Blog
How the energy numbers work — with links back to the calculators.
2026-03-26 · 9 min
Ten questions to ask before signing a solar quote
A practical checklist for anyone about to spend four or five figures on rooftop PV.
2026-03-19 · 6 min
Time-of-use tariffs: who they suit and who they punish
Cheap night rates help flexible loads. Immobile evening peaks can make smart tariffs more expensive than flat rates.
2026-03-12 · 6 min
Reading your electricity bill: standing charges, unit rates, and where the money goes
Separate fixed daily charges from variable unit rates before you trust any calculator default.
2026-03-05 · 5 min
The cheapest energy savings are always the boring ones
Draught-proofing, loft insulation and killing phantom loads often beat glamorous kit on payback.
2026-02-26 · 6 min
What it actually costs to charge an EV at home
Wall energy, charging losses and day/night tariffs explain most of the gap between brochure kWh/100 km and your bill.
2026-02-19 · 6 min
Heat pump running costs vs. gas: the SCOP-to-price-ratio rule
A heat pump beats a gas boiler on running cost when the electricity-to-gas price ratio stays below SCOP × boiler efficiency.
2026-02-12 · 7 min
Feed-in tariffs vs. net metering vs. export payments — the three models
How you are paid for surplus solar changes which assumptions dominate payback.
2026-02-05 · 6 min
Panel degradation and what a 25-year warranty actually guarantees
Linear degradation assumptions of ~0.4–0.5%/yr are planning tools — warranties guarantee a floor, not your weather.
2026-01-29 · 8 min
Do home batteries pay for themselves yet? Running the arithmetic
Battery value is mostly the retail–export price spread times the extra kilowatt-hours you stop exporting.
2026-01-22 · 7 min
Self-consumption is the number that decides whether solar pays
Exported solar often earns a fraction of the retail rate. The share you use on-site usually dominates economics.
2026-01-15 · 7 min
Specific yield explained: what one kWp really produces where you live
kWh per kWp per year is the bridge between panel size and annual generation — and it varies sharply by climate and roof.
2026-01-08 · 8 min
How solar payback is actually calculated (and why installer quotes look better than reality)
Break down generation, self-consumption, export value, degradation and inverter replacement — the levers that decide simple payback.