Homeowner Blog

We’re often asked by our customers which is the best electricity tariff, especially when they’re investing in their own renewable energy systems. There are lots of energy suppliers, with prices varying by location and various contract commitments. But there are particular types of tariffs that we’d recommend looking at, depending on your circumstances:

As part of his summer mini budget, the Chancellor announced the Green Homes Grant back in July. Now the details have been released, revealing which technologies will be included to help homeowners make their properties more energy efficient. We can confirm that solar PV will not be included in the grant.

Recently the Solar Trade Association (STA) published a report modelling the impact of solar PV, battery storage and smart home controls on the UK’s electricity supply and demand. In particular it examines how these technologies can help balance the grid as it becomes ever more complex and under pressure.

We’re going to dig into how solar PV can integrate with smart homes to reduce or even eliminate peak demand.

As EVs become a part of daily life for more and more of us, the humble chargepoint is no longer just a plug socket. It’s the brains behind intelligent, economic charging. It’s a device that has to stand up to use day in, day out. It’s a feature of the look and feel of our homes.

One chargepoint excels in all these regards and is a cut above the rest in the design stakes - the Andersen A2. And we’re delighted to announce that Spirit is now an Andersen approved installer.

Solar panels perform best when they are clean. Any dirt or growth on the modules can block out sunlight and have a substantial impact on power output. Perhaps the hardest form of soiling to remove is lichen on solar panels.

But why does it grow on solar arrays and how can we deal with it?

Some of our clients are surprised to learn that there can be limits on the number of solar panels they can get on their roof, beyond the obvious physical and cost limitations. In fact, for solar PV systems over a certain size, grid permission is needed before installation can go ahead.

In this post, we’ll explore how many solar panels you’re allowed to install without prior permission, and how we can help you determine the maximum possible allowance for your property.

Last year saw the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants, leaving a very different landscape to the heady days of 2010, when the Feed-in Tariff scheme was first launched and the subsidy was around 43p per kWh. In October, solar tax rates also got a shakeup, meaning not every installation is eligible for 5% VAT. So, are solar panels worth it today?

Speaking purely from a financial point of view, the answer is a resounding yes. Of course beyond the financial, there are many other environmental benefits to be gained from installing solar, installing residential battery storage, driving an electric vehicle etc. Not least because they all contribute directly or indirectly to tackling air pollution and the climate crisis.

Back to the financials. The solar subsidy may have fallen, but so has the cost of the technology. Overall the cost of domestic solar electricity is now around 8p per kWh. This is well below the 16p average domestic import cost from the grid (which, by the way, increased by 6% in the last 12 months...).

As of Wednesday 10th June, the UK hit a huge milestone of going two months without burning any coal for electricity generation. This is due to a combination of the reduced national energy consumption since the start of lockdown and the high investment in renewable energy over the past decade. Approximately 800,000 homes now have solar PV installed, helping to contribute to the decarbonisation of the grid, while also reducing their energy bills.

As electricity generation continues to decarbonise, the next logical step is for the transport sector to shift away from fossil fuels and towards electric vehicles. Over the past couple of months, the number of vehicles sold has dropped considerably. Electric and hybrid vehicles, however, feature more heavily than usual in the ‘top 10 models sold’ and more Tesla Model 3s have been sold over the past two months than any other car.

With the number of homes generating their own clean energy via solar PV and the number of electric vehicles on the road growing, we thought we’d take some time to analyse the benefits of pairing a domestic solar PV system with an electric car to quantify the potential financial savings.

Today we’re going to answer some common questions around sizing solar PV systems, including the conditions that affect ‘clipping’ and achieving the maximum rated output.

As the UK begins to ease out of lockdown, many of us are facing some form of financial upheaval. For lots of people, the crisis has resulted in the painful loss of employment or income. But others have been able to weather the storm, or even save money during this period.

With no meals out, little hope of travelling abroad and the daily commute a distant memory, expenses for some of us have dropped dramatically. If you find you’ve saved a chunk of money from abandoned holidays or working from home, this could be a unique opportunity to spend on something significant.

So is now the time to invest in solar?