This will help deliver on the government's milestone of higher living standards as part of the Plan for Change. 

Demand for heat pumps is surging, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers up to £7,500 off the cost, enjoying its best month since opening. 4,028 applications were received in March 2025, up 88% on the same month last year.

Heat pumps can save families around £100 on average energy bills when used with a smart tariff.

With more households wanting to upgrade to cleaner, homegrown energy, the government has launched a new consultation on expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to give families even greater choice to pick what works best for them. 

Changes could see families potentially access air-to-air heat pumps and electric heating technologies such as heat batteries, which are currently not eligible for grants under the scheme, alongside new purchase and ownership models which could spread the cost of a heat pump over several years, or allow households to lease one for a monthly fee instead. 

As part of the government’s Plan for Change, even more households will be able to switch to low-carbon heating, protecting the pounds in people’s pockets while making more options available. 

The government has also set out plans to bolster the ‘clean power army’, training up to 18,000 more home retrofitters to install heat pumps, insulation, solar panels, and heat networks. This will be done alongside a major new deal to support the UK’s heat pump supply chain. 

Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Our Warm Homes Plan will mean lower bills and warmer homes for millions of families – helping drive better living standards as part of the Plan for Change.”

Copeland in Northern Ireland has been awarded £4.6 million to expand its manufacturing by 240,000 compressors.

Compressors are a key component of heat pumps, which can help protect family finances from the rollercoaster of international gas markets by running on clean electricity. 

This investment, backed by an additional £6.4 million from Copeland, will create sixty new jobs in Cookstown. It will help support the industries and jobs of the future while unlocking economic growth as part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.  

Ministers have also unveiled plans to train up to 18,000 skilled workers to install heat pumps, fit solar panels, install insulation and work on heat networks through the extension of the Heat Training Grant and the launch of the Warm Homes Skills Programme.

With three days to go until the government’s consultation on introducing higher minimum energy efficiency standards in private rented sector homes closes, Ministers have issued a final call for tenants and landlords to make their views heard.  

Under the proposals, all private landlords would be required to meet a higher standard of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or equivalent in their properties by 2030, up from the current level of EPC E.  

This will deliver on the priorities of working people, in line with the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.

It will require landlords to invest in loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, or double glazing, ensuring homes are warmer and more affordable for tenants.

Alongside higher standards & funding in the social rented sector, this could lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.