Home energy, explained properly.
Every guide here is written by people who do not sell installations, sourced to the manufacturer datasheet or the scheme rulebook, and dated so you can see how current it is. Start with the technology you are weighing up.
Featured this quarter
The newest guides, and the two most-read battery comparisons, updated for the current price cap and the VAT deadline.
What the 28 October 2026 Budget means for solar, batteries and heat pumps
What changed for solar, batteries and heat pumps, what did not, and what is still unpublished.
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What the January price cap means for solar, and what it does not
The whole-bill forecast is gas-led. What solar actually competes with is smaller, and mostly unpublished.
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The 0% VAT deadline: what ends on 31 March 2027, and what it costs to miss it
The install deadline is still 31 March 2027. Electricity's 0% VAT was extended to the end of June.
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Sigenergy SigenStor review: the 5-in-1 tower examined
The 5-in-1 tower reviewed by a site that does not sell it, warranty arithmetic included.
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Which tariff is actually right for a heat pump?
Two of the top-ranking heat pump tariffs need an EV. Here are the two that do not.
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Tesla Powerwall 3 against the alternatives, and where each one wins
The strongest single box in the market, and the houses it is still wrong for.
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Solar
32 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full solar guide sits alongside them.
- Aiko vs LONGi for a UK roof: Neostar 3 or Hi-MO X10? Datasheet against datasheet, with a verdict by roof type and the warranty by series.
- Back contact solar panels, explained for a UK roof What back contact changes on a roof, compared fairly with TOPCon, with the makers' own claims labelled.
- Best solar panels UK 2026: what the datasheets actually say One pick per job, the specs behind each, and what moves payback more than the badge.
- Solar panel types, and the four numbers that actually matter TOPCon, HJT and back contact decoded, plus the four numbers worth comparing.
- 0% VAT on electricity extended to the end of June 2027, and why the 31 March 2027 install deadline still matters Electricity VAT extended to the end of June 2027. The install deadline is still 31 March. Dates, sources and gaps.
- 0% VAT on solar and batteries: what qualifies, and what does not Zero VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5% returns. What qualifies, and what it is worth.
- Warm Homes Loan for solar panels and batteries: what the £15,000 caps cover £15,000 for solar, £15,000 for a battery, MCS required. How the caps compare with our own prices.
- Are solar panels worth it in 2026? Here is the actual maths Roughly £1,000 per kWp installed, offsetting electricity at 26.32p a unit. The real arithmetic.
- Balcony solar panels in the UK: are they actually worth it? Legal since August 2026, capped at 800W. What's specific to a balcony, and when a full roof system wins.
- DNO application timescales, network by network: from a G98 notification to a G99 approval Fit and notify within 28 days, or wait ten working days to 45 for a yes. System size decides which.
- Do solar panels increase home value? What the actual data shows The largest UK study found a 6.1% to 7.1% sale price premium. Here is the full picture.
- Do solar panels work in winter? Yes, just less than summer Panels run on light, not sunshine. Cloud turns them down, not off. What that means for an awkward roof.
- Do you need planning permission for solar panels? Usually not Usually not, provided the installation stays within the limits updated on 27 August 2026.
- East, west or south facing: what your roof direction really costs you An east west split gives up about a fifth of the annual total, and can still be worth more than south.
- G98 vs G99: the 28-day form and the eight-week wait, in plain English One number on your quote decides between a formality and an eight week wait.
- How do plug-in solar panels work, and what changed on 27 August 2026 A panel, an 800W-capped micro-inverter and a standard socket. Legal in Great Britain since 27 August 2026.
- How long does a solar inverter last, and when does replacing it make sense? The one component you should expect to replace, and the decision tree when it goes.
- How many solar panels do I need? The honest way to count One panel is 2.26 square metres. The rest is measuring your roof honestly.
- How do solar panels work? The full explanation, from photon to plug socket Light into silicon, DC into AC, AC into your bill. The whole chain, explained.
- How to size a solar and battery system, properly Usage, storage, connection, array. Four decisions, and the order between them matters.
- Microinverters, optimisers or a plain string inverter: who needs what Shade and roof layout decide this. An honest triage of the three approaches.
- Single phase or three phase? The sixty-second check that decides your system size One look at your fuse board sets the ceiling on how much solar you can connect.
- Solar installation day: exactly what happens, hour by hour The week before, the day itself hour by hour, and the paperwork that follows.
- Why your inverter is smaller than your panel array, and why that is correct More panel capacity than inverter capacity is a deliberate design choice.
- How to clean solar panels, and whether you need to at all Cleaning is oversold and pigeon mesh is undersold. The numbers behind both.
- What solar actually costs in 2026, and where every pound goes Around £8,677 average, £1,550 to £1,800 per kW. Where every pound actually goes.
- Solar panel grants and funding in 2026: what actually exists, and what is a sales pitch No blanket grant exists, and the four supports that do exist are better than most of the adverts.
- How long do solar panels last? 25 to 30 years, in practice The panels outlast the inverter by a wide margin. Plan for that, not for cleaning.
- What a solar service costs, and how often you actually need one MCS advises a contractor visit at year 10 on a privately owned home. Most plans sell one a year.
- What is a DNO, and why does a company you have never heard of get a say in your solar? The company that owns your street's cables decides what solar you can connect.
- Why solar panels stop working, and how to work out which one it is There is an order to this, and it starts at the inverter display rather than the roof.
- Do solar panels need direct sunlight? Not really, and here is why No. Solar cells respond to light hitting them, not to a clear line of sight to the sun.
Batteries
12 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full batteries guide sits alongside them.
- AC coupled or DC coupled? The 60 second answer AC for retrofits, DC for new installs. The reasoning, the efficiency gap and when the rule flips.
- Adding a battery to solar panels you already own Retrofitting a battery to working solar is straightforward. The paperwork is where people trip up.
- Battery warranties and what retained capacity really means Years, retained capacity and a usage limit. Three promises, and the third is the one people miss.
- GivEnergy in administration: what owners should do now The sourced timeline, the warranty position, and the owner's checklist for this month.
- Inside a home battery: capacity, power and losses Usable capacity, kW output, round trip losses and chemistry, in plain terms.
- Does a standalone battery actually pay back? No panels means one job: buy cheap, use later. The tariff decides whether it pays.
- How much a battery saves by charging on cheap night rates What charging at 8.5p and using at 26.32p is actually worth over a year.
- Tesla Powerwall 3 vs Duracell Dura16: which fits your home? The two packages we actually price, compared on the numbers that decide it.
- What a battery gateway actually does Without a gateway your system shuts down when the grid does. Here is what the box actually does.
- Which battery size band does your home fall into? Where UK homes actually land, why oversizing costs you, and what shifts the band.
- What happens to your battery warranty when the manufacturer fails The hardware keeps running. The promise attached to it does not. What the 2026 collapse taught owners.
- Whole home backup or partial backup? The runtime arithmetic Whole home backup sounds obvious until you do the runtime maths. Here is how to choose the right tier.
EV charging
10 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full EV charging guide sits alongside them.
- Charging an EV from your own solar Every surplus kWh is 3.6 to 5 miles. Whether that beats a 7p overnight rate is arithmetic.
- What an EV charger installation actually involves Main fuse, DNO notification, load balancing and the paperwork. What really happens.
- How time of use charging windows actually work How a cheap overnight window is metered and billed, and what a battery does inside it.
- Home EV charger types and speeds, explained properly Granny cable, 7kW wall unit or 22kW three phase. What each adds per hour, and which you need.
- The main home EV chargers, compared on what actually differs Eight popular UK home chargers on cable, connectivity, warranty and tariff integration.
- What it really costs to charge an EV at home versus in public Home off-peak charging costs a fraction of the public price. The arithmetic, and the tariff it depends on.
- How solar aware EV charging actually works The CT clamp, the surplus tracking and the 1.4kW floor that catches people out.
- Smart charge point regulations, explained Why your charger arrives pre-set to charge overnight, and why it waits before it starts.
- Tethered or untethered? The decision, in sixty seconds Fixed cable or bring your own. The one charger decision you cannot undo later.
- Three phase and EV charging: what actually changes Three phase buys 22kW charging. Most cars cannot use it, and load balancing usually solves the real problem.
Heat pumps
15 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full heat pumps guide sits alongside them.
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, explained A fixed amount, claimed on your behalf by our installation teams, with a real deadline on the £9,000 version.
- Heat pump running costs versus a gas boiler, assumptions shown Four numbers decide it: seasonal efficiency, flow temperature, tariff and heat demand.
- Sizing a heat pump: what a proper survey covers Sized by calculation, not by rule of thumb. What the survey covers, and what guessing costs.
- Are heat pumps worth it? The real 2026 numbers Electricity costs 3.3x gas per kWh. A heat pump is about 3x as efficient. The numbers nearly cancel out.
- How much does a heat pump cost? The 2026 numbers, before and after the grant UK median installed cost around £12,908, before the up to £7,500 grant comes off.
- The popular UK heat pump lines, compared on published specs Outputs, refrigerant, flow temperature and published SCOP, side by side with conditions.
- Are air source heat pumps any good? What owners actually report The UK's largest survey found 80% of heat pump owners satisfied, against 70% for gas boilers.
- Do you need to replace your radiators for a heat pump? Some change, most do not. The room by room arithmetic that decides which.
- Flow temperature: the one number that decides your running cost The water temperature your system produces. It sets efficiency, radiator cost and bills.
- Are heat pumps noisy? The 37 dB(A) answer, in plain terms The 1 metre boundary rule is gone. A 37 dB(A) sound test replaced it.
- How an air source heat pump actually works It moves heat rather than making it. The cycle, the efficiency numbers and the trade-offs.
- Underfloor heating and heat pumps: the natural pairing The most efficient combination available, plus the one design problem it creates upstairs.
- What are the disadvantages of a heat pump? Six honest ones Six real disadvantages, worth planning around rather than a reason to rule one out.
- Which homes suit a heat pump, and which need work first The trial data says no property type is unsuitable. Design quality decides the outcome.
- What MCS certification actually buys you on a heat pump job The gate on the £7,500 grant, the design standard behind your running costs, and the noise sign-off.
Tariffs
10 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full tariffs guide sits alongside them.
- Choosing a tariff when you have solar, a battery and an EV Solar, battery and EV want different tariffs. How to work out which one to protect.
- The price cap explained, and what it does to solar payback The cap limits unit rates, not bills. That changes what solar payback means.
- EV tariffs compared: the cheapest overnight windows Overnight rates of 6.99p to 9p against a 26.32p capped average, compared.
- The plan to abolish gas standing charges: what it means for your bills, heat pumps and solar A request to Ofgem, aimed at the end of 2027 or later. What is confirmed, and what it means for heat pumps and solar.
- The £100 Household Energy Payment: who gets it, when, and what has not been published £100 for council tax bands A to D in England from January 2027. How it is paid is unpublished.
- Will energy prices keep rising, and by how much The January forecasts jumped fast. What is confirmed, what is guessed, and whether solar is a real hedge.
- Which tariffs are actually built for battery charging A battery buys cheap and uses dear. The tariff decides how much that is worth.
- Why tariff choice moves payback more than kit choice Identical kit, five times the export income. The tariff decision worked through with August 2026 rates.
- What the Smart Export Guarantee actually is The scheme obliges suppliers to pay above zero, and leaves the rate to them.
- Why the best export rates always carry conditions The top export rates are acquisition offers. Here is how to price the condition.
Standards
14 guides, each one sourced and dated. The full standards guide sits alongside them.
- How to apply for the Warm Homes Loan: step by step, and when it starts Apply to a lender, not government. The steps in order, what the quote must show, and what to keep.
- Warm Home Discount vs Warm Homes Loan: what each one is and who gets it A £150 bill discount versus a loan for upgrades. Who gets which, and how to apply for each.
- Warm Homes Loan lenders: the ten named by GOV.UK, and what is known about each The ten lenders on GOV.UK, how each takes applications where that is known, and a dated log of changes.
- Warm Homes: Local Grant, who qualifies and how to apply Fully funded insulation, a heat pump and solar, for households that qualify. Council cost caps apply.
- The Warm Homes Plan, explained The £15bn umbrella behind three schemes. The loan scheme launched on 26 to 27 October 2026.
- MCS, HIES, RECC, NAPIT, TrustMark and Flexi-Orb: which badge does what Six logos, six different jobs. What each scheme covers, and which are actually required.
- HIES explained: what the badge actually protects, and when What HIES protects: deposits up to 25 percent capped at 5,000 pounds, and your workmanship guarantee.
- How to check an MCS certificate is genuine, before the deposit leaves your account A logo proves nothing. Certification is business specific, technology specific and checkable.
- Insurance backed guarantees: what they cover, and the failure they never cover An IBG backs your installation team's workmanship guarantee, not your hardware warranty. Know the difference.
- Your MCS certificate: what it shows, when it arrives, and how a Smart Export Guarantee supplier uses it The document your export payments hang on. Who issues it, what it shows, and how to get a copy.
- NAPIT, NICEIC and competent person schemes: who tells building control about your solar Solar work is notifiable. A competent person scheme means your installation team notifies, not you.
- RECC explained: the code that governs the sale, not just the install The code that governs how renewables are sold: quotations, deposits, guarantees and after sales.
- G98 or G99: which one applies, what the application involves, and how long it takes The G98 line sits at 3.68kW per phase. Above it, your network operator has to say yes first.
- What MCS certification actually is, and why your export payments depend on it The badge that decides whether your solar earns export payments. It cannot be added later.
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