Guides & Advice
Blog
Plain-English guides to solar, batteries and EV charging — sourced figures, honest caveats, no sales talk.
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What Size Home Battery Do I Need?
Sizing a home battery from your own bills: the neutral anchors, why the biggest number is rarely right, and the two figures that decide the answer.
25 September 2026 · 4 min read
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Tesla Powerwall 3 Price and Warranty in the UK
What Tesla publishes for a Powerwall 3 in the UK — the prices on its own quote page, and the warranty condition about who supplies and installs it.
25 September 2026 · 5 min read
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What's in a Solar Quote, Line by Line
How to read a solar panel quote: the lines that should be there, the ones quietly left out, and the two numbers that decide whether two quotes are comparable.
25 September 2026 · 4 min read
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Caterham Hill or Valley: Which Way Should Panels Face?
PVGIS runs for Caterham Valley and the Hill across five roof directions and three pitches: height barely matters, but direction changes output by a fifth.
17 September 2026 · 4 min read
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Choosing a Solar Installer in Horsham: A Checklist
Before you pick a solar installer in Horsham: MCS certification, a consumer code, UKPN paperwork, conservation-area roofs and a like-for-like quote.
17 September 2026 · 4 min read
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How Big Should Solar and a Battery Be on an Esher Home?
Esher's homes are 41% detached, so roof space is rarely the limit. How to size solar and a battery from your own usage, with a PVGIS run for Esher.
17 September 2026 · 5 min read
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SigenStor Neo in the UK: What Is Confirmed (September 2026)
Can you buy, warrant or install a SigenStor Neo in the UK yet? What Sigenergy has actually said, what is still unpublished, and the four things that would change the answer.
16 September 2026 · 9 min read
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Solar in Dorking: Article 4, the Surrey Hills and the Rules
Dorking's conservation area carries an Article 4 Direction, the town sits inside the Surrey Hills National Landscape and Mole Valley has 1,000-plus listed buildings. Where the planning line falls for roof-mounted solar.
16 September 2026 · 6 min read
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Solar Together in Crawley: What Happened and What's Next
Crawley was a named partner in Solar Together Sussex, which put more than 1,700 systems on roofs in two rounds. Where it stands now, and how to use it.
16 September 2026 · 5 min read
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Epsom and Ewell: What Three Solar Together Rounds Show
157 solar installs, 132 batteries and 18 EV chargepoints from the first three Solar Together rounds in Epsom & Ewell. What that record, the census and the EPC data say about your own roof.
10 September 2026 · 3 min read
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Solar in Maidenhead: SSEN, Solar Together and MaidEnergy
Maidenhead's grid runs on SSEN, not UK Power Networks; the Royal Borough runs Solar Together; and a local co-op has put 645 kW of renewables on local roofs. What each one means for a home here.
10 September 2026 · 3 min read
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Solar Together Sutton: Group-Buy or Installer Quote?
Sutton is in the Mayor of London's Solar Together scheme. What the group-buy actually is, what it does not guarantee, and how to compare it with an installer quote on the same spec.
10 September 2026 · 3 min read
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Solar Panels in a Croydon Conservation Area: The Rules
Croydon has 21 conservation areas and three with Article 4 Directions. Since December 2023 most roof-mounted solar is still permitted development — here is where the line falls.
10 September 2026 · 3 min read
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Woking's Solar History and What It Means for Your Roof
Woking once held nearly a tenth of the UK's installed solar. What that legacy, the borough's EPC data and Solar Together Surrey tell you about fitting panels on a Woking home today.
10 September 2026 · 3 min read
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Battery Storage Without Solar Panels: When It Makes Sense
Home batteries installed without solar panels: the tariff arithmetic, the 0% VAT position, backup power and an honest view of when it stacks up.
9 July 2026 · 7 min read
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EnSmart SolarAll: What's Actually in the Kit
Inside the EnSmart SolarAll kit HCE fits: the SolarAll-H hybrid inverter, ELV battery packs and SmartBee charger — published specs and honest gaps.
9 July 2026 · 7 min read
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7kW vs 22kW Home EV Charging: What Your Supply Allows
7kW or 22kW EV charger? What single-phase and three-phase supplies really allow, what your car can accept, and when the bigger number is wasted money.
9 July 2026 · 6 min read
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How Long Do Solar Batteries Last? Warranty vs Real Life
What battery warranties really promise — years, retention and throughput caps — against how long solar batteries keep working in real UK homes.
9 July 2026 · 8 min read
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Home EV Charger Installation Cost in the UK (2026)
What decides home EV charger installation cost in the UK: the electrical work, the £500 grant maths, VAT and running costs — explained without padding.
9 July 2026 · 8 min read
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The EV Chargepoint Grant in 2026: Who Still Qualifies
Who qualifies for the EV chargepoint grant in 2026 — renters, flat owner-occupiers, on-street households — who doesn't, and how the £500 claim works.
9 July 2026 · 6 min read
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0% VAT on Solar Panels and Batteries: What Qualifies
What the 0% VAT rate on solar panels and battery storage covers, what it excludes, and what changes when the relief ends on 31 March 2027.
9 July 2026 · 7 min read
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Solar Panel Payback Time UK: A Realistic 2026 Calculation
How long solar panels take to pay for themselves in the UK: the 2026 arithmetic at three self-use levels, what shortens it, and the honest caveats.
9 July 2026 · 9 min read
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Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days in the UK?
Yes — panels run on daylight, not just direct sun. What cloud really does to solar output in the UK, and why your quote already allows for the weather.
8 July 2026 · 6 min read
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Sigenergy SigenStor vs Tesla Powerwall 3 Compared
Sigenergy SigenStor and Tesla Powerwall 3 compared on capacity, power, modularity, warranty and EV integration — with published figures, not opinions.
8 July 2026 · 7 min read
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How Much Can Solar Panels Save You in the UK?
Realistic UK solar savings for 2026: typical system costs, bill reductions, export payments and payback periods — sourced figures, no sales talk.
8 July 2026 · 6 min read
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Solar Battery Storage Explained: UK Costs and Savings
What a home battery actually does, typical UK costs, realistic savings, warranty norms and the 0% VAT window — explained in plain English.
8 July 2026 · 7 min read
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Which Home Battery? EnSmart, Sigenergy, Tesla, EcoFlow
EnSmart, Sigenergy, Tesla Powerwall 3 and EcoFlow PowerOcean compared for UK homes: strengths, published warranties and which suits your household.
8 July 2026 · 7 min read
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