Government confirms solar panels for all new builds

June 9, 2025

Working people stand to save hundreds of pounds off their energy bills as the government confirms new build homes will have solar panels by default, unleashing a rooftop revolution.

Ministers are publishing the Future Homes Standard this autumn and have confirmed on Friday 6 June that solar panels will be included, leading to installation on the vast majority of new build homes.

Illustrating the benefits of solar panels, a typical existing UK home could save around £530 a year from installing rooftop solar, based on the current energy price cap.

This means the new proposals could significantly cut energy bills for the recipients of new build homes, tackling the cost of living for aspirational young families and new house buyers.

Under proposed changes, new homes will also have low-carbon heating, such as heat pumps and high levels of energy efficiency, cutting people’s energy bills and boosting the nation’s energy security with clean, homegrown power, in line with the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.

To deliver these aims, the proposed Future Homes Standard would see building regulations amended to explicitly promote solar for the first time, subject to practical limits with flexibility in place for new homes surrounded by trees or with lots of shade overhead.

From switching on the kettle to cooking dinner and doing the weekly wash, families will now be able to seize the benefits of powering their lives with clean, renewable energy from the very first day in their new home, with cheaper energy bills that put more money back in their pockets.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard. So many people just don’t understand why this doesn’t already happen. With our plans, it will.

“Today (6th June) marks a monumental step in unleashing this rooftop revolution as part of our Plan for Change, and means new homeowners will get lower bills with clean home-grown power.”