One part of the Future Homes Standard has grabbed the media’s attention more than most: Mandatory solar panels on all new homes. But how will these new regs work in practice?

Now the Future Homes Standard and Part L (2026) have been published, we can begin unpicking what compliance looks like for new building sites across England. Changes to the fabric performance targets are under the spotlight this morning, or lack of changes may be more appropriate.

When will the Future Homes Standard apply? For most developments, we have a full calendar year to get ourselves ready. The new Part L goes live on 24th March 2027. This is defined as the date the developer submits documents (initial notice, building notice, application with full plans) to the relevant building authority. If paperwork is submitted and accepted before 24th March, the site can built to the 2021 (current) regs.

A fresh set of Home Energy Model User Guides have been published - this will be particularly useful for manufacturers of domestic heating, cooling, hot water, ventilation and renewable systems.

The Senedd has published its response to last year's Approved Document Part L consultation, confirming new energy standards for building sites from 2027. Strictly speaking, FHS doesn't apply in Wales, but this news broadly follows what we're expecting from the UK Government in the coming weeks.

A newly written National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for England has been published and is open for public consultation. The draft text aims to stop local authorities from setting their own emissions targets, and recommends councils look more favourably on developments that take a proactive approach to the net zero transition.

When a SAP calculation spits out unexpected results, the assessor can look through the worksheets and, 99% of the time, they can find the reason and fix it. The Home Energy Model doesn’t produce simple worksheets that assessors can scrutinise, and it doesn’t have a single methodology you can thumb through. So how will we troubleshoot in HEM?

When the FHS consultation was released in December 2023, there were two other consultations hidden in its shadow. This week's publication is the official response to one of those lesser-spotted policy proposals. In a nutshell, it confirms SAP is definitely going to be retired. HEM will take over as the method for complying with Approved Document Part L. It will also be used for calculating Energy Performance Certificates.

DEFRA has published a consultation into changing water efficiency targets in Approved Document Part G in England. There's also a Call For Evidence discussing further changes in the near future. The consultation is open until December 16th 2025.

I often get asked how Infrared panel heaters compare to standard convective heaters For Part L compliance. I know, I get asked all the fun questions!

The Welsh Government has released a consultation looking to change Approved Documents Part L, Part O and Part F, following in the footsteps of the Future Homes Standard policy in England. You've got until 17th November 2025 to respond.

Could regulation targeting the embodied carbon of construction be heading for the UK? The Government has confirmed it's looking into creating a standard way of assessing and reporting. Other countries in Europe have recently announced plans to roll out legislation to shift focus to lowering the embodied carbon from buildings.

When an overheating assessor builds a 3D model of a development, they apply a Weather File to simulate a years’ worth of sunlight, wind and humidity. This climate data interacts with the building’s solar gains, air flow and thermal mass to calculate hourly internal temperatures, which ultimately gives us a Pass or a Fail for Approved Document Part O and TM59 assessments. CIBSE has recently published new weather files, based on more recent weather patterns and latest data.

Ed Miliband has confirmed that PV will be 'almost universal with rare exceptions' on all new homes. The details will be defined when the new Approved Document Part L is published later this year, and applied to new sites from late 2026.