Energy analysts say solar power and air conditioning are ‘complementary technologies’ – but is the race to cool Europe down backfiring? Europe’s solar boom is providing homes with hours of ‘free’ air conditioning (AC) – providing much-needed relief amid the latest heatwave. Blistering temperatures have gripped much of the continent this week, resulting in
Last week’s heatwave delivered a £40 million windfall to the nearly two million British households with solar panels, reveals analysis by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. Seven days of hot, sunny weather generated almost twice the amount of electricity as an average British day. Households with solar panels and a battery produced enough
Why Your EV Stops Charging at 3am (and Your PV Panels Quit at Noon) Here is a fact about your solar panels that nobody selling them will mention. On the brightest, most productive day of the year, they are the most likely to quietly switch themselves off. Not a fault. Not a dodgy install. It's
Producing electricity from wind turbines and solar panels is cheaper than ever before. So why are households across Europe seeing record amounts on their electricity bills? Over the past decade, the levelised cost of solar power has fallen by roughly 90%, while onshore wind is now the cheapest source of electricity. Auction prices for
Americans are seeking out solar, batteries, and electric vehicles at a pace unlike anything the clean energy movement has seen in fifty years. In the 23 days after the Iran war began and the Strait of Hormuz closed, requests for home solar systems paired with battery storage jumped 21%. Used EV sales reversed course
Energy has become one of the most unpredictable household costs in recent years. For many homeowners, electricity bills, long-term energy security and environmental responsibility are rising priorities. In rural areas of the UK in particular, grid reliability can be an additional concern. Against that backdrop, solar power has moved rapidly from being a niche
After adding one to my home, here's why you might want a home battery, how they work, and what to look for, plus some installation tips. With electricity costs soaring, home batteries have never looked so attractive. Whether you want to store the excess generated by your solar panels or simply buy electricity at
A former BBC broadcaster is attempting to drive across the UK in an electric vehicle (EV) using only solar power. Jeremy Hart, who was a Formula 1 commentator for many years, is leading a team of four people on the 1,000 mile (1,609km) journey from Lands End to John O'Groats. The group want to
Solar was the single largest source of new U.S. power capacity for 28 consecutive months through year-end 2025, accounting for 72.6% of all electricity additions, per FERC data. Despite the Trump administration's rollback of Biden-era clean energy incentives, renewables represented 88% of total new U.S. power capacity in 2025, with FERC projecting solar to
The UK completed 269,000 solar installations in 2025 — the highest total ever recorded in a single calendar year, and 37% more than the year before. Around 95% were rooftop systems fitted on homes, businesses, and other buildings, equivalent to a new rooftop installation every two minutes throughout the year. Nine of the ten