Not least as a result of rising energy bills but with the rocketing cost of living, I, like many of us, have been intrigued by the idea of living in a home with no energy bills.
So, when I was given the opportunity to visit Octopus Energy Zero Bills Home I jumped at the chance – especially since it wasn’t just one house, there were 89 of them.
I don’t really know what I was expecting from the visit. Zero bills seemed too good to be true but, on the other hand, I know from experience that Octopus Energy has had previous successes in this area with some innovative software. I wanted the concept to work, because after all, who doesn’t want a zero bill home?
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What is different about these zero bill homes?
Over the past few years, many home building standards have been introduced to improve the building fabric, with the overall aim of reducing home energy consumption.
When the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) The assessment method used for the present is Building Regulationsand is key to production Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)It will inevitably be replaced by in the near future Home Energy Modeling (HEM) with full adoption of Future homes standard
Other assessment methods, such as Code for Sustainable Homes, Super E, Carbonlite, Bream and A dysfunctional home SAPs have been created by various organizations to try to improve and deliver energy efficient homes as close to net-zero carbon emissions as possible.
However, all these standards are capable of bringing homes up to a very high performance specification, but none of them guarantee zero bills for the homeowner.
Octopus Energy’s Zero Bill Homes, on the other hand, are built on the offer that if you follow the specification, fit the prescribed technology in your home and hand over the control to Octopus Energy to manage, they will guarantee you zero energy bills for 10 years.
And, while zero bill homes have been deployed primarily by developers (more than 5000 homes have already been approved as eligible for zero bill), self-builders who take up new build homes one at a time, can also join the scheme.
Octopus Energy aims to build 100,000 zero bill homes by 2030So there is still time to get involved. Early connection is key to ensure you specify the right products, as not all PV, battery systems and heat pumps are compatible.
So what’s the catch I hear you ask. Well, there isn’t one, but there are some rules. Obviously you can’t heat your neighbor’s house, or charge every electric car on the street for everyone else, but that doesn’t mean they don’t come with some impressive renewable energy technology.
What does this zero bill home include?
The site I visited, Holymead Square, is a development site being developed by The Hill Group in Newport, Essex and consists of 89 mixed-use energy efficient 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes as well as 2 bed bungalows.
All zero bill properties are installed with all Photovoltaic solar panelssolar battery storage, Electric vehicle charger And one Air source heat pump. It’s definitely a top notch development, and one of the better sites I’ve visited.
The rooms in the houses are large and every house I have visited has a great sense of space. Wet underfloor heating is standard on the ground floor, with Radiators Above, all are designed for low temperature heat pump systems.
The developers have said that Home insulation The level is well above current building regulations, with an estimated SAP of 113/100 based on building type and specification. This compares very favorably against an average SAP of around 85/100 for new homes in the UK and is similar to an A-rating EPC.
The houses also have a SAP CO2 reduction of around 105%, which is in line with building regulations. Part-L 2021. These exclusive homes were designed in the early days of the zero bill concept and have a 5-year zero bill guarantee.
Hannah McCarthy, Head of Zero Bill Octopus Energyhas also said that she sees no reason why this 5-year tariff, or the new specification 10-year guarantee, cannot be continued after the guaranteed period has lapsed.
What are the requirements of these households to be classified as zero bill?
I was still curious about the zero bill claim and how it worked, wondering if there was some sort of formula that would require an entire field of solar panels and a large room. Solar batteries.
Fortunately, this is not the case. The assessment process for an Octopus Energy Zero Bills Home involves an individual assessment, taking into account various details including roof analysis, SAP assessment, orientation and occupancy.
Looking at the average house on this site of about 150m2 floor area, 8kWp to 10kWp solar PV panels (about 20 to 24 panels), at least 13kW of battery storage, electric vehicle chargers and air source heat pumps are designed and operated to cover the entire home’s heating.
This Annual energy consumption of the house The annual ‘generation’ from the PV panels must be equal throughout the year, and there is an additional fair use allowance of 4000 kWh (units of electricity) per year.
To put that into perspective, a new build home would be expected to use between 8000kWh and 10000kWh per year. Considering that an 8kWp (south facing) solar PV array should also generate around 8000kWh per year the extra 4000kWh makes the scheme very attractive, and it is also quite clear that there is no apparent ‘catch’.
You would normally expect to produce more energy in the summer and consume more in the winter, but since energy use is year-round, the two can balance out.
What are the benefits of these zero bill homes?
One of the key lifestyle benefits of these Octopus Energy Zero Bill homes is that the homeowner can use energy at any time of the day. They can install tumble dryers and cook meals whenever they want, as they are not limited to using a specific tariff at different times.
No time management is required, devices do not need to be programmed to run at midnight, and there is no limit on heating during the day in winter. There are also no standing charges, saving a further 65p a day.
Unfortunately, electric vehicle charging is not included in the scheme. This intelligent Octopus is charged at energy rates, but this means you can still benefit from cheaper charging on off-peak night time tariffs.
Landlords can also opt out of the scheme if they prefer to manage the technology themselves, with no connection and no commitment. The only condition is that you cannot leave the scheme every summer and rejoin it in winter to enjoy the export tariff when the sun is shining.
If things go to plan, it would be nice to think that zero bills could be the way we live in the future.
We may not quite be at the stage when I say yes, You can turn any home into a zero bill homeIn an ideal world, my kids would come up to me when they grow up and say, “Hey Dad! Remember the days when you were whining about things called electricity bills?” And I’d say, “Yeah, son! They’re like telephones, DVDs, and petrol stations…..no one uses them anymore!”
