Milton Keynes family gets five years of zero bills with solar and heat pump

Image Credit: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian For Clare Naylor and her family, winter heating once meant keeping a close eye on the energy meter. The Milton Keynes household used hot-water bottles, extra blankets and jumpers to make sure its heating costs stayed within budget. That has changed after their four-bedroom detached house was fitted with solar panels, a heat pump and a large battery. The retrofit has effectively turned the property into a small power station, allowing it to generate and store electricity and send surplus power back to the grid. The family can now use Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills tariff, which guarantees no energy bills for five years as long as the household stays within its agreed fair-usage limit.How the Naylors turned their home into a mini power stationThe Naylors’ home in Milton Keynes was built in the 1980s, but it has recently undergone a major energy retrofit. The property now has 17 solar panels, a heat pump, a large battery in the garage and four new radiators. Together, the equipment allows the house to produce electricity, store it and use it for heating and everyday household needs.The changes mean the home can operate under Octopus Energy’s Zero...