Ministers are poised to allow houses to be built in England without carbon-cutting technologies in what experts say is a setback following pressure from housebuilders.
future home standard The FHS, due to be published in January, will regulate the construction of all homes and is expected to enforce tough new rules, such as mandatory solar panels on almost all homes and high standards for insulation and heat pumps in most cases.
But the Guardian has learned that the rules are unlikely to stipulate that homes must be fitted with batteries, despite the significant benefits of combining renewable energy generation with energy storage.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Batteries are really useful for ensuring that homes can use as much of their own energy as possible – and that's reduces billswhat the government says is the top priority. New developments being built from 2027 without the latest cost-effective net-zero technologies could mean we are not making the most of our own energy, leading to higher bills and meaning we need more gas from abroad.”
Not mandating the installation of batteries, the price of which has plummeted, would reduce efficiency savings for homeowners. Battery storage will cost around £2,000 to £5,000 for each new home, but will result in long-term savings on energy bills. According to last year's research by the charity MCS FoundationThe savings for an average three-bedroom semi-detached house from a heat pump, solar panels and batteries would be approximately £1,350 per year.
Building 1.5 million new homes promised by Labor without batteries would also deprive the UK's electricity grid of potential benefits. Large battery reserves with smart meters can help make the grid more efficient by smoothing supply and demand, which is especially important when much more electricity is expected to come from intermittent solar and wind.
Home builders are lobbying for the use of batteries, which would incur an upfront cost for the developer even though it would save homeowners money. Rhodri Williams, technical director of the Federation of Home Builders, said at this stage builders were favoring alternatives such as “changeover valves” or using excess solar energy to heat water, neither of which save electrical energy or help the grid.
He said: “Housebuilders have embraced every step of the way to building zero-carbon homes, including FHS, from the start. As a result, new homes emit a third of the carbon emissions on average of similarly sized older homes, saving residents of new homes thousands of pounds on their energy bills.”
Ian Rosenow, professor of energy at the Oxford Institute of Environmental Change, said the lack of batteries was a “missed opportunity… installing a battery during construction is cheaper and less disruptive than retrofitting later.”
He added: “Housing developers in this country have experience in countering demands which improve the energy efficiency of homes. We've seen this since insulation, heat pumps and other technologies. Eventually it will be damage to home buyer“
Harry Felgate, chief executive of the MCS Foundation, said the Future Homes standard “could be a game changer”, leading to savings of more than £1,000 a year on energy bills even without batteries and producing the same amount of electricity for the UK as two nuclear power stations.
Ministers are expected to announce a 'warm homes plan' at the same time as the future homes standard, which will set out how to isolate drafts in England.
Felgate said the government should also publish clearer proposals on how to move the UK away from gas dependence for heating. “It is clear that renewable energy is the future of our homes,” he said. “The government must now develop plans to phase out fossil fuel boilers in existing homes and decommission the gas network to ensure continued confidence in the renewable energy sector and the public.”
Ministry Representative HousingCommunities and Local Authorities said: “Our Future Homes Standard is in development and will be published early next year. [2026]. This will make our new homes warmer and more affordable, and help us achieve our net-zero emissions target by 2050.”
