The honest things to know before installing solar panels that buying guides skip — birds nesting underneath, why panels go dark in a power cut, and the inverter cost nobody budgets for
Heat Pumps 📈 Record Demand Heat Pump Grant Applications UK: Why They Just Jumped 81% A conflict on the other side of the world just became one of the biggest reasons UK households are switching to heat pumps. Here’s the real chain of cause and effect. 📅 Published 29 August 2026 ⏱️ 8 min read … Read more
Argos, Anker and EcoFlow were all supposed to be selling plug-in solar today. On launch day, only one brand actually had genuinely compliant kits for sale — and they cost double what everyone expected.
The energy price cap October 2026 figure is confirmed at £1,723 — up 4%. But electricity is barely moving thanks to the VAT cut, while gas is doing almost all the damage. Here’s the honest breakdown.
New battery storage rules become mandatory on 15 October 2026. Loft installations are banned outright, and externally mounted batteries need one metre of clearance from windows, doors and vents. The rules aren’t retrospective — but altering an existing system after October brings it into scope. What it means if you’re buying, and what to ask your installer.
Solar · Buyer Warning · July 2026 Plug-In Solar Batteries Are Excluded From the UK’s New Rules A plug-in solar battery is being sold across the UK right now, often marketed as “plug-and-play”. But the government’s new rules explicitly exclude battery storage — and require every compliant kit to warn you not to connect one. … Read more
The UK government has published its plug-in solar product specification — the technical rulebook defining a legal self-install kit. Here are the confirmed rules straight from the document: the 800VA limit, one device per circuit, the panel caps, and the explicit battery exclusion most coverage is missing — plus the one step that still has to happen before you can legally plug one in.
Sold-out portable air conditioners are being resold on eBay at up to 127% over retail price during the July heatwave. We documented the markups on the Meaco Cirro range, explain the warranty trap of buying from resellers, and show you how to get the real thing at the real price instead.