Understand How Energy Works Around Your Home
Solar panels, battery storage, EV charging, smart tariffs and backup power are becoming increasingly connected.
Energy Flow Hub helps you understand how the different parts work, how they interact and what to consider before choosing a system.
Whether you are researching your first solar installation, adding a battery to an existing system, choosing an EV charger or planning several technologies together, you can start here.
Start With What You're Interested In
You do not need to understand the whole system before you begin. Choose the area you are researching and work from there.
Solar PV
Understand solar panels, inverters, roof mounting, system sizing, shading, strings, optimisers and how electricity generated on your roof is used around the home.
Battery Storage
Learn how home batteries work, how capacity differs from power, AC vs DC coupling, smart-tariff charging, backup options and how to choose a sensible battery size.
EV Charging
Compare home EV chargers, charging speeds, smart tariffs, solar charging, load management and how an EV charger can interact with a home battery.
Whole-Home Energy
See how solar, batteries, EV charging, the grid, smart tariffs, heat pumps and other electrical loads can be planned as one connected home-energy system.
Your Home Is Becoming an Energy System
For most homes, electricity used to be simple.
Power came from the grid and was used by the house.
That is changing.
A modern home may generate electricity from solar panels, store it in a battery, import cheap electricity overnight, export surplus electricity to the grid, charge an electric car and run an electric heating or cooling system.
Each part can work on its own.
But the way they are designed, connected and controlled together can have a major effect on how well the complete system works.
Energy Flow Hub is built around understanding those connections.
Not just:
Which solar panel is best?
But also:
- Will the inverter suit the array?
- Should the battery be AC or DC coupled?
- How much power can the battery actually deliver?
- What happens when the EV starts charging?
- Can the battery see the EV charger?
- What happens when the grid fails?
- Can the solar panels continue operating?
- Is the system ready for a future heat pump?
- Does the electricity tariff change how the system should operate?
Start With Your Home, Not the Product
It is easy to start researching individual products.
A battery.
An inverter.
An EV charger.
A particular solar panel.
But the best choice often depends on what is already installed and what you might want to add later.
A home with an existing solar inverter may need a different battery approach from a completely new installation.
A homeowner planning an EV or heat pump in the future may want to think differently about electrical capacity, equipment positioning or energy storage.
And somebody wanting backup during a power cut needs to consider much more than battery capacity alone.
Before choosing equipment, it helps to understand:
- what the property already has
- how much electricity it uses
- when that electricity is used
- what equipment may be added later
- whether backup power is important
- how the property imports and exports electricity
- which smart tariff may be used
- how the different systems will interact
A good home-energy system should work for the home it is installed in — not simply look good on a product specification sheet.
Questions Homeowners Actually Ask
Home energy can become complicated very quickly. Our guides focus on the questions that matter when you are making real decisions.
Solar
- How many solar panels do I need?
- Does roof direction matter?
- How should an inverter be sized?
- What happens to excess solar electricity?
- Are optimisers worth having?
- Can I add a battery later?
Battery Storage
- What size battery do I actually need?
- What is the difference between kW and kWh?
- Should a battery be AC or DC coupled?
- Can I install a battery without solar?
- Can a battery power the house during a power cut?
- Why does my battery discharge into my EV?
EV Charging
- Is a 7 kW charger enough?
- Which chargers work with smart tariffs?
- Can I charge directly from surplus solar?
- Should the EV charger be visible to the battery?
- Where should CT clamps be positioned?
- What is the difference between AC and DC charging?
Whole-Home Energy
- Should solar, battery and EV charging be designed together?
- Can I prepare now for a future heat pump?
- What does whole-house backup actually mean?
- Can different manufacturers work together?
- What happens when the grid fails?
- How does a time-of-use tariff change the way a system operates?
See How It Works
Some home-energy concepts are much easier to understand visually than they are through paragraphs of technical explanation.
Energy Flow Hub uses clear diagrams, interactive tools and visual guides to show how energy moves through the home.
Explore topics such as:
- solar generation and self-consumption
- battery charging and discharging
- grid import and export
- AC and DC coupled battery systems
- EV charging from solar
- CT clamp positioning
- backup gateways
- inverter layouts
- smart-tariff charging
As the site develops, our interactive Energy Flow Simulator will allow you to see how solar, battery storage, the grid and household loads interact under different conditions.
Plan Now. Add Later.
You do not have to install everything at once.
A well-planned system can make future upgrades easier.
You might:
- install solar now and add a battery later
- install a battery before solar
- fit an EV charger before buying solar panels
- add backup capability in the future
- plan for an additional EV
- install solar and battery before moving to a heat pump
- prepare for greater electrical demand later
Thinking ahead can influence:
- inverter choice
- battery architecture
- cable routes
- consumer-unit arrangements
- equipment positions
- CT locations
- grid applications
- available electrical capacity
- backup design
Sometimes the cheapest way to future-proof a system is simply to make the right decision before the first piece of equipment is installed.
Tools & Calculators
Home-energy decisions should not rely on guesswork.
Energy Flow Hub is developing practical tools to help homeowners understand system design and compare options.
- Home Energy Flow Simulator
- See how electricity moves between solar panels, the home, battery storage, EV charging and the grid.
- Battery Size Calculator
- Estimate a sensible battery-capacity range based on electricity use, solar generation, tariffs and future plans.
- Solar Generation Calculator
- Explore how system size, roof orientation and other factors affect potential solar generation.
- Inverter Sizing Tool
- Understand why solar-array size and inverter size are not always the same.
- Solar String Calculator
- Explore panel voltage, current and inverter limits when designing solar strings.
- EV & Battery Visualiser
- See how different charger and CT arrangements can affect battery behaviour.
Compare the Technology
The right equipment depends on more than the brand name.
Our comparison guides look at the specifications and practical differences that can affect the complete installation.
Explore:
- Solar Panels
- Compare panel size, output, efficiency, construction, warranties and installation considerations.
- Inverters
- Understand string inverters, hybrid inverters, microinverters, MPPTs and system sizing.
- Battery Systems
- Compare usable capacity, charge and discharge power, expandability, backup capability and system architecture.
- EV Chargers
- Compare smart charging, solar integration, tariffs, load management and installation requirements.
- Backup & Gateways
- Understand essential-load backup, whole-house gateways and what actually happens during a power cut.
Smart Tariffs Are Part of the System Too
The equipment installed in your home is only part of the picture.
Modern electricity tariffs can change:
- when a battery should charge
- when an EV should charge
- whether exporting electricity is worthwhile
- when stored energy should be used
- how much value solar electricity provides
A system designed around a flat electricity tariff may behave very differently when connected to a time-of-use tariff.
That means choosing a tariff and choosing equipment are increasingly connected decisions.
Energy Flow Hub explains both the hardware and the way it is controlled.
Backup Power & the Grid
Having a battery does not automatically mean your house will continue operating during a power cut.
Backup capability depends on the inverter, battery, switching equipment, electrical design and the amount of power the system can supply.
Our guides explain:
- battery storage vs battery backup
- EPS outputs
- essential-load circuits
- whole-house backup gateways
- solar operation during a power cut
- maximum backup power
- grid import and export
- export limitation
- DNO requirements
- single-phase and three-phase systems
The aim is simple: help you understand what the system will actually do, rather than relying on vague claims about “energy independence”.
Solar, Batteries & Heat Pumps
Heat pumps can significantly change the electrical demand of a home.
That creates an obvious relationship between:
- solar generation
- battery storage
- smart tariffs
- EV charging
- electric heating
- cooling
Energy Flow Hub focuses on the electrical-energy side of that relationship.
Our sister site
For detailed heat-loss calculations, low-temperature heating, radiator sizing and heat-pump system design, visit our sister site Heat Loss Hub, run by the same team.
Together, the two sites look at the two sides of an increasingly electrified home:
Heat Loss Hub — how heat moves through the property.
Energy Flow Hub — how electrical energy moves around it.
Why Energy Flow Hub?
There is no shortage of websites telling homeowners which product to buy.
Energy Flow Hub is being built for a different reason.
- Understand Before You Buy
- We want the technical choices to make sense before you compare equipment or installers.
- Systems Before Products
- A good battery, inverter or EV charger can still be the wrong choice if it does not suit the rest of the system.
- Explain the Compromises
- Every technology has limitations. Our guides aim to explain disadvantages and trade-offs as clearly as benefits.
- Use Real Technical Detail
- Where specifications matter, we explain them. Where calculations help, we show them. Where a diagram makes more sense than a paragraph, we use one.
- Prepare for What Comes Next
- Home-energy systems are evolving quickly. We consider future solar, batteries, EVs, heat pumps, backup power, tariffs and controls rather than treating every purchase in isolation.
Built to Be Useful
Energy Flow Hub is not being built around collecting as many enquiries as possible.
The aim is to become a genuinely useful resource for people trying to understand home energy.
That means building:
- detailed guides
- technical explainers
- comparison articles
- diagrams
- calculators
- interactive simulators
- product research
- practical installation guidance
Commercial recommendations should follow good information — not replace it.
Latest From Energy Flow Hub
Explore our newest guides, comparisons and tools covering solar PV, battery storage, EV charging and whole-home energy.
Not Sure Where to Start?
If you are planning solar PV, battery storage, EV charging or a wider home-energy project, start by understanding what your home already has and what you want the system to achieve.
Explore the guides, use the tools, or tell us about your plans.