The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) is a 21-year-old member-based trade association, committed to shaping a low-carbon, secure energy future in the UK. We offer innovative policy solutions that link up building-level technologies with the wider energy system, ensuring a holistic approach to decarbonisation.

Our strength lies in being technology agnostic, championing a whole-building, and whole-heating system approach. We understand that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to decarbonisation, and the UK must focus on the right solution for each home.

Our diverse membership includes retailers and manufacturers of energy saving measures, insulation and heating systems, installers, energy suppliers, innovators, housing providers and other organisations with expertise in energy in buildings.

From loft insulation to heat pumps, infrared heaters to smart hot water cylinders, we represent the full spectrum of solutions required to decarbonise the UK’s varied housing stock.

With our co-founder Dave Sowden back at the helm, the SEA is stronger than ever, and we are looking forward to a new year of innovative policy solutions that will help us to reach our net zero targets while creating healthy, warm and affordable homes for all.

How we have been busy this year

2025 has been our biggest year yet. We have continued to grow our membership, welcoming seven new members, including new Executive members E.ON UK and Agility Eco.

This year, we also launched three new policy initiatives, including one unveiled at our Annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Lords. These initiatives are designed to provide long-term certainty in the industry to unlock the mass uptake of sustainable energy efficiency solutions in UK homes and buildings.

Carbon Intensity Standard

The first publication we launched this year was the Carbon Intensity Standard, our answer to the long running debate on phasing out fossil fuel heating. Our proposal takes a realistic look at the heating industry, setting out what the SEA believes are sensible, achievable step changes in the carbon intensity of replacement heating systems between 2029 and 2036.

The proposal gives the heating industry time to adapt at each milestone, allowing today’s dominant technology – condensing gas boilers – to remain available at higher efficiency levels, until their complete phase out of new gas boilers in 2036. This way, even consumers still choosing gas boilers will benefit from improved performance and lower emissions. It does not require consumers to rip out their existing boilers, only applying to where a new boiler or other major component requires changing. Our model also allows other low carbon heating alternatives into the mix, including heat pumps, infrared, storage heaters, and other smart heating solutions. By creating a level playing field, these technologies become more cost-competitive against traditional heating methods.

Energy Efficiency Incentive

The UK’s building stock is diverse, and 80% of the UK’s existing buildings are expected to still be in use by 2050. We have the oldest building stock in Europe, and some of the draughtiest properties.

To address this, the SEA has developed a proposal for upgrading the energy efficiency of the UK’s homes and buildings that both maintains quality while reducing the reliance on expensive, politically sensitive, up-front capital grant schemes.

Our Energy Efficiency Incentive will incentivise bill savings by rewarding in-use performance of fabric energy efficiency measures, in place of the current approach of up-front payments featuring in schemes such as the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). It borrows successes from other successful policies such as Feed in Tariffs for solar PV, which succeeded in sparking the widespread uptake of solar panels and other solutions that generated renewable electricity.

Our proposal will create a predictable revenue stream for potential investors and transition the sector from short-term grants to a long-term revenue-based model, alongside incentivising high-quality installations.

Making electricity cheaper

As I write this article, we’re still waiting for the full Warm Homes Plan to be published. However, the recent Autumn Budget provided some clarity on the direction of domestic energy bills, and how policies are changing ahead of the new year.

Most importantly, Rachel Reeves announced a reduction in household energy bills. The Government plans to do this by temporarily funding a proportion of the Renewables Obligation through general taxation rather than energy bills. The obligation is only levied on electricity, and so we welcome the choice to make electricity bills cheaper and thus make low carbon heating solutions more cost competitive versus gas boilers.

Prior to these announcements, we published our levy rebalancing initiative, which found that reducing energy bills for everyone using electrically fuelled heating systems would be the most beneficial policy, particularly for those living in fuel poverty.

However, despite the positive movement in this area from the Government, our analysis found that levy rebalancing alone will not be enough to incentivise uptake of low carbon heating solutions. This is just one piece of the puzzle to help consumers make the switch. Levy rebalancing must be accompanied by wider electricity market reform, greater recognition of demand side response and flexibility within policy, while supporting improvements to the efficiencies of heat pumps and direct electric heating.

Our priorities going into 2026: Energy bills, fuel poverty, energy security

2026 will bring new challenges for our agenda at the SEA. With increasing polarisation around the UK’s Net Zero policies, political consensus surrounding the issue is declining. We’re tackling these challenges head on, refocusing our work around the benefits of sustainable energy for consumers directly.

From creating healthy homes and buildings to reducing fuel poverty, we are gearing up for a brand-new year of advocating for solutions that will make our homes fit for the future.

On energy efficiency, we will dive deeper into the recent announcements about the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), and how to navigate the evolving policy landscape around fabric efficiency. This will go hand in hand with a renewed focus on social housing and fuel poverty, where we’ll develop distinct policy proposals on rent caps, innovative financing models for energy efficiency, and more.

Another major focus for us in 2026 will be smart energy, working towards a more sustainable energy supply by assessing the commercial benefit of flexibility and demand side response (DSR).

On innovation and clean heat, we will continue to champion a technology agnostic approach, ensuring the right solution for the right circumstance. We will be exploring the challenges innovators face and propose ways to unlock innovation barriers within the retrofit space.

Conclusion

The year ahead brings both new challenges and opportunities for the SEA. Collaboration across the industry is key to driving forward progressive policy changes that will benefit both consumers and the economy.

With a growing member base and a stronger voice than ever, we remain dedicated to developing innovative policy initiatives that will help create warmer, healthier, and more affordable homes fit for the future.