The government has unveiled a major package of loans and grants for renewable tech to cut household energy bills, but has stopped short of committing to a 2035 ban on new gas boilers.

The long-awaited warm homes plan has been unveiled by the Labour government, which focuses on incentives to install green technology such as solar panels, heat pumps and batteries with no legally binding phase-out on gas boilers.

Originally gas boilers were meant to be banned from 2035 but the warm homes plan makes no mention of this. Instead it focuses on various incentives to encourage households to install green technologies to help cut household energy bills.

According to the government, the plan will help bring down the costs of home clean energy products. The hope is that by enabling homeowners to apply for government-backed, low- and zero- interest loans to install solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, it will unleash a “rooftop revolution”. 

Under the plan, low-income households and those in fuel poverty are set to receive fully funded upgrades – including solar panels and a battery – to the full average installation cost (around £9,000–£12,000).

The plan will also fund insulation and other suitable improvements for eligible households.

The existing £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps under the boiler upgrade scheme will remain in place and it will extend to include ‘air-to-air heat pumps’ that can also cool homes in the summer.

The plan also maintains new rules that require every new home to be built with solar panels by default.

As well as support for homeowners, the plan includes new measures to ensure landlords invest in energy-efficiency upgrades to cut bills for renters and social tenants, including solar panels, heat pumps, batteries, insulation and draught-proofing.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “It is a scandal that millions of people in our country do not have the security of a home that is warm, affordable and safe.  

“With this investment, we embark on a national project to turn the tide – waging war on fuel poverty and taking another step forward in tackling the affordability crisis for families throughout Britain.”

What the plan omits, however, is reference to any legal ban or mandated phase out of gas boilers. Critics and campaign groups say this may weaken the plan’s effectiveness. 

Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, told The Guardian that it was a question of “whether a ‘carrots not sticks’ approach will work”.

He also said that the incentives were currently too weak: “We need larger grants for low-income households and investment in reducing the price of electricity. Opting for the slower route of bringing people along with them, rather than setting a legal deadline, means the government will have to squeeze emissions reductions from elsewhere, such as not allowing airport expansion.”

Reducing the cost of electricity is also an issue that Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy, brings up. While he says the warms home plan is a “really important step forward” and sends a “clear signal that the future of home heating is electric”, he argues that “We still need to focus on getting electricity costs lower for everyone.”

Angharad Hopkinson, political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Given we’re the country with the draughtiest homes and fewest heat pumps in Europe, we're still not moving fast enough. Our lack of energy efficiency, combined with the high energy prices from our reliance on gas, is what brought us the cost-of-living crisis we’re still trying to escape. 

“In order to meaningfully lower energy bills, cut emissions and meet the government’s legal fuel poverty targets, they need to accelerate their slow and steady approach into something better attuned to a crisis.”

Meanwhile, Sachin Vibhute, HVAC and heat pumps technical consultant and product training manager at LG, said that while the plan set out funding and ambition, it was lighter on the practical measures needed to help heat pump installations scale at pace. 

Vibhute said: “Financial support is an important part of the picture, but clearer consumer guidance and long-term policy certainty will be essential to give households and installers the confidence to invest.  

“To fully unlock the potential of the warm homes plan, continued focus on training, skills and installer capacity will be critical. Without enough qualified people to deliver these upgrades, progress risks falling short of its potential.”