Wood Burners in, Gas Boilers out

We may be on the cusp of summer but how we’ll heat the homes of the future has been in the news recently. The latest Government announcements concern brand new homes and there has been a change of heart regarding one popular way of keeping warm.

It was widely expected that housebuilders in England would be banned from fitting wood burning stoves in new homes, with The Climate Change Committee recommending the appliances be phased out and a study by Professor Chris Witty finding  even ‘eco-design’ wood burning stoves produced 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating.

Off the back burner

In May 2025, however, the Government declared housebuilders in England could include wood burning stoves in a home’s specification. The move is more surprising given Labour is in the midst of creating its Future Homes Standard - a set of rules for housebuilders aimed at decarbonising England’s housing stock.

The news follows a similar U-turn in Scotland, where the Government there went back on its promise to ban wood burning stoves in new builds and conversions in late 2024.

Solar power waning

Also slipping under the radar is the suggestion that equipping all new homes with solar panels will be optional – and not mandatory - in the future. New home buyers do already benefit from one compulsory eco measure, as all new build homes in England are legally required to have electric car charging points - a mandate dating from June 2022.

Cooking on gas but not for long

While wood burning stoves are back on the table, the days of gas boilers in brand new homes are numbered and the end may come sooner than we expected. The Future Homes Standard mentioned above was timetabled for introduction in around May 2027 but the Deputy Prime Minister and the Energy Secretary want this introduced as early as 2026.

The suggestion is that brand new homes will not be connected to the mains gas network, rendering gas boilers, gas fires and gas hobs obsolete. Instead, central heating would be fired by air or ground source heat pumps, with electric hobs and the option to add a wood burning stove.

It is also possible that housebuilders will explore hydrogen boilers but they are not widely available in the UK. For this to be a valid option, a safe and reliable way of pumping hydrogen into homes will be needed and we’re expecting the Government to provide more details on this in 2026.

Winter fuel payments update

Finally, early summer brought us better news regarding winter fuel payments. The Government has performed another U-turn after voters voiced their displeasure over the scrapping of the winter fuel contribution for pensioners not in receipt of pension allowance.

The Prime Minister announced in June it would be revising its wide sweeping cut so more people would qualify for the allowance this coming winter. The finer details of this pledge were not available at the time of writing.

Eco-ready new homes available now

White & Brooks is selling a selection of brand new homes from leading housebuilders across Surrey and Sussex. With high levels of thermal efficiency and exemplary EPC ratings, new homes generally offer the most cost-effective heating and hot water systems.  Please speak to our new homes team to view the latest homes for sale.