Inspired Renewables Clear energy advice for UK homes and businesses

Inspired Renewables

Clear energy advice for UK homes and businesses

Latest Articles

The Landlord's Roof, the Tenant's Meter: Making Renewable Upgrades Work in Rented Homes
Solar PV

The Landlord's Roof, the Tenant's Meter: Making Renewable Upgrades Work in Rented Homes

Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps all pay back over decades, but in privately rented homes the person who funds the hardware is rarely the person who sees the savings. This guide examines the metering, consent and minimum-standard rules that shape rented-sector retrofits, and sets out four contractual structures that let landlord and tenant share the benefit rather than one side absorbing the cost.
The Thirty-Day Diagnostic: Reading Half-Hourly Meter Data Before Buying Renewables
Home Energy Storage

The Thirty-Day Diagnostic: Reading Half-Hourly Meter Data Before Buying Renewables

Most renewable purchases begin with a quote rather than evidence. A month of half-hourly smart-meter data can reveal baseload, heating, hot-water and electric-vehicle patterns before a homeowner commits to solar, a battery or a heat pump.
Borrowed Sunlight: The Practical Case for and Against Plug-In Solar on UK Balconies
Solar PV

Borrowed Sunlight: The Practical Case for and Against Plug-In Solar on UK Balconies

Plug-in solar is marketed as a tenant-friendly route to lower bills, but UK flats present legal, electrical and physical constraints that deserve scrutiny. This guide sets out what a balcony array can realistically generate in 2026, how to approach landlords and freeholders, and which safety and metering questions to settle before purchase.
Credentials, Contracts and Commissioning: Vetting a UK Renewable Installer in 2026
Solar PV

Credentials, Contracts and Commissioning: Vetting a UK Renewable Installer in 2026

Quotes tell you what an installer would like to sell; the paper trail tells you whether they can stand behind it. This guide sets out how to verify MCS certification, insurance-backed guarantees, subcontracting arrangements and handover documents before releasing final payment.
Stone, Slate and Solar: Designing PV for Listed and Conservation-Area Homes in 2026
Solar PV

Stone, Slate and Solar: Designing PV for Listed and Conservation-Area Homes in 2026

Solar on a listed building is rarely a simple product choice; it is a heritage argument supported by drawings, product data and a credible alternatives appraisal. This guide explains how listed building consent differs from planning permission, what conservation officers typically expect in 2026, and how visible roof panels compare with hidden or ground-mounted arrays.
Permission Slips for the Roof and Wall: Understanding DNO Consent for Domestic Renewables in 2026
Solar PV

Permission Slips for the Roof and Wall: Understanding DNO Consent for Domestic Renewables in 2026

DNO approval is often the quiet constraint on a home renewables project. This guide explains when G98 and G99 notifications apply to solar, batteries and heat pumps, how export limitation fits in, and where domestic installations commonly stall.
Bidirectional Ambitions: What Vehicle-to-Home Can Realistically Deliver in Britain in 2026
Home Energy Storage

Bidirectional Ambitions: What Vehicle-to-Home Can Realistically Deliver in Britain in 2026

Vehicle-to-home is no longer purely theoretical in the UK, but compatible cars, chargers and DNO approvals remain scarce. Here is how it compares with a dedicated home battery in 2026.
Funding Before Hardware: How to Read a Heat Pump Quote in 2026
Heat Pumps

Funding Before Hardware: How to Read a Heat Pump Quote in 2026

The grant is not a discount sticker. In 2026, UK homeowners need to compare heat pump quotes as funding and engineering documents, with eligible costs, emitter sizing and commissioning shown separately.
What a REGO Really Proves: A UK Business Guide to Credible Renewable Electricity Claims
Commercial Solar

What a REGO Really Proves: A UK Business Guide to Credible Renewable Electricity Claims

A green electricity tariff can be defensible, misleading or simply expensive, and the difference often sits in documents most buyers never request. This procurement guide explains what REGOs, fuel-mix labels and supplier claims actually demonstrate, and how an SME can write sustainability statements that survive scrutiny without paying for gloss.
Beyond the Default SEG: Matching Export Tariffs to a UK Home's Solar and Battery Rhythm
Solar PV

Beyond the Default SEG: Matching Export Tariffs to a UK Home's Solar and Battery Rhythm

The Smart Export Guarantee was never designed to be the best possible deal. For homes with panels and a battery, the more useful question is whether a fixed, time-of-use or specialist export tariff fits the way the house actually generates and consumes power. This guide sets out the paperwork, the switching traps and the arithmetic that separates a genuine improvement from a marginal tweak.
Audit Before You Buy: A Business Owner’s Pre-Renewables Checklist
Commercial Solar

Audit Before You Buy: A Business Owner’s Pre-Renewables Checklist

Before a solar or heat-pump quote lands on your desk, a few hours of operational checking can remove waste, sharpen the specification and expose greenwash. This twelve-point audit is designed for UK SME owners who want the cheapest kilowatt to be the one they never use.
Fabric, Heat, Generation: The Order That Keeps Home Energy Upgrades Honest
Heat Pumps

Fabric, Heat, Generation: The Order That Keeps Home Energy Upgrades Honest

A sensible sequence for UK homeowners is rarely the one promoted by the shiniest quote. This guide sets out why insulation, heat pump and solar should be considered in that order, how to test grant eligibility before signing, and where finance and installer sales pressure can quietly inflate the bill.
Rooftop PV Without Freehold: A Tenant's Guide to Solar on Leased Business Premises
Commercial Solar

Rooftop PV Without Freehold: A Tenant's Guide to Solar on Leased Business Premises

UK businesses that rent or lease their premises can still cut energy costs with solar, but the project depends as much on lease terms and metering as on roof orientation. This guide outlines the consent, survey and power purchase agreement issues to resolve before installation.
Afternoon Surplus, Evening Deficit: Sizing a Home Battery for Real UK Consumption
Solar PV

Afternoon Surplus, Evening Deficit: Sizing a Home Battery for Real UK Consumption

Smart meter data often shows solar export peaking at midday while household demand climbs after 4pm. This analysis explains how import prices, export rates and battery efficiency determine whether storage saves money or becomes an expensive hobby.
Awkward Roofs, Useful Kilowatts: Solar Design for East-West, Flat and Shaded Homes
Solar PV

Awkward Roofs, Useful Kilowatts: Solar Design for East-West, Flat and Shaded Homes

Most UK roofs are not a clean, unshaded plane facing due south, and they do not need to be. This guide compares east-west, flat-roof, split-array and shaded installations, explains what each means for yield and battery sizing, and sets out the questions worth asking before signing a quote.
Defrost, Delta T and the Truth About Cold Snaps: Reading Your Heat Pump Like an Engineer
Heat Pumps

Defrost, Delta T and the Truth About Cold Snaps: Reading Your Heat Pump Like an Engineer

Cold snaps revive the same arguments about heat pumps every year, usually with more anecdote than evidence. This winter reality check separates defrost cycles, flow temperatures and instantaneous COP from the numbers that actually matter on your meter, with a practical checklist for judging performance in a UK home.