Caribbean Blinds Reacts To Government Warm Homes Plan

As the Government unveils its Warm Homes Plan, Stuart Dantzic, MD of Caribbean Blinds, argues that external solar shading must move from the margins to the mainstream of home energy policy.

Those of us in the UK’s solar shading industry have long been used to governments of various stripes promising to tackle the effects of a changing climate on domestic and commercial buildings – and delivering with equally variable results. The cycle often swings from ‘Great idea!’ to ‘Waste of money!’ even within the lifetime of a Parliament, so it’s hardly surprising that we observers treat any new initiative with a degree of scepticism.

That said, the Government’s newly published Warm Homes Plan is an important and welcome statement of intent. A £15 billion commitment to tackling fuel poverty, decarbonising homes and reducing long term energy bills is not to be dismissed lightly.

The emphasis on solar panels, heat pumps and batteries reflects a desire to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels. Those aims are broadly right. But the plan reveals a persistent blind spot that risks undermining its own objectives: the failure to take overheating seriously, and with it the failure to treat external solar shading as essential infrastructure rather than an optional extra.

The basic problem is that for decades, British housing policy has been shaped by a single obsession: keeping heat in. Thick insulation, superior double and triple glazing and ever more powerful heating systems have been treated as markers of progress. This approach made sense in a colder, more predictable climate. It makes far less sense now.

However, buried within the Warm Homes detail is an acknowledgement that properties must stay cool in summer as well as warm in winter. The plan even namechecks shading alongside shutters and reflective films as low cost interventions. Yet there is little clarity on delivery or funding. In practice, shading feels like an afterthought, while capital and policy attention flow towards complex technologies with higher costs, longer payback periods and significant demands on the electricity grid.

This matters because overheating is no longer a niche concern. UK summers are getting hotter and longer, and many homes are ill equipped to cope. Research cited by the Government itself shows some flats reaching internal temperatures of more than 47 degrees during relatively modest heat events. This is nothing less than a serious health risk, particularly for older people, young children and those with existing conditions. It also places avoidable strain on the NHS.

The underlying problem is solar gain. Modern homes, with bigger areas of glazing, sliding doors and rooflights, invite the sun in and then struggle to get the heat back out.

Once shortwave solar radiation passes through glass, it is trapped as longwave heat. Insulation that retains warmth in winter becomes part of the problem in summer.

External solar shading tackles this at source. By stopping the sun before it reaches the glass, it dramatically reduces heat build-up inside the home.

Independent studies consistently show reductions in internal temperatures of more than 10 degrees, and in some cases closer to 20. The Camden monitoring project referenced in the Government’s plan is particularly striking. External shading combined with night time ventilation eliminated overheating risk entirely. Internal blinds helped, but external systems were markedly more effective. In a nutshell, this is passive cooling in its purest form.

Our own white paper at Caribbean Blinds, published last year, reinforces this evidence. We found that while concern about overheating is rising, understanding remains low. Many homeowners still see it as an unavoidable side effect of modern living, or something to be solved later with air conditioning. Yet when the benefits of shading are explained clearly, appetite for adoption increases sharply. People want solutions that are visible, understandable and that work immediately.

None of this is to argue against heat pumps or solar panels. But they should sit within a hierarchy of measures that starts with reducing demand in the first place. It is easier and cheaper to stop heat getting into a building than to remove it once it is there.

If the Warm Homes Plan is to live up to its promise, shading needs to move from the margins to the mainstream. That means clearer guidance, proper inclusion in funding schemes and a stronger signal to designers, developers and homeowners that managing solar gain is a basic requirement of a modern home.

A warm home should indeed be a basic guarantee – and so should a cool one. External solar shading is a simple, proven and immediately deployable answer to a growing problem. Treating it as optional is a mistake we can no longer afford to make.

To download the Caribbean Blinds white paper, click this link here.