About UK Home Energy
Who we are, how we check what we publish, and how the site pays for itself.
UK Home Energy helps people in the UK work out whether a heat pump, solar panels, a battery or a cheaper fix is right for their home, what it really costs, and what help they can get. We try to give the answer first, say plainly what we'd do, and show our working.
Who writes it
Gavin Rogers, founder and editor. Gavin founded UK Home Energy and edits every guide on it. He is a director of Limely Ltd, the Chester-based company that runs the site. Every guide, calculator and product recommendation on the site is published under his editorial responsibility. Gavin on LinkedIn
UK Home Energy is run by Limely Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 08730008), at 2nd Floor, Suite B, 10 St. John Street, Chester, CH1 1DA.
How we research
Grants, regulations and prices change constantly, and a lot of what's written about home energy online is out of date or copied from a page that was. So we check load-bearing facts against the organisation that actually sets them, not against other websites:
- Grants and schemes: gov.uk and Ofgem for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, ECO4 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant; Home Energy Scotland and mygov.scot; gov.wales for Nest; the Housing Executive, the Department for Communities and the Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland.
- Energy prices: Ofgem's price cap. Every calculator on the site reads from one set of figures, so when the cap changes, it changes everywhere at once.
- Installation rules: MCS standards (for example MIS 3005-D for heat pump design), Building Regulations Approved Documents, and the legislation itself on legislation.gov.uk.
- Performance data: manufacturers' own specification sheets, the European Commission's PVGIS solar model, BRE's SAP and RdSAP methodology, and government-published monitoring studies such as the Electrification of Heat trial.
When we can't verify something, we say so rather than guess. When a source is ambiguous or two official sources disagree, we explain which one we've followed and why.
Keeping it current
Every guide shows the date it was last updated, and we only change that date when we've actually checked or changed a fact. Before anything is published, an automated check reads every content page on the site, including the FAQ answers, and flags superseded energy prices, schemes described as open after they've closed, figures that disagree between pages, and price stamps that have gone stale.
That catches a lot, but it can't tell us a manufacturer has gone into administration or a scheme has quietly closed. Only going back to the primary source does that, so we re-verify our guides against those sources regularly.
How we choose products
Our product guides are research-based comparisons. Unless a guide says otherwise, we haven't tested the products hands-on. Instead we compare manufacturers' published specifications and test data, real running costs at the current price cap, prices and stock, and what owners report in large numbers of reviews. We favour brands that publish honest real-world figures, and we call out marketing numbers that don't hold up, such as dehumidifier ratings measured at 30C.
Prices and stock on our product guides are refreshed automatically from Amazon about every six hours. If a product we recommend goes out of stock, we leave it in place and show alternatives rather than quietly swapping it for something we haven't looked at. We also tell you what not to buy.
How the site makes money
We think you should know exactly how this works:
- Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy something after clicking one of our Amazon links, Amazon pays us a small commission. The price you pay is the same.
- Installer quotes. If you ask for heat pump or solar quotes through our quote form, we pass your request to our comparison partner, Compare Companies, who match you with approved local installers. We're paid when your request is passed on to an installer. It's free for you, and our privacy policy explains exactly what's shared and with whom.
Our installer directory lists MCS-certified installers from the MCS public register. Being listed doesn't mean we've vetted or endorse a particular company, so always check certification and get more than one quote.
Corrections
If you spot something wrong or out of date, email gavin@limely.co.uk. We check every correction against the primary source and fix the page, and we're genuinely grateful for them.