June 2026 Heating and Energy Updates: Five Changes You Need to Know

The heating and energy sector is moving fast, and if you manage buildings day-to-day it can be difficult to separate noise from the changes that will actually affect budgets, compliance, and tenant satisfaction. These UK heating and energy updates highlight where regulation, funding and market direction are heading, and what landlords, housing providers, universities, student accommodation teams and commercial property owners should be planning for now.

Below, we break down five practical UK heating and energy updates shaping the future of heating, energy efficiency and retrofit, and what they could mean for your estate.

1) A third of heating products could be removed from sale

New energy efficiency requirements are expected to make more than a third of space heating systems illegal to sell, particularly products without suitable temperature controls or smart functionality.

This could impact:

• Basic storage heaters

• Panel heaters

• Certain underfloor heating systems

• Some electric towel rails

The direction of travel is clear: heating products will need to be more controllable, more efficient, and better aligned to real building use. That means features such as scheduling, temperature management and the ability to reduce unnecessary energy use.

For landlords, housing providers and student accommodation managers, this is a key moment. A “cheap” heater may look cost-effective short-term, but if standards tighten further, those products can become outdated quickly, creating replacement costs and disruption later.

At Trust Electric Heating, our radiators are designed around intelligent control as standard, including scheduling and temperature management, helping you specify systems that are aligned with where the market is going.

2) Heat pump installations are stalling, and not every property is suitable

Government figures show UK heat pump retrofit installations fell 18% quarter-on-quarter and 22% year-on-year in Q1 2026, even with the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme still available.

Heat pumps will play an important role in decarbonisation, but they are not always the most practical option for every building, particularly when you’re managing multiple properties and downtime has a direct cost.

Heat pumps can be challenging in:

• Older buildings and hard-to-treat homes

• Flats and high-density student accommodation

• Listed buildings

• Properties with limited external space

• Sites where disruption and structural changes are not acceptable

That is where smart electric heating becomes a strong alternative. Modern electric systems can provide efficient, controllable heating without the same level of disruption.

Trust Electric Heating offers a lower-disruption route to efficient, controllable, lower-carbon heating:

• No external unit

• No major structural work

• No wet system required

For many estates, especially where heat pump installation is not realistic right now, modern electric heating is a practical and future-ready route forward, and one of the most relevant UK heating and energy updates for property teams planning upgrades.

3) £500 million in university retrofit funding is now live

The National Wealth Fund and Lloyds Banking Group have launched a £500 million financing initiative to support retrofit and decarbonisation across UK university estates. The funding is expected to support energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating across up to 300 campus buildings.

For universities managing student accommodation, older campus buildings and high-use communal spaces, this is a major opportunity to modernise estates, reduce emissions and lower long-term energy costs.

Trust Electric Heating already works with universities and student accommodation providers across the UK. Our NEOS electric radiators are designed to support controllable, efficient heating in individual rooms and shared spaces, helping institutions manage comfort, cost and carbon more effectively.

If your institution is reviewing retrofit plans or assessing how to use this funding for heating upgrades, now is the time to start those conversations.

4) Landlords face a bigger focus on smart readiness and heating performance

The government has confirmed its approach to improving energy performance in privately rented homes, with a stronger focus on:

• Fabric performance

• Smart readiness

• Heating system performance

By 2030, privately rented homes will need to meet a dual-metric standard under new EPC rules. This includes a primary standard based on fabric performance and a secondary standard based on either smart readiness or heating system performance.

For landlords, this means future compliance is likely to involve more than choosing the cheapest heating option. Heating systems will increasingly need to support:

• Efficiency

• Controllability

• Future energy flexibility

Products with poor controls, limited scheduling or outdated technology may become harder to justify as standards tighten.

Modern electric heating, particularly when paired with smart controls, offers landlords a practical route to improving comfort and control without the complexity of major system changes, and another of the UK heating and energy updates that should be on every landlord’s radar.

5) Non-domestic buildings are facing tougher energy standards too

Energy efficiency is not just a domestic issue. The government has also published an interim response on strengthening Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for non-domestic rented buildings in England and Wales.

This matters for:

• Offices

• Universities

• Commercial units

• Community buildings

• Mixed-use estates

As expectations rise, organisations will need to think carefully about how buildings are heated, controlled and managed. Older systems with poor controls, high running costs or limited flexibility may become harder to justify.

For commercial landlords, facilities managers and estate teams, heating should be treated as part of a wider energy performance strategy, not a standalone maintenance decision.

Trust Electric Heating works across domestic and commercial environments, supporting buildings where low-disruption, controllable electric heating is needed. If you manage mixed estates, now is the time to evaluate systems that support long-term compliance, comfort and energy management.

Trust’s take: what these UK heating and energy updates are really telling us

Across all five UK heating and energy updates, the message is consistent: the market is moving towards smarter, more controllable, more future-ready heating.

• Basic heating products are coming under pressure

• Heat pumps are not reaching every property type

• Universities and housing providers are being pushed to retrofit

• Landlords face new expectations around EPCs, smart readiness and heating performance

• Commercial buildings are being pulled into the same shift

At Trust Electric Heating, we believe the future of heating needs to be practical as well as low carbon.

Not every building can accommodate a heat pump easily, and not every property has the budget or structure for major works. That does not mean those buildings should be left behind.

Modern electric heating has an important role to play in the next stage of the UK retrofit journey. With intelligent controls, flexible installation, no external unit and no wet system required, Trust Electric Heating provides a practical solution for homes, student accommodation, social housing, universities and commercial buildings looking to upgrade with confidence.

If you are planning a heating upgrade, reviewing your retrofit strategy or preparing for future regulation, our team can help you understand the best route forward.

Speak to Trust Electric Heating today for a free quote and find out how our smart electric heating solutions could support your property.