Homes in Wales tend to be older and in poorer condition than elsewhere in the UK, making them harder and more expensive to heat. An effective retrofitting and home upgrade scheme could help households save more than 10% on their annual fuel bills.
In government, Plaid Cymru will make the renewal of Welsh housing stock a national mission – going further and faster to improve living standards, tackle fuel poverty, and reduce household carbon emissions.
While protecting crisis support for those experiencing acute fuel poverty, we will expand access to retrofitting schemes by adopting a tenure-neutral, area-based approach. This means working towards approaches that upgrade homes across a defined area – owner‑occupied, rented and social – so households benefit together rather than relying solely on individual applications.
Our new retrofit programme will:
- Adopt practical and achievable energy-efficiency standards that will enable more homes to be upgraded faster and more cost-effectively using the same resources.
- Take a whole-home approach, prioritising the most cost-effective insulation measures – such as draft proofing, loft insulation, and cavity wall insulation – while adding clean heating solutions like heat pumps where they are already cost-effective, or preparing homes for future installation when they become so.
- Empower communities to collaborate in planning and requesting area-wide retrofitting initiatives, centred on one-stop-shop hubs where householders can access expert advice, guidance, and support on home improvements, as well as on optimising collective and community-owned energy solutions.
- Connect householders to the best financing options for their home upgrades, with tailored support for those on the lowest incomes.
- Establish a new quality control process to monitor the standards of work undertaken by installers operating with funding directed by government home energy efficiency schemes, including the requirement that an independent assessment is undertaken and deemed satisfactory before payment.
- Accelerate relevant skills pathways – including through apprenticeships – to grow the workforce, and ensure that more services are delivered by Welsh businesses.
- Review and update planning regulations, including to grant clearer permitted development rights for heat pumps and household renewables.
This programme will not only make homes warmer and cheaper to run, but also grow the green economy, reduce carbon emissions, improve health outcomes and put Wales at the forefront of inclusive, ambitious, and practical climate action.