Finding the chase and cutting to it

Yesterday was the first day this July we were using electricity supplied from the national grid. In fact, since the middle of May this year, we have, where humanly possible, run ‘off-grid’. Where humanly possible? Some things are scuppering this philosophy. This sounds so ungrateful, but our electricity supply company gives us free hours of electricity and […]

It’s hard to believe the UK has broken its solar generation record twice this April, after such a dull and grey winter. The day before that last record was broken, the UK achieved its lowest ever value for how much carbon dioxide was used to produce its electricity. These two things are connected! When you […]

When we got our solar cells, we were never looking to be off-grid. The move was to support us and our new electric car. I had an interest in heat pumps, especially ground source, but in 2014, we saw solar as helping us ease the load. Of course, the world has changed dramatically since then: […]

There are about 30 million dwellings (residential buildings) in the UK. As of early 2025, over 1.4 to 1.6 million of these have solar generative capability. Only 44,000 are making use of solar thermal panels. With the rising price of energy and fuel, is that likely to change? Owned versus rented. One of the biggest […]

Mothering Sunday was not originally about celebrating Mother’s Day – it’s an old age tradition where people returned to their “mother church” – the main parish church or cathedral where they were baptized or raised. This act of returning home is the original meaning of “going a-mothering”. It is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in […]

If you live in the UK, you energy company is probably making a big fuss about “Power Moves”. Part of demand flexibility schemes are operated by National Energy System Operator (NESO) as a means of ensuring the UK makes the most of the renewable energy it produces. Power move, first launched by Ovo in 2024, […]

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It’s February, so how can this be the topic of a post today? Or Solar elevation and what it means for me… Human beings have been interested in how high the sun gets in the sky since ancient Greece was a dominant power. In fact, the Greek astronomers founded an equation anyone can use to […]

Last week, we looked at the cash return on replacement windows, which, on the face of it looked marginal at best. But of course, we have made other investments over the past twelve years. Easy steps, let’s look at the LED lighting. About a year, just in saved electricity. Initial cost was about £350 for […]

As you know, I’ve been passionate about making the most of the excess power generated in the UK during our peak solar periods. I am sure I haven’t influenced Australia, but I love this idea and wish it were copied across the world: free-energy-while-the-sun-shines. Power shifting is something I have spoken about and makes so […]