“Does adding solar PV to the Future Homes Standard really save people money?”

Last week, the UK Government announced that rooftop solar will become mandatory on new homes as part of its Future Homes Standard (FHS) – with headlines claiming this move will “save people money.”

At Wondrwall, we fully support the drive to decarbonise UK housing and have been long-term proponents of putting solar on new build homes. It’s vital for meeting our climate goals and reducing long-term energy dependency. But let’s be clear: the Future Homes Standard puts the financial burden squarely on the buyer – and it doesn’t add up.

The numbers don’t lie

According to the government’s own consultation data:
A new home built to Future Homes Standard, with rooftop solar and a heat pump, will cost £6,200 more than a home built to current Part L 2021 standards.

The annual energy bill saving for this FHS home? Just £120 per year. That means it would take over 50 years for the homeowner to break even on the investment – and that’s without factoring in borrowing costs or inflation.

And while the environmental benefits are clear, the cost of photovoltaic panels remains a significant factor for most buyers trying to evaluate return on investment.

The hidden costs for buyers

The financial reality for buyers is even tougher when you consider how homes are typically purchased: with a mortgage. Using government data and standard assumptions, the numbers look like this:

• A 10% deposit increases by £620
• Stamp duty rises by £310
• Annual mortgage repayments increase by £348

Even after accounting for the £120 energy bill saving, the buyer is £228 worse off each year, with an additional £930 required upfront (according to Rightmove calculator).

For many potential homeowners, particularly first-time buyers, the added upfront costs – including the higher photovoltaic panels price – could be enough to make homeownership unaffordable.

A broken ladder

According to Zoopla, 40% of working households can’t afford an average-priced two- or three-bedroom home.

The HBF’s Broken Ladder report found that only the top 30% of earners can afford to buy at all – a sharp decline caused by rising prices, mortgage costs, and reduced government support.

In this context, adding thousands of pounds to the cost of a new home – without real financial benefit to the buyer – feels tone-deaf.

There is a better way

Decarbonisation shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for the wealthiest. If we’re serious about delivering a net-zero future, we need to find smarter ways to finance and deploy the technologies that make homes more efficient, affordable, and sustainable.

Solutions like solar and battery storage have the potential to reduce long-term energy costs and increase self-sufficiency, but the financial model needs to be right from the outset.

At Wondrwall, we believe intelligent energy management and innovative funding models can help housebuilders deliver low-carbon homes that people can actually afford to live in.

We applaud the government’s ambition. But now it must ensure that the route to net zero doesn’t put homeownership even further out of reach for ordinary families.