What is the Warm Homes Plan and How Can It Help You?

What is the Warm Homes Plan?

The Warm Homes Plan is a long-term government commitment to improve energy efficiency across Great Britain. The government has pledged £15 billion of public investment to upgrade up to 5 million homes, with the aim of lifting around one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.

Rather than being a single scheme, the Warm Homes Plan brings together a range of national and local programmes. These are delivered through local authorities and approved providers, depending on where you live and your circumstances.

What does the Warm Homes Plan support?

The plan is focused on making homes warmer, cheaper to run, and more energy efficient. Support is expected to include things like:

• Help for homeowners to upgrade to clean or low-carbon heating
• Low-cost or interest-free finance to help with the upfront cost of solar panels or battery storage
• Funding for insulation and other energy efficiency improvements

Who can benefit from the Warm Homes Plan?

The Warm Homes Plan is designed to support a wide range of households, but the type of help available can vary depending on your situation.

Households experiencing fuel poverty are likely to benefit the most, with upgrades aimed at reducing energy bills by hundreds of pounds through government funded improvements delivered with local authorities.

Social housing residents may see upgrades carried out across entire streets or estates at the same time. This approach helps improve warmth, comfort, and energy efficiency for whole neighbourhoods, rather than individual homes being upgraded in isolation.

Families moving into newly built homes are expected to benefit from higher energy efficiency standards, including clean heating systems and solar panels, helping to keep energy costs lower from the start.

Private tenants could also benefit from better insulated homes, meaning warmer living spaces, lower bills, and fewer issues with damp and mould that many renters currently face.

Who qualifies for the Warm Homes Plan?

To qualify for the Warm Homes Plan, you must meet certain criteria. To begin with, you must live in England and your home must be privately owned, by yourself or your landlord.

Your property must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D, E, F or G. This helps to identify which homes would benefit the most from energy efficiency improvements.  

In most cases, your home will need a household income of £36,000 or less a year. However, you may still be eligible if you earn more than this if either, you live in a certain postcode area or someone in your household is receiving certain benefits.

You can easily check whether you’re eligible, or to find out more information by visiting the official government website.

What measures does the Warm Homes Plan support?

The Warm Homes Plan supports a range of improvements designed to make homes warmer, more energy efficient, and cheaper to run. The exact measures available can vary depending on your home and local authority, but they generally fall into the following areas.

Insulation and fabric improvements

These upgrades focus on keeping heat inside your home and reducing draughts.

This can include things like floor or underfloor insulation to help stop cold air coming up from below, wall insulation such as cavity wall or solid wall insulation, and loft insulation to reduce heat escaping through the roof. Draught proofing around doors and windows may also be included, along with insulation for loft conversions or rooms built into the roof.

Renewable energy and smart technology

The plan also supports measures that help homes generate and use energy more efficiently.

This can include solar panels to generate renewable electricity, solar thermal systems for hot water, and home or heat batteries that store excess electricity for later use. Smart thermostats and heating controls may also be included to help households better manage how and when energy is used.

Windows, doors and ventilation

Improving windows, doors, and ventilation helps make homes more comfortable while preventing issues caused by poor airflow.

Support may include upgrading old single-glazed windows to double or triple glazing, as well as improved ventilation systems designed to maintain air quality and reduce problems like damp and mould in more airtight homes.

Heating system upgrades

Heating upgrades focus on replacing older, less efficient systems with cleaner alternatives.

This can include air source heat pumps, which provide heating and hot water and can also offer cooling in some cases, as well as ground source heat pumps for year-round heating. Other options may include high-retention storage heaters for off-gas homes, hybrid heat pump systems that work alongside existing boilers, and biomass boilers that use renewable fuel sources.

Which home improvements you may be eligible for will depend on whether you and your home meet certain criteria, as well as the scheme offered by your local authority. If you’re unsure and would like more information, it’s always worth checking with your local authority to see what support is available in your area.

Why certified installers matter

For the Warm Homes Plan, using a certified installer is essential. Certification is required if you want to access government backed schemes and funding.

It’s also absolutely critical if you plan to apply for the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), as only installations carried out by certified installers are eligible. The same applies to other government support schemes such as ECO4 and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Using a certified installer helps ensure work is carried out properly, meets required standards, and allows you to access the support and protections available.

You can find out more about the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) by reading our guide, How the Smart Export Guarantee Can Make Your Solar Panels Pay You.

How to apply for support through the Warm Homes Plan

If you’re interested in finding out whether you and your home could benefit from the Warm Home Plan, you should go online to the official government website and use their eligibility checker which will direct your application to your local authority.

You can also apply directly to your local authority by contacting your local council for a paper application.

Your local authority will contact you within 10 working days to arrange a home survey. If approved, a surveyor will assess your home for home improvements like insulation, solar panels or heat pumps.

How does the Warm Homes Plan work with other schemes?

The Warm Homes Plan is designed to sit alongside, and in some cases replace or build on, existing government energy efficiency schemes rather than operate completely on its own.

Some households may already be familiar with schemes such as ECO4 or the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which support measures like insulation and heat pumps. The Warm Homes Plan brings these types of improvements under a longer-term government approach, with support delivered mainly through local authorities rather than short, time-limited programmes.

Where support overlaps, eligibility rules still apply. This means households may be able to access different types of help at different stages, depending on their circumstances, property type, and the measures being installed. Using a certified installer remains essential across all schemes.

For solar panels, support with upfront installation costs through the Warm Homes Plan does not prevent households from later applying for the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), as long as the installation meets SEG requirements and is carried out by a certified installer.

How the Warm Homes Plan fits into the UK’s net zero goals

Homes account for a significant portion of the UK’s energy use and carbon emissions. The Warm Homes Plan supports the wider transition to net zero by helping homes use less energy and rely more on low-carbon and renewable technologies.

By improving insulation, upgrading heating systems, and supporting technologies such as solar panels, the plan aims to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while also helping households protect themselves from rising energy prices.

In simple terms, the plan focuses on making homes cheaper to run now, while supporting the UK’s longer-term climate goals.

Benefits of the Warm Homes Plan

The Warm Homes Plan offers a range of potential benefits for households, depending on eligibility and the improvements installed.

For many, the most immediate benefit is lower energy bills, particularly where insulation or heating upgrades are carried out. Homes are also likely to feel warmer and more comfortable, with fewer draughts and cold spots.

Over time, energy efficiency improvements can also help protect homes against future energy price rises, increase property appeal, and reduce overall carbon emissions.

Ready to explore your options?

The Warm Homes Plan is designed to help households improve energy efficiency, reduce energy bills, and make homes more comfortable to live in. With support available for things like insulation, heating upgrades, and renewable technologies such as solar panels, it’s a scheme worth exploring if your home could benefit from improvement.

Because support is delivered through local authorities and eligibility can vary, the best place to start is by checking whether you and your home qualify.

Use our free comparison tool to review quotes from trusted, top-rated solar installers and find the best value solution for your home.