Solar Safety
Fires involving Solar panels have more than doubled since 2022.
91 in 2022. 212 in 2025. That's from UK fire services' own records, gathered by the insurer QBE. Solar is safe. Bad installation isn't.
Solar Safety guideIs your Solar, Heat Pump or Battery quote fair? A real UK Engineer checks it — free.
Send a photo of your quote. I'll read it as a person, not a computer, and tell you in plain English what's good, what's missing and what to ask before you sign.
Check my quote free
Hi, I'm Sparky the Squirrel! I explain things and Engineer Darren checks the quotes. 🐿️
Or read first: Solar Safety · Scam Alerts · EV Charging
In active development · full launch 30 November · free quote checks open now
In active development · full launch 30 November · free quote checks open now
Meet the Engineer
The Engineer who checks your quote
SavingEnergy.com was created by Darren Emery M.Sc., Senior Project Instrument Engineer and Technical Authority — 40+ years in Industry and Energy.
I started at ICI Billingham in 1983 as an apprentice Instrument Artificer, then spent over four decades keeping control and safety systems running in Britain's heaviest industry: refineries, power stations, steelworks, chemical plants and five years offshore. I built SavingEnergy.com so a real Engineer checks your quote, free.
- Independent
- Every quote read by Darren
- Nobody can pay for a verdict
How it works
Three steps. No sales call. Ever.
Send your quote
A photo or PDF is fine. Tell me what's worrying you.
I read it — properly
I take a limited number each week so every quote gets real attention.
You get a one-page report
Green, amber, red — and the questions to put back to your installer.
What's your quote for?
Pick one and I'll take you straight to the form. A photo of the quote is fine.
What you get
A one-page report, in plain English
Quote check · exampleAir source Heat Pump
- Good: room-by-room heat loss calculation included.
- Ask: what flow temperature is the running cost based on?
- Ask: will weather compensation be set up and shown to you?
- Worry: running costs quoted from a mild-day efficiency figure.
— Darren Emery M.Sc., Engineer
- Good — what's good on your quote
- Ask — what to ask before you sign
- Worry — what's missing or worrying
IndependentWe don't sell hardware. We solve Energy problems.
HumanEvery quote is read by Darren, not a robot.
No cold callsWe never pass your details to anyone.
Free, for nowA limited number of reviews each week.
Heat Pumps, Solar panels, Home Batteries, Boilers, EV chargers, Insulation, checked free by a real UK Engineer.
Why this exists
Most Homeowners are sold hardware before anyone explains the basics.
Our job is to slow the conversation down and give you the facts.
Heat Pumps
91.9% of monitored Heat Pumps were running below their design figure.
The government's own trial monitored Heat Pumps in real homes. 91.9% were running below their design figure — on average about 18% below. That's not because Heat Pumps don't work. It's because design, installation and settings get missed. That's exactly what an Engineer looks for.
Source: Energy Systems Catapult for DESNZ, Electrification of Heat report, December 2024. Dec 2024 report
Read the Engineer's workingThe guides
The questions people actually ask
Sparky's short answer first, then the Engineer's working. Four are live; the rest are on the bench. Every figure is sourced and dated.
For everyone. Simple answers, one idea at a time. What's a Heat Pump? Can my house charge an EV? Sparky keeps it short and friendly — for families, and for anyone who'd rather skip the jargon.
Sparky never tells you what to buy, and he never judges a quote. That's Darren's job.
See Sparky in the EV guideFor the grown-ups. The full working — the numbers, the physics, and exactly what to look for on a quote. Every sum shows its workings and the date it was checked.
"In my old world, nobody took a design figure on trust. We measured it."
How I check a quote
Home EV ChargingTethered or not · fuse · solar · grantsLive
Solar SafetyWhat goes wrong · what your quote should showLive
Scam AlertsThe tricks doing the rounds · how to reportLive
Grants & schemesWhat's real, what's closingLive
BoilersSizing, quotes, what to askSoon
InsulationThe right order of worksSoon
Explore
Everything on the site
Ask the EngineerSend your quote. A real Engineer checks it, free.Live
Scam AlertsThe Energy tricks doing the rounds, and how to spot them.Live
Solar SafetyWhat goes wrong, and what your quote should show.Live
EV ChargingFuse, Solar and grants: the straight answers.Live
Grants HubEvery scheme, checked at source and dated.Live
Energy MistakesThe Engineer’s Second Opinion, on video.Soon
How We Make MoneyEvery pound, and the never-list.Live
For CouncilsIndependent Energy advice for your residents.Live
Beyond the Quote Check
The Directory, and help for Businesses
DirectorySpecially chosen firms, no more than three per district. You contact them; they never contact you.Opening soon
Business ServicesBusiness Energy advice from an Engineer who never takes supplier commission.Opening soon
Written BriefingsBoard briefings and evidence packs on Energy decisions, in writing.In development
Got a quote in front of you? Don't sign yet.
Send it to me and I'll check it — as a person, not a computer — for free. A one-page report, green, amber, red, and the questions to ask your installer.
— Darren Emery M.Sc., Engineer
M.Sc. · SIL Champion · DSEAR Champion · Hazard Studies Leader · Gas and Vapours (Ex01–Ex04) competency
Check my quote free
"Small savings, big results. That's an Energy Acorn."
An Energy Acorn is what this site is about: a little bit of good advice now, and you're warmer and better off for years.