News and Insights

15 posts
All Energy Bills Energy Efficiency Government Schemes Green Mortgages Solar

Solar export rates run from 1p to 25p. Which one are you on?

Same panels, same electricity, twenty five times the difference in what somebody pays you for it. And every rate above 15p has one thing in common.

Plug in solar arrives on Thursday. Six things to check before you buy one.

From 27 August you can buy a solar kit off a shelf and plug it into a socket. What the rules actually require, and the paperwork nobody is mentioning.

Adding a battery to an existing solar system

Fitted between 2011 and 2019 with no storage? Your roof has been giving most of it away. Whether you can add a battery is a narrower question than people assume.

Energy bills forecast to hit a three year high in October

The government cut VAT on electricity to soften it. The wholesale gas market swallowed the cut before it arrived. Here is the one part of your bill nobody can put up.

The other league table: which clubs are turning the electricity bill into squad money

The EFL grades its clubs on sustainability. But the interesting story is financial: one Lancashire club has just taken £84,000 a year off its running costs.

Green mortgages: which high street lenders offer what in 2026

Rate discounts, cashback and zero per cent borrowing, compared. What each lender actually requires, and the conditions people get caught out by.

Solar and Storage Live 2026: what we are going to look at

We are at the NEC from 22 to 24 September. All three of the brands we fit are exhibiting, and here is what we want to find out from them.

Battery storage in Lancashire: how to size one properly

Almost everyone sizes a battery against their roof. It should be sized against their evenings. How to work out the figure that actually matters.

Will solar work on my house?

Six Lancashire house types, six different solar answers. Stone terraces, interwar semis, estate houses, new builds, bungalows and farmhouses.

Solar panels in Lancashire: the complete guide

Solar in Lancashire is not the same job as solar in Surrey. Housing stock, shading, batteries, planning and the process, from a Clitheroe installer.

Chimneys, hills and shade: why panel choice matters on a Lancashire roof

Shading costs more output than orientation or panel brand. What shades a Lancashire roof, and the three ways to deal with it.

Plug in solar is legal from 27 August

New rules let you buy a solar kit off a shelf and plug it into a socket. What it will do, what it will not, and the paperwork nobody is mentioning.

Guy Martin’s House Without Bills: What Passive House and Energy House 2.0 Reveal

Channel 4’s programme on passive house design, and what Energy House 2.0 tells us about building homes that barely need heating.

What the Warm Homes Plan Means for Families and Homeowners

How the new government funding could bring relief to households worried about the cost of heating their homes.

UK Government Launches £15 Billion Warm Homes Plan

The government has unveiled a £15 billion initiative aiming to tackle rising energy bills and the need for greener home heating.