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Nearly all new homes will have to be built with solar panels under new rules announced this week by energy secretary Ed Miliband.

The new requirement, which had long been rumoured but until now officially unconfirmed, will be included in the Future Homes Standard, which is set to be published this autumn.

The Future Homes Standard will detail new requirements for new build homes, aiming to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Speaking to the BBC this week, Miliband said there would only be 鈥渞are exceptions鈥� to the requirements, with the 鈥渧ast, vast majority of homes鈥� being built with rooftop solar.

He said 40% of new homes currently have solar panels and added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be much, much higher than that. It鈥檚 going to be almost universal.鈥�

Exceptions are expected to relate to homes which have practical limits on their ability to generate solar, for instance homes which are surrounded by trees or entirely in shade.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the Home Builders Federation, said he welcomed the 鈥渞ecognition from the government that there needs to be flexibility around the number of panels on roofs in some locations, to reflect orientation and house design鈥�.

He accepted that solar panels would need to be installed on 鈥渢he overwhelming majority of new homes鈥� but said the government needed to ensure the process to agree how many panels should be installed in limited locations 鈥渋s workable and not overly bureaucratic such that it does not delay attempts to increase housing supply鈥�.

The previous Conservative government proposed that new build homes should have rooftop panels covering the equivalent of 40% of the building鈥檚 ground area.

But Miliband said the ditched plan meant that if developers could not achieve that percentage they would not have to do anything at all.

鈥淯nder our plans, we are not going to say that,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are going to say even if you can鈥檛 hit 40% you will still have to have some solar panels, except in rare exceptional cases.鈥�

>> Read more: How hard is it to decarbonise the construction of new homes?

According to the government, a typical existing UK home could save around 拢530 a year from installing rooftop solar, based on the current energy price cap.

Mark Wakeford, national chairman at the National Federation of Builders, said: 鈥淪olar panels on new homes make sense because they lower bills and progress the clean energy revolution we so desperately need.

鈥淐redit must also be given for recent announcements on grid investment and connection reforms, as these were important challenges to recognise and solve for a rooftop revolution to happen in practice.鈥�