Helpful video reference. We use Artisan Electrics' UK tutorial "Home Battery, Solar PV Or Heat Pump? - Which To Get First?" as the video reference here. Artisan Electrics are a Cambridge-based electrical firm with a large following for UK-specific renewable content, and they get the sequencing question right in a way that many sales-led guides do not.
1. Work out where your energy money actually goes
Pull together 12 months of energy bills. If you have a smart meter, the in-home display or your supplier's app will give you a month-by-month breakdown. Split your spend roughly into:
- Space heating - the biggest variable for most UK homes, especially older ones
- Hot water - often 20-25% of total energy in a home with a cylinder
- Cooking and appliances - relatively flat year-round
The category with the highest spend tells you where an investment has the most room to make a difference. For most detached or semi-detached houses in east Kent, space heating is the dominant cost.
2. Consider the heat pump first if space heating is your biggest cost
An air source heat pump running at a seasonal COP of 3 to 4 delivers three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity it consumes. At current tariff rates, that typically means a 50 to 65% reduction in heating costs compared with a gas boiler - and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant of £7,500 is still available in 2026 for eligible properties.
The heat pump also changes the value of solar panels. Without a heat pump, most solar generation during spring and autumn goes to lighting and appliances - loads that are modest. Once you have a heat pump, you have a large electrical load that solar can directly offset. A solar diverter to a hot water cylinder adds another avenue for using generation that would otherwise be exported.
One caveat: heat pumps work best in well-insulated homes. Before committing, get a heat loss calculation done. If your home loses heat faster than the heat pump can replace it at low outdoor temperatures, insulation improvements come first.
3. Add solar panels once the heat pump is running
With the heat pump in place, you understand your actual electrical consumption pattern. A good solar installer will use that data to size the array properly rather than defaulting to 4 kW because that is what fits neatly on a typical roof.
South or southwest-facing roofs with minimal shading get the most from solar in the UK. East-west split arrays are worth considering if you want morning and evening generation rather than a midday peak. Either way, live through at least one season with the heat pump running before signing the solar quote - it changes the numbers significantly.
If your system will be above 3.68 kW per phase, your installer needs to apply to your DNO for G99 permission. In some areas this takes four to six weeks. Factor that into your timeline.
4. Do not rush battery storage in year one
Battery storage extends your self-consumption - the proportion of your solar generation you use directly rather than exporting. The payback calculation depends on two things: how much surplus you generate and how much you could otherwise self-consume by shifting loads.
Both numbers are genuinely hard to estimate before you have a year of solar generation data. Installers who quote payback periods before your array is on the roof are working from assumptions, not your actual data. A battery added in year two, sized correctly for your measured surplus, will outperform an oversized battery added on day one.
The exception is if you are on a time-of-use tariff such as Octopus Go or Agile. If you can charge a battery from cheap overnight electricity and use it during peak periods, the case for battery storage does not depend on solar generation at all - and the maths can stack up even on a north-facing roof.
5. Check DNO limits and available grants before signing anything
Before you book an installer for any of these technologies, check two things:
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS): £7,500 for an air source heat pump, subject to the property having a valid EPC and no outstanding recommendation to install loft or cavity wall insulation. The grant goes to the installer, not you.
- DNO export limits: Most residential connections in England allow up to 3.68 kW of solar export without prior approval (G98 notification only). Above that, you need a G99 application. A surveyor proposing a 6 kW system without mentioning G99 is skipping a step.
Battery storage above a certain size also needs G99 permission when it is DC-coupled (sharing the inverter) because the inverter total export may exceed 3.68 kW. Ask any battery installer to confirm the DNO position in writing before you sign.
6. Revisit the plan each year with real metering data
Home energy tech changes quickly. The tariff landscape in 2026 is different from 2024. Battery prices have fallen. The BUS grant may not last indefinitely. Rather than trying to plan all three technologies in one go, make a staged decision: install the heat pump if it stacks up now, collect data, then reassess solar. After a year with solar, you will have real generation and export figures to plug into a battery payback calculation.
A smart meter is the foundation for all of this. If you do not have one, request one from your supplier - it is free and the data is genuinely useful for these decisions.
When to call us
Richard covers solar PV and battery connections, EV charger installation and consumer unit upgrades across Sandwich and east Kent. If you are planning one of these technologies and want an honest second opinion on the electrical side before you commit, get in touch.
Planning solar, battery storage or an EV charger in east Kent?
Richard installs EV chargers and handles the electrical side of solar and battery storage projects across Sandwich, Deal, Ramsgate and the surrounding area. Call or message for a straightforward chat about what your home needs.
Contact Richard