Archive · 4 Oct 2026
Milton Keynes Family Turns 1980s Home Into Power Station
Clare Naylor’s family used to get their energy from gas and the electricity grid.
They changed their home so it can make electricity from sunlight and save extra power in a battery.
A heat pump uses electricity to warm the house instead of a gas boiler.
The family can now join a plan that promises five years without energy bills, as long as they follow its energy-use rules.
The plan does not pay for charging an electric car.
The work would have cost just under £20,000 after a grant, but Santander paid for it as part of a project.
The family hopes to heat the house before the children get home from school.
The project is also testing whether this kind of upgrade can work in older houses.
Clare Naylor’s family upgraded their four-bedroom 1980s house in Milton Keynes with 17 solar panels, a heat pump, a battery and four new radiators.
The gas boiler was removed, and the household now generates, stores and uses much of its own energy.
The retrofit lets the family join Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills tariff, which guarantees five years without energy bills subject to a fair-usage limit.
The tariff does not cover electric-vehicle charging, and the family must stay within the energy-use level set for its property.
The equipment was estimated to cost just under £20,000 after a government grant; Santander funded the work as part of a project exploring home retrofits.
- Who
- Clare Naylor and her family, with retrofit funding from Santander and a tariff offered by Octopus Energy.
- What
- They converted their home into a largely self-generating energy system and qualified for a five-year bill-free tariff, subject to usage conditions.
- When
- The articles do not specify when the retrofit was completed.
- Where
- Milton Keynes, England.
- Why
- The family wanted to reduce its energy bills; the project is also testing whether the Zero Bills model can work in older homes.
Potential benefits
Costs and conditions
Lower household energy costs
Potential benefits
The family can join a tariff promising five years without energy bills and says the retrofit is changing how it can heat the home.
Costs and conditions
The guarantee depends on staying within a fair-use limit and does not include electric-vehicle charging.
Wider adoption of retrofits
Potential benefits
Octopus Energy is testing whether its Zero Bills model can work in older homes, and the system can generate and store power for household use.
Costs and conditions
The upgrade was estimated to cost just under £20,000 after a grant, and financing such work is identified as a major obstacle to wider adoption.
- Home
- Four-bedroom detached house built in the 1980s
- Solar panels
- 17
- Other upgrades
- Heat pump, large battery and four new radiators; gas boiler removed
- Previous energy spending
- About £130 a month
- Tariff
- Octopus Energy Zero Bills; five-year guarantee subject to fair-use conditions
- Estimated retrofit cost
- Just under £20,000 after a government grant
- Funding
- Santander funded the work as part of a project exploring home energy efficiency
- Tariff limitation
- Electric-vehicle charging is excluded; households are expected to stay within their calculated energy-use level