New to eco homes? Solar, batteries, heat pumps and more, explained simply

If you've started looking into solar panels, heat pumps or batteries, you've probably been hit with jargon, big promises and sales calls straight away. This guide is the plain-English starting point we wish we'd had.

For each upgrade, we'll cover what it is, how it works, who it suits and roughly what it costs, so you can work out which ones are worth looking into for your home.

Start here: what order to think about things in

There's no single right answer for every home, but this order usually makes sense:

1. Stop heat escaping first (insulation). It's the cheapest upgrade and usually pays for itself fastest.
2. Make your own electricity (solar panels). Cuts your electricity bill for 25 years or more.
3. Store it and buy it cheaper (a battery and a cheaper night-time tariff). Lets you use more of your own solar power and buy the rest when it's cheap.
4. Change how you heat your home (heat pump). Best done once your home is well insulated, often when your boiler needs replacing anyway.
5. Charge an electric car at home (EV charger). Only if you have, or are getting, an electric car.

You don't need to do all of these, and you don't need to do them all at once.

At a glance

Typical 2026 prices. Your quote will depend on your home.

Insulation: stop the heat escaping

What it is: material that keeps heat inside your home, usually in the loft or in the gap inside your outside walls (the "cavity").

How it works: like a good winter coat. Heat naturally escapes through the roof and walls; insulation slows that down, so your heating has to work less hard.

Who it suits: almost everyone. If your loft insulation is thin, or your walls have a cavity that's never been filled, start here.

Rough cost: about £650–£1,200 to top up loft insulation in a semi-detached home, saving around £200–£340 a year. Filling cavity walls costs more, about £1,800–£2,700.

Help available: free insulation is available for some lower-income households through energy company and council schemes. Ask your local council.

Solar panels: make your own electricity

What it is: panels on your roof that turn daylight into electricity.

How it works:

1. The panels make electricity whenever it's light. It doesn't need to be sunny, though they make more when it is.
2. A box called an inverter, usually in the loft or garage, converts it into the kind of electricity your home uses.
3. Your home uses the solar power first. Anything you don't use goes back to the grid, and your energy supplier pays you for it (we call this the buy-back rate).
4. At night, or when the panels aren't making enough, you buy electricity from the grid as normal.

Who it suits: homeowners with a roof facing roughly south, east or west, with little shade.

Rough cost: £6,500–£8,500 for a typical system of about 10 panels. In the North West it typically takes 13–21 years for the savings to cover the cost, depending on which way your roof faces and what you're paid for spare electricity. Panels usually last 25 years or more.

Read more: Is solar worth it in Manchester? and Solar export tariffs explained.

Plug-in solar: a small kit you fit yourself

What it is: one or two panels you fix to a balcony, wall or garden and plug into an outdoor socket. It's been allowed in the UK since 27/08/2026.

How it works: the kit makes electricity during the day, which goes straight into your home's wiring and powers things like your fridge, freezer and broadband router. It's limited to 800W, about a fifth of a typical roof system.

Who it suits: renters (with written permission), people in flats, and anyone who wants to start small.

Rough cost: £450–£600. It typically pays for itself in 4–5 years, saving around £114 a year. It can't currently earn money for spare electricity under the standard scheme, so it's best for homes that use power during the day.

Read more: Plug-in solar vs rooftop solar in the North West.

Home batteries: store electricity for later

What it is: a box, usually about the size of a small fridge or a suitcase, fixed to a wall inside or outside your home.

How it works: it stores electricity so you can use it later. Most battery owners use it in two ways:

• Store spare solar power from the daytime and use it in the evening, instead of selling it back for very little.
• Fill up overnight when electricity is cheap (on a special tariff, see below) and use it during the day when it's expensive. This works even without solar panels.

Who it suits: homes that use a lot of electricity in the evening, people with solar panels, and anyone willing to switch to a cheaper night-time tariff.

Rough cost: £3,500–£7,000 on top of solar panels. In our North West figures, solar plus a battery on a cheap night-time tariff saves about £820 a year. Without that tariff, a battery takes much longer to pay for itself.

Worth knowing: adding a battery often means your installer has to get permission from the local electricity network before switching it on, which can take 4–8 weeks. See Why am I not being paid for my solar yet?.

Heat pumps: a different way to heat your home

What it is: a box that sits outside your home, roughly the size of a large suitcase or small washing machine, which replaces your gas boiler. The most common type is an air source heat pump.

How it works: it works like a fridge in reverse. A fridge takes heat out of the inside and releases it at the back. A heat pump takes heat from the outside air, even on cold days, and moves it into your radiators and hot water tank. It runs on electricity, but for every unit of electricity it uses, a good system gives you about three units of heat.

Who it suits: homes that are reasonably well insulated, especially when the boiler is due for replacement anyway. You'll usually need space outside for the unit and space inside for a hot water cylinder. Some homes need a few bigger radiators.

Rough cost: £7,000–£13,000 fitted. The government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 off when you replace a gas, oil or electric boiler, so many people pay roughly £0–£5,500. Your installer applies for the grant for you.

An honest point on running costs: electricity costs about four times as much per unit as gas. Because a heat pump makes about three units of heat per unit of electricity, running costs are often similar to gas, and sometimes a little higher. They come down with good insulation, a well-designed system, a heat pump tariff, or solar panels. Be wary of anyone promising big savings on heating bills alone.

EV chargers: charge your electric car at home

What it is: a charging point fixed to the outside wall of your home or garage, near where you park.

How it works: it charges your car about three times faster than a normal plug, and safely. Most can be set to charge automatically overnight, when electricity is cheapest, and some can use spare solar power.

Who it suits: anyone with an electric car and off-street parking, such as a driveway or garage.

Rough cost: £800–£1,200 fitted. There's a grant of up to £500 (75% of the cost) for renters and people who own a flat, open until 31/03/2027. Homeowners in houses can't get it.

Smart and overnight tariffs: pay less for the same electricity

What it is: an energy tariff where the price changes at different times of day, usually with much cheaper electricity overnight.

How it works: on some tariffs, overnight electricity costs around 8p per unit, compared with about 26p on a standard tariff. If you can move your use to the cheap hours, by charging a car, running a battery, or setting the washing machine on a timer, you pay less.

Who it suits: homes with a battery, an electric car or a heat pump. Most of these tariffs need a smart meter, and some need a compatible charger or battery.

Cost: nothing to switch, but compare the daytime price too, as it can be higher than standard.

Which upgrades might suit me?

Common traps to avoid

• Doorstep and phone sales. Good installers rarely cold-call. Never sign on the day.
• Savings that sound too good. If solar "pays for itself in 6 years" in the North West, ask to see how they worked it out.
• "Free" solar or batteries. Read the small print. Some deals lease your roof or tie you into a contract.
• Not checking the installer. Make sure they're MCS-certified (you need this for grants and to be paid for spare electricity) and offer an insurance-backed guarantee, so your warranty still holds if the company goes out of business.
• Only getting one quote. Prices for the same system vary a lot. Get at least two or three.
• Paying a big deposit. Ask how it's protected before you pay.

Grants and help: what's available now (England)

Grants change often. Always check the current rules on gov.uk or with your installer before you rely on one.

Get your own numbers, with no sales calls

Tell us your postcode and roughly what you pay for energy, and we'll email you an independent solar estimate within 24 hours, for roof panels and plug-in solar, with every assumption shown. No phone number needed. If you'd like quotes, you choose up to 3 vetted local installers, all MCS-certified, and only the ones you approve hear from you.