networks
- £2.7bn for innovative finance (e.g., green mortgages)
- plus, additional funding for devolved administrations
Separately, government delivery mechanisms already underway under the Warm Homes umbrella include the Warm Homes Local Grant, delivered through local authorities, where eligible measures can include insulation, solar panels and air source heat pumps, tailored to the property.
The route that drives big bill reductions
Significant bill reductions come from 'stacking' benefits, so each measure improves the next:
1. Fabric first. Stop paying to heat the outdoors
- Insulation and draught-proofing reduce total heat demand. That means:
- smaller (cheaper) heating systems
- less electricity/gas consumption year after year
- improved comfort and fewer damp/condensation risks when ventilation is handled properly
Warm Homes delivery guidance emphasises upgrades that are tailored to individual homes (rather than one-size-fits-all), which is essential for real-world performance.
2. Air source heat pumps. Efficient heat with the right design
A properly designed air source heat pump (ASHP) can deliver multiple units of heat per unit of electricity, so once the home’s heat demand is reduced, you get the best economics and comfort.
Government policy has also been expanding the menu of low-carbon heating options. For example, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been expanded to include air‑to‑air heat pumps (cooling + heating) and support for heat batteries (thermal storage), widening the options for flats, smaller homes, and properties without wet central heating.
3. Solar PV. Produce what you use (and buy less)
Solar PV reduces imported electricity during daylight hours. When paired with electrified heating (and EV charging), the value of PV rises because you have more ways to use your own generation.
4. Energy storage systems turn renewables into “on demand” power
Storage is where "good savings" can become “great savings”:
- Battery storage (electrical): captures surplus solar and releases it in evenings/peak periods.
- Thermal storage (heat batteries / hot water): shifts heating and hot water to cheaper times or to when PV output is high.
Government guidance for the Warm Homes Local Grant explicitly includes solar PV and PV batteries as part of measures intended to cut bills and fuel poverty when deployed appropriately.
5. EV charging. Make transport electrification work with the home
EV charging is often the largest new electrical load a household (or business fleet) adds. The opportunity is to make it a flexible load:
- charge when solar is generating
- charge overnight on cheaper tariffs
- use smart load management so the home doesn’t need costly electrical upgrades unnecessarily
Even where the Warm Homes Plan is primarily "about homes", the combination of PV plus storage plus electrified heating creates the foundation for low-cost, low-carbon driving too.
6. Small-scale wind. A strong add-on for the right sites
Small wind can be excellent but only where the site is suitable (usually rural/exposed locations, away from turbulence and obstructions). For householders, practical next steps are:
- use a wind assessment tool (Energy Saving Trust provides a wind speed predictor to indicate suitability)
- follow recognised UK installation standards (e.g., MCS small wind installation standards require competent site assessment and appropriate risk assessment practices)
- use robust yield estimates and (where justified) measured wind data. The Carbon Trust notes that yield and savings should be estimated using wind speed distribution and the turbine power curve, and that taking measurements improves certainty
What kind of savings are realistically possible?
Savings depend on the building, current fuel, insulation level, occupancy, tariffs, and correct sizing/controls. But the whole point of the Warm Homes Plan is that combined measures can create step-change reductions.
A widely cited example in the reporting around today’s plan: a "typical household" combining a heat pump, solar, and battery was estimated to potentially reduce annual energy bills by around £1,000, with an illustrative shift from about £1,670 to about £670 under the plan’s associated changes.
That’s not a guarantee for every property, but it shows why the government is backing integrated packages rather than single measures in isolation.
The delivery challenge. Why "road-mapping" matters
Technology is only half the story. The other half is delivery quality, especially at scale.
The Warm Homes ecosystem is explicitly investing in skills and standards. For instance, the government’s Warm Homes Skills Programme funding supports training aligned to recognised retrofit and installation frameworks (including PAS 2035 and MCS-aligned competencies for areas like insulation and solar PV).
For households and organisations, the practical implication is:
- You need a clear roadmap (what first, what next, what depends on what)
- You need specifications that prevent performance gaps
- You need project management that controls risk, cost, quality, and resident/customer experience
That’s exactly where a delivery partner such as Clear Safety Services can add value.
How Clear Safety Services can help deliver Warm Homes Plan-aligned outcomes
Clear Safety Services can support clients across small (single property) and large-scale (estates, housing portfolios, workplaces, fleet depots) projects by providing end-to-end “road mapping” and delivery control:
1. Road mapping and options appraisal
- Baseline review: energy bills, load profiles, building condition, EPC position, constraints
- "Fabric → heating → generation → storage → controls/EV" sequencing plan
- Technology feasibility: ASHP suitability, PV potential, battery/thermal storage sizing, wind suitability screening
- Budget and phasing: quick wins vs deeper retrofit, and "no-regrets" enabling works
2. Specification and procurement support
Clear Safety Services employer’s requirements and technical specs for:
- ASHP systems (incl. low-temperature heat distribution requirements)
- Solar PV (roof structural considerations, inverter strategy, monitoring)
- Battery storage systems (siting, ventilation, protection, controls)
- EV charge points (load management, user access, future expansion)
- Small wind (site assessment requirements, compliance and safety)
- Tender documentation support and contractor evaluation criteria
- Alignment with recognised training/competence expectations (e.g., PAS 2035-aligned roles and MCS-style quality expectations where appropriate)
3. Project management for small and large-scale delivery
- Programme planning, risk management, stakeholder management
- Site coordination (especially important where residents remain in situ)
- Quality assurance, commissioning and handover
- Performance verification: ensuring systems deliver savings in real operation, not just on paper
4. Safety and compliance built in from day one
Electrification and renewables introduce new interfaces and risks: rooftop work (PV), electrical upgrades, battery storage siting, and external plant (heat pumps/wind). A safety-led delivery approach reduces rework, delays, and long-term liabilities.
Why this aligns strongly with Government priorities
Warm Homes delivery mechanisms already point to:
- focusing on the worst-performing homes
- using measures like insulation, solar, PV batteries and low-carbon heating
- delivering "bill savings for good" (i.e., persistent reductions rather than short-term rebates)
Today’s announcement strengthens the national mandate. Scale these upgrades faster, broaden finance routes, and make clean heat and homegrown power a mainstream cost-of-living solution.
For clients, the opportunity is to move now because the organisations that can plan cleanly, specify properly, and deliver safely at speed will capture the biggest benefits (and avoid the most expensive mistakes).
