A solar panel system needs hardly any maintenance at all – they even self-clean when it rains. A quick washdown with a hose a few times a year will shift any other dirt or dust. Zero expense and no need to call an expert out.

No. No red tape, no hassle – a solar panel system doesn’t need any special permission from your local authority to be fitted onto your home.

The only exception to this is if you live in a listed building or live in a designated Conservation Area or World Heritage site. Even then, you can still have solar panels installed – they need fitting onto a roof that isn’t visible from a road. Read more in our in-depth guide.

There’s a big difference between sunlight and daylight. Solar panels need daylight to generate power – not the sun’s rays.

This means you can still generate power even on cloudy days. In fact, less direct sunlight can be beneficial – too much heat can reduce the power solar panels capture by up to 25%.

Source: https://www.cedgreentech.com/article/how-does-heat-affect-solar-panel-efficiencies

You don’t have to add a smart solar battery. However, without one you will only be able to use the energy your new PV panels generate for your home at the time it is generated. When there is no solar energy to tap into, your energy supply will revert back to the National Grid. A smart solar battery stores your energy ready so you can use it or store it for when you need it. How it works.

By generating and using your own solar energy – instead of power from the National Grid – you can make significant savings on your electricity bills. The Energy Saving Trust calculator estimates that a typical 4kWp solar panel system can knock between £500-£700 off your annual bill with the Smart Export Guarantee SEG depending on where you live.

Using battery storage alongside your solar panels can further increase your savings – because a battery will store the surplus energy that you produce, so you can use it when the sun goes down instead of drawing it from the National Grid.

*Example of annual savings based in Manchester with SEG (Sept 2020): https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy/electricity/solar-panels

Many older properties have less insulation than modern houses built today, but even adding insulation to a newer home can pay for itself within a few years, such as topping up loft insulation or underfloor insulation.

Most cavity walls can be insulated by injecting insulation material into the cavity from the outside. Your installer will drill small 22mm drill holes at intervals in your outer walls, inject insulation through the holes using specialist equipment, and then seal them with cement.

The insulation materials are usually either mineral wool or polystyrene beads.

Once all the insulation is in, we’ll fill the holes in the brickwork so you’ll barely notice them.

Filling cavity walls is not a job you can do yourself, you will need to employ an approved installer that uses the right certified products. Effective Home can usually do the job in around two hours for an average house with easily accessible cavity walls.

It shouldn’t make any mess, and the only noticeable signs that you have had cavity wall insulation installed will be the very small evenly placed holes on the outer wall.

Trusting professionals to install loft insulation for you is absolutely the best choice you can make. Whilst it’s possible to install loft insulation yourself, it has to be done perfectly in order to ensure its effectiveness.

Problems with installation can lead to damp problems which vary depending on the issue created. For example, thermal bridging can lead to cold penetrating your home more easily due to improperly installed loft insulation. This then negates the point of having loft insulation in the first place.

Our professional team at Effective Home will always follow industry best practices to ensure your loft insulation is perfectly placed for a warmer home.

The numbers vary based on the quality of your loft insulation, type, installation method, and fuel prices at the time of any comparison you make.

With that said, Energy Saving Trust estimates that you could make the following savings depending on your property type:

• Detached house: £370
• Semi-detached house: £225
• Mid-terrace house: £200
• Detached bungalow: £360

Savings are estimated based on fuel prices in April 2024. These numbers will vary depending on the price of fuel at the time of any comparison made.

This does, however, show that you can make significant savings each year with loft insulation.

No, we currently only service customers within England, Scotland, and Wales. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer our services to customers in other regions at this time.