Will PV be mandatory under Future Homes Standard?
- Jon Ponting
- May 4
- 2 min read
The Guardian has reported that solar panels will be mandatory on new homes in England from 2027. ☀️☀️
There's not been an official announcement from the UK Government yet, so the timing of the article may be a surprise but the content shouldn't be...
For starters, Energy Minister Ed Miliband is on record saying this should happen.
And in January, a Private Members Bill (dubbed the Sunshine Bill) proposed mandatory solar, but was rejected by the Government because the Future Homes Standard was already looking into it.
So what happens next?
We won't know the precise details until FHS and the updated Approved Document Part L are released later this year.
We're not expecting any regs changes until late 2026, so any impact to existing building sites is unlikely until late 2027.
At the stage, we're only talking about sites in England.
If this report is true, it's likely that onsite generation will be added to the Part L backstop values.
Currently, Part L sets backstop U-values, air test targets, and efficiencies for heating, hot water, ventilation and lighting.
As long as the house design performs better than the notional (as calculated by SAP), and providing no backstops are exceeded, the dwelling will comply.
So by adding a minimum backstop for onsite energy generation, MHCLG can effectively mandate PV (or equivalent technology).
The problem is how to define this minimum value. It needs to consider dwelling size and available roofspace, with allowances for scenarios like heavily shaded roofs and high-rise buildings where space for arrays is restricted.
We're eagerly awaiting official news on this, so watch this space for updates!
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