Builders have accused Ed Miliband of forcing them to install solar panels on houses even when they do not receive any sun.
Under the Energy Secretary’s Future Homes Standard, the Government mandates that solar panels on roofs should cover 40pc of the ground-floor area of each new-build house.
The rule forms part of a push to ensure new houses emit 75pc less carbon than older properties. It will apply to homes built from March 2028 in buildings measuring under 18 metres.
However, a senior executive at a major housebuilder claimed that the requirement was a “waste of money” because some homeowners will end up buying homes with solar panels that do not generate meaningful amounts of electricity.
Previously, developers would plan to put solar panels where they would receive the most sun and generate enough energy to serve a whole development site, rather than on individual homes.
“We’re paying to put solar panels on a part of the house, not necessarily to generate much electricity,” an industry executive said, adding it was “just a case of how the sun works”.
They said the policy was “strange … when we’re trying to make homes more viable”. “We support making housing more sustainable, but some of the things they’ve done just don’t make sense.”
The executive said the rule would significantly add to build costs, estimating the cost of a “future” new-build house, which includes the enforced solar element, would cost up to £8,000 more.
“If you were to invest that money instead on upgrading Victorian houses to be slightly more efficient, that would be massive,” they added.
While the rule for 40pc coverage was devised by the previous Conservative government, it allowed property developers to bypass the need to install solar panels if there were design limitations or too much shade.
Labour’s rules stipulate that where 40pc coverage cannot be achieved if a roof is in shade or if it faces away from the sun, a “reasonable amount” of solar panels must still be fitted.
