The Warm Homes Local Grant is a council-administered government scheme providing free or heavily subsidised energy efficiency improvements — including solar panels — to eligible low-income and fuel-poor households in England. It’s the most significant route to a free solar panel installation currently available in , with grants of up to £15,000 for owner-occupiers and Read more »
Second-hand solar panels are available in the UK — through solar farm decommissioning projects, installer stock clearances, and private sales — and they can appear attractively priced compared to new panels. But used solar panels come with significant practical complications that make them unsuitable for most residential installations, and understanding those complications before you buy Read more »
Octopus Energy launched its own solar panel installation service in England and Wales, offering a streamlined end-to-end experience that combines JA Solar TOPCon panels with the company’s market-leading export tariffs. As one of the UK’s largest and most innovative energy suppliers, Octopus brings genuine advantages to the solar market — but independent installers remain competitive Read more »
The Warm Homes Plan is the UK government’s flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of homes across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Announced in 2024 and running through to 2030, the plan commits £13.2 billion of investment towards insulation, low-carbon heating, and — crucially for homeowners considering solar — renewable energy measures including Read more »
Solar panels are designed to last 25 to 30 years. Your inverter almost certainly isn’t. For the millions of UK homeowners who had solar panels installed between 2010 and 2016 during the Feed-in Tariff boom, an inverter replacement is either overdue or just around the corner. This guide covers when to replace your inverter, what Read more »
There’s a quiet revolution underway in solar panel technology, and a British company is at the centre of it. Perovskite solar cells have been breaking efficiency records in laboratories for over a decade, and in they are beginning to appear in real commercial products. Perovskite panels aren’t yet on the shelves for UK homeowners, but Read more »
If you’ve been comparing solar quotes and noticed that some include “microinverters” while others specify a “string inverter”, you’re looking at a genuinely important design choice. Microinverters convert solar energy to usable electricity at the panel rather than in a central box, and for UK homes with shading, complex roofs, or plans to add more Read more »
Shading is the single biggest performance issue for solar panels in the UK. Because Britain’s roofscape is dense with chimneys, dormer windows, neighbouring properties, and mature trees, very few residential roofs are completely shade-free throughout the day. Understanding how shading affects your system, and what design choices can mitigate it, is essential before you invest Read more »
When you invest thousands of pounds in a solar panel system, you want to know it’s protected. A solar panel warranty isn’t just a piece of paper, it’s the difference between a repair that costs you nothing and one that costs you hundreds. The best solar panel systems come with three separate warranties covering the Read more »
Solar panels on a conservatory are more limited than on a house roof, but not impossible, and in some configurations they deliver real value. The most useful solar application for conservatories in isn’t panels on the glass roof itself (which rarely makes sense), but panels on the solid side walls, on the flat or pitched Read more »
