Independent Analysis · Case Studies · Research
Solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps, and electric vehicles — analysed without commercial bias, from a base in central Dordogne. Everything written for English-speaking homeowners in rural France.
PV Case Studies · Dordogne (24) · France
France has a formal, legal pathway for plug-in solar kits requiring no installer, no grant application, and no permission from your mairie. Here is what it actually involves — the CACSI declaration, the Enedis process, how many kits you can stack, and when DIY stops and proper advice starts. Includes realistic savings modelled across four expat household types in Dordogne.
How a 500m² stone farmhouse in central Dordogne was transformed with 12kWp solar, 28kWh LFP storage, wood heating, and MVHR — designed from first principles, not installer sales logic.
Read the case study252,000 people left the UK in a single year. As the fiscal arithmetic tightens, this analysis models the investment case for solar PV across three capital paths for British homeowners in France.
Read the analysisGrant Analysis & Guidance · MaPrimeRénov' · France
The heat pump grant is the largest single measure available under MaPrimeRénov' in 2026 — up to €5,000 for an air-source unit, significantly more for lower income bands. But the grant is only accessible if you start correctly: with an independent heat load study, a compliant dossier, and an RGE-certified contractor who hasn't already sized the system to their preferred equipment range. This piece works through what the process should look like for a large rural stone property in southwest France — and what goes wrong when it doesn't.
Read the analysis & book an assessmentFurther grant guidance pieces will be published as MaPrimeRénov', CEE, and Éco-PTZ frameworks develop through 2026. Focused on what the rules mean in practice for homeowners in rural southwest France.
EV Research · Total Cost of Ownership · UK & France
When you already have solar PV and battery storage, the question of whether to buy an EV changes shape entirely. The charging cost drops to near-zero in summer. The vehicle becomes a mobile store of excess generation. V2H moves from niche technology to a rational option. This article works through the real economics for an expat homeowner in southwest France — prime CEE grant updated for 2026, HEMS integration considered, and the full TCO modelled across three mileage scenarios against measured Dordogne solar yield.
Read the investigationThe real cost of EV ownership in the UK is not about the car — it is about your charging situation. This investigation profiles seven distinct British driver types from driveway owners to nomadic flat-dwellers, models the full cost stack including depreciation, insurance, and charging, and provides an interactive calculator that adjusts for salary sacrifice, tax band, and eVED policy risk.
Read the investigation