The Warm Homes Plan is a major opportunity for the construction and retrofit sectors, but successful delivery will be jeopardised if key issues are not addressed, writes Stuart Fairlie.
After a two-year wait for the promised Warm Homes Plan, we have finally seen the details and (yes, pun intended) it has been warmly received.
Lifting one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030 is an ambitious and worthwhile goal and committing £15bn to upgrading the nation’s homes is a significant step in the right direction.
The government says it will support improvements in up to five million homes through a range of measures from insulation to solar panels, batteries and heat pumps.
It is, by any measure, the largest public investment in home upgrades this country has ever seen.
But scale and ambition alone will not deliver warm, healthy homes. From a delivery perspective, there are, in my opinion, six key issues that must be addressed if the plan is to succeed.
1. Be clear about what success looks like – and measure it
Counting installations tells us very little about whether homes are actually warmer, cheaper to heat or healthier to live in. The Warm Homes Plan needs a clear outcomes framework, with consistent measurement before and after works are completed.
That means tracking real improvements in comfort, energy demand and fuel poverty, not just modelled savings. Without this, we risk repeating the mistake of declaring success without evidence.
2. Treat assessment as crucial from the start
Assessment is often talked about as an administrative step. In reality, it is the foundation of good retrofit. A proper whole-home assessment determines the right sequence of improvement measures, identifies moisture and ventilation risks, and ensures that what is installed is appropriate for the building and the household.
If assessment is rushed, inconsistent or undervalued, failure is designed into the system from the start. The Warm Homes Plan should embed high-quality assessment as a non-negotiable part of delivery, not something to be squeezed when budgets tighten.
3. And so, to energy performance certificates…
Energy performance certificates (EPCs) are familiar and widely used, but – and I say this as someone whose firm trains thousands of assessors annually – they are not fit for purpose at the moment.
The government acknowledges this and has carried out a comprehensive investigation into what comes next. Here at Elmhurst Energy, we believe the new EPC approach will introduce metrics that will be too complex for homeowners, so consumer education and guidance will be essential.
The validity period of 10 years is also a missed opportunity as it risks leaving households, lenders and landlords relying on out-of-date information.
4. Give the retrofit supply chain certainty
Delivering insulation, low-carbon heating and onsite generation at scale depends on a confident, skilled supply chain. The scheduled end of ECO4 this year creates a real risk of a cliff-edge. ECO has provided a predictable flow of work that justified investment in training, accreditation and quality systems.
Without clear, multi-year signals from the Warm Homes Plan, businesses could slow recruitment, pause investment or even exit the market altogether.
5. Make ‘fabric first’ practical
There is understandable enthusiasm for heat pumps, solar and batteries, and they will play a major role in decarbonisation. But the fundamentals still matter. A damp, poorly insulated home fitted with a heat pump remains a damp, poorly insulated home.
Fabric improvements and ventilation are often the quickest way to improve comfort and health, and they provide the platform on which new technologies can perform properly.
6. Keep people at the centre
Finally, upgrades are only successful if they work for the households and owners who live in them. The Plan promises a simpler journey via the Warm Homes Agency, giving advice and guidance on home upgrades so consumers can make informed decisions.
If it genuinely simplifies a complex landscape and provides trusted consumer advice while working closely with installers, manufacturers, retrofit firms and trade unions, it could be the missing link that rebuilds confidence and accelerates delivery at scale.
The Warm Homes Plan is a huge opportunity for the construction and retrofit sectors. If these six issues are addressed, it can deliver upgrades at scale that are safe, durable, effective and yes – most importantly of all – help improve the lives of millions.
Stuart Fairlie is group managing director of Elmhurst Energy.
