Families to get more choice over home upgrades

Homeowners are set to have more choice over ways to access heating systems and bring down costs under proposals being considered as part of the Warm Homes Plan – helping to deliver on the government’s milestone of higher living standards as part of the Plan for Change. 

Demand for heat pumps is surging, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which offers up to £7,500 off the cost, enjoying its best month since opening, with 4,028 applications received in March 2025, up 88% on the same month last year. Heat pumps can save families around £100 on their average energy bills when used with a smart tariff. 

With more households wanting to make the upgrade to cleaner, homegrown energy, the government has today launched a new consultation on expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to give families even greater choice to pick what works best for them. 

Changes to the scheme could see families potentially access air-to-air heat pumps and electric heating technologies such as heat batteries, which are currently not eligible for grants under the scheme, alongside new purchase and ownership models which could spread the cost of a heat pump over several years, or give households the opportunity to lease one for a monthly fee instead. 

As part of the government’s Plan for Change, even more households will be able to take up the offer of switching to low-carbon heating, while protecting the pounds in people’s pockets by making more options available. 

The government has also set out plans to bolster the ‘clean power army’, training up to 18,000 more home retrofitters, to install heat pumps, insulation, solar panels and heat networks, alongside a major new deal to support the UK’s heat pump supply chain.   

Copeland in Northern Ireland have been awarded £4.6 million to expand their manufacturing for heating compression technology – a key component of heat pumps, which can help protect family finances from the roller coaster of international gas markets by running on clean electricity. 

This investment, backed by a multi-million pound investment from Copeland, will help to support the industries and jobs of the future, while unlocking economic growth, as part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.  

Ministers have also unveiled plans to train up to 18,000 skilled workers to install heat pumps, fit solar panels, install insulation and work on heat networks through the extension of the Heat Training Grant and launch of the Warm Homes Skills Programme.

With days to go until the government’s consultation on introducing higher minimum energy efficiency standards in private rented sector homes closes, ministers have issued a final call for tenants and landlords to make their views heard.  

Under the proposals, all private landlords would be required to meet a higher standard of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or equivalent in their properties – up from the current level of EPC E, by 2030.  

This will deliver on the priorities of working people, in line with the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, by requiring landlords to invest in measures such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation or double glazing – ensuring homes are warmer and more affordable for tenants. Alongside higher standards & funding in the social rented sector, this could lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.