Government has announced that most new build homes in England will be required to include solar panels by default under the forthcoming Future Homes Standard, set for release this autumn.
In a joint announcement, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that building regulations will be amended to ‘explicitly promote’ solar use.
In response to the announcement, Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive at the Home Builders Federation, said: “New build homes emit on average a third of the carbon of an equivalent-sized older property, saving residents of new homes thousands of pounds in energy bills.
Jefferson added: “Solar PV panels are increasingly being provided and are now installed on 4 in 10 new homes, providing further savings for customers. Moving forward, as we look to meet the more challenging carbon reductions set by Government, we will see solar PV panels on the overwhelming majority of new homes.
Jefferson concluded: “We welcome recognition from Government that there needs to be flexibility around the number of panels on roofs in some locations, to reflect orientation and house design. We need to ensure the process to agree the number of panels in such locations is workable and not overly bureaucratic such that it does not delay attempts to increase housing supply.”