Future Homes

Electrical Safety in the Net Zero Home

The UK Government has set a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This will require significant change to existing housing stock in order to mitigate the risks of climate change. However, we believe that electrical safety is not being given the attention it needs in the race to net zero. 

There are several key issues to address to ensure that the future home is not only low carbon and smart, but also safe. These include:

• A lack of specialised and certified installers and registered electricians working in the low carbon space.
• An inconsistent approach to installation quality standards and reporting requirements across the sector.
• The risk of installations and repairs being undertaken by consumers themselves if there is a shortage of specialised and certified installers/registered electricians.
• A lack of financial support to enable retrofitting to be carried out safely.
• Low consumer awareness of the safety risks and ongoing maintenance requirements of low carbon solutions.

Our report looks at these challenges in detail, identifies the key actors who have a role to play in ensuring electrical safety during the transition to net zero, and offers recommendations that will help to keep consumers safe from electrical risks.

You can download the full report at the side of this page, or click on the links below to find out more about the main policy issues.