The Household Energy Independence Programme installs solar panels, battery storage, and EV chargers on your home, funded by green bonds. You save from day one. It costs the Treasury nothing.
Learn how it worksThe Core Proposition
A typical household installs a kit worth around £5,300, saves £700 per year on electricity, and pays a levy of £415 per year. Net benefit: £285 per year from day one. After 15 years the system is paid off and the full saving is yours.
Three Phases
Bonds issued in tranches of 100,000 homes, each independently self-repaying. Unit economics are identical at any volume above the pathfinder.
10,000 homes across two sites (Reading and Leeds). Budget: £50 to £65 million. Validates the delivery model, the levy mechanism, and consumer satisfaction before national rollout.
1 million owner-occupied homes. Green bonds issued in tranches of 100,000 homes. NWF anchors the first tranche; pension funds and securitisation vehicles fund at scale. Each tranche is independently self-repaying.
3 million homes, extending to social housing, rental properties, and flats. The model adapts for different tenure types while preserving the golden rule: the levy is always below the saving.
What Gets Installed
Every home receives solar panels, battery storage, a hybrid inverter, and an EV charger. You own the equipment from the moment it is installed.
| Component | What it does |
|---|---|
| Solar panels (4+ kWp) | Generate electricity from daylight. Even on cloudy days, you produce power that reduces what you buy from the grid. |
| Battery (5–10 kWh) | Stores excess solar energy for the evening. Use your own electricity after dark instead of buying from the grid at peak rates. |
| Hybrid inverter | Manages the flow between panels, battery, grid, and your home. Fully automatic. |
| EV charger (7 kW) | Charge an electric vehicle at home using your own solar power. Ready when you need it. |
Four Kit Configurations
| Kit | Solar Array | Battery | Target Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 4.2 kWp | 5 kWh | Flats and terraces |
| Family | 5.9 kWp | 10 kWh | Semi-detached homes |
| Large | 10.1 kWp | 15 kWh | Detached homes |
| Industrial | 12.6 kWp | 20 kWh | Large properties and community buildings |
Proving the Model
Before national bond issuance, a pathfinder proves the delivery model, the levy mechanism, and consumer outcomes. Phase 1 proceeds only if the pathfinder meets all four success thresholds.
5,000 homes. Most deprived ward in Berkshire, 35% social housing, approximately 30,600 owner-occupied homes eligible in the constituency. Local authority partnership and door-to-door recruitment.
5,000 homes. Burmantofts, Richmond Hill, Gipton, and Harehills: 25% fuel poverty. Approximately 29,000 owner-occupied homes eligible. Housing association referral pathway.
Kit 2 (5.9 kWp solar, 10 kWh battery, hybrid inverter, 7 kW EV charger) installed at pathfinder volumes: £5,000 to £6,500 per home. 18 months from procurement to evaluation.
Savings reach 90%+ of projections. Levy default rate below 3%. Consumer satisfaction above 80%. Ofgem regulatory clearance for the meter-attached levy mechanism.
Common Questions
This programme is structurally different from previous energy schemes.
Self-repaying through the levy. Zero Treasury cost beyond the pathfinder.
Different rate (4–4.5% vs 7–9%), different scale (1 million homes vs 1,754), different mechanism (infrastructure deployed, not a loan applied for).
Households own the equipment from day one. It is fixed to your property and belongs to you.
A levy on participating households only, always below their saving. Non-participants are unaffected.
The Context
Multiple pressures are converging to make this programme both urgent and achievable.
The UK imports more energy than almost any comparable economy. Every rooftop solar system reduces that dependence.
Oil and gas production has declined 77% since 1999. An estimated 90% of recoverable reserves have been extracted.
New builds will require solar as standard. This programme brings the same technology to existing homes.
Warm Homes Plan (£13.2bn), GB Energy (£8.3bn), Green Prosperity Plan (£23.7bn), and the Green Gilt Programme (£51bn+) all support this direction.
Ofgem price cap at £1,641 per year from April 2026. The Iran conflict continues to drive wholesale prices higher.
The government is actively deregulating small-scale solar installation, reducing barriers to deployment at scale.
“This transition is happening whether we lead it or not. The question is whether British families own their energy, or keep writing cheques to regimes we cannot control.”
For enquiries about the programme, the pathfinder, or partnership opportunities, please get in touch.