19/04/2026
The fuel crisis is driving a lot more traffic to all things electric and efficient. It’s great to see more people on the journey that I have already been on. I would like to say welcome, the journey is worth it and the benefits are real.
Passive House is part of the solution. An efficient house is a cheap house to run and gets relatively cheaper every year as electricity prices rise.
These are my recommended steps to get you sorted:
1 - Efficiency first. Insulation, airtightness, mechanical heat recovery ventilation and removal of thermal breaks. Passive House is the gold standard here but do whatever you can to reduce your usage first.
2 - Electrify everything. Swap gas cooking for induction. Swap gas water heating for a lot water heat pump. Swap wood burners for heat pumps. Swap petrol and diesel cars for EVs (new or used).
3 - Create your own electricity via solar. Add at least 5kW of panels (ideally 10kW as this is the most you can export). Use a grid-tied system so your panels make you money. Adding a battery is optional - there is some extra benefit but not as much banks for the buck as adding panels.
4 - Profit 🙂. The capital outlays paid above on a mortgage (or even better a mortgage-linked green loan) will cost significantly less than your previous energy and fuel costs.
Follow the plan above and not only will you be better off, you are insulating yourself from the direct impacts current and future fuel crises.
