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They now expect that money to go toward vacations instead.
Photo Credit: iStock
As energy prices continue to climb across Britain, one family in Milton Keynes is heading into winter with something many households can only imagine: no bills for heating, lighting, or everyday electricity use for the next five years, according to the Guardian. 
Clare Naylor’s four-bedroom home in Milton Keynes, built in the 1980s, has been outfitted with 17 solar panels, a heat pump, a large battery, and four new radiators. 
Those changes effectively make the property a mini power station, as households face a 4% rise in the energy price cap and forecasts of another 16% increase in January.
By sending surplus electricity back to the grid, the house helps offset the power the family uses. 
That made the Naylors eligible for Octopus Energy’s “Zero Bills” tariff, which covers heating, lighting, and routine electricity use as long as they remain within a set fair-usage cap.
“We were always fairly careful,” Naylor explained. “Our heating was only ever set to 18C [64F, although] we might boost it if the family were coming around. Otherwise [it was] slippers, hot-water bottle, jumpers — that’s how you get through the winter.”
If you’re interested in a similar setup, Palmetto’s Comfort Plan network helps homeowners find efficient heating and cooling solutions, connect with vetted installers, and slash energy bills.
Before the retrofit, the family was spending about £130 ($172) a month on energy, and they now expect that money to go toward vacations instead.
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The Naylors’ house is part of Octopus’s effort to see how Zero Bills works beyond the hundreds of new-build homes already using the tariff. 
Because this older home needed retrofitting, it also highlights how much of Britain’s housing stock wasn’t built around ultra-efficient electric systems.
For the model to work, Octopus Energy says a home needs to produce more energy over time than it consumes. Nigel Banks, Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills technical director, spoke to The Guardian about the financial side of the effort. 
“Typically the homes generate slightly more energy over a year than we’d expect them to use,” he noted. “One of the fundamental requirements is we need to make enough revenues from selling power back to the grid.”
To qualify, homes need strong insulation, solar panels, a heat pump, and a battery. They also cannot use gas at all, including for cooking, and the zero-bill guarantee does not include charging electric vehicles.
Santander paid for the retrofit through a project looking at ways to finance deeper home-efficiency improvements. Without that backing, the solar panels, battery, and heat pump would have cost the family a little under £20,000 ($26,488) after a government grant.
Palmetto addresses that through its Comfort Plan, which includes 12 years of free maintenance; if you’re not ready to spend up front, its Comfort Plan also offers $0-down options that can lower heating and cooling costs by up to 50%.
Homeowners can also pair solar panels with electric appliances, such as efficient HVACs, to drive their utility costs even lower. 
EnergySage offers free tools that let you compare competitive bids from local installers — without giving out your contact information unless you decide to move forward — and it can save homeowners up to $10,000 on installations.
Naylor will now try to keep the home at a constant warm temperature this winter, rather than relying on layers indoors.
“And then train my children to keep the door shut, which will be fun,” she added.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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