27 November 2025
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Homeowners are no longer just looking for solar panels — increasingly they want fully-integrated renewable energy systems that offer greater comfort, control and cost savings. James Galloway, Global Product and Supply Chain Director at Segen, explains why installers are perfectly positioned to lead the move to smarter home energy use — and why open standards and forward-thinking training will be key to their success.
Energy price volatility, growing climate concerns and evolving consumer expectations are just some of the factors prompting UK households to rethink their relationship with energy. As smart meters become more widespread and awareness of renewable technologies continues to grow, homeowners are increasingly realising they are not merely passive energy consumers, but can play a meaningful role in the clean energy transition. For many, the question is no longer if they should make their homes more energy efficient and future-ready, but how they can achieve it.
This shift is giving rise to a new kind of home energy setup: the renewable energy smart home — a connected energy ecosystem where solar panels, battery storage, EV chargers and heat pumps work together, intelligently coordinated by a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) to deliver greater comfort, control, sustainability and cost savings.
All of these technologies are readily available today, and demand is continuing to grow. For example, since adding heat pumps to the Segen portfolio last year, we’ve seen a consistent month-on-month increase in demand. However, the true value of these technologies doesn’t come from individual performance — it comes from integration.
Imagine a solar system powering the home during the day, while simultaneously charging a battery that stores excess energy for later use. As evening falls, that stored energy helps run a heat pump to keep the home warm and efficient, all seamlessly managed by a central HEMS that intelligently balances generation, storage and demand in real time. For homeowners, this setup ensures optimal comfort, lower energy bills, and greater control over their energy use. For installers, it creates opportunities for higher-value projects, enables them to build longer term customer relationships, and offers a competitive advantage over providers of standalone installations.
Policy is on your side
Importantly, it’s not just consumer demand driving the adoption of renewable energy technologies in the home. Momentums building through UK government initiatives aimed at making clean energy more affordable and accessible, especially for lower-income households.
A flagship policy is the £6.6 billion Warm Homes Plan, launched in November 2024, which aims to lift over one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030 through measures such as installing renewable energy systems and low-carbon heating technologies. Complementing this are initiatives like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which provides upfront grants for installing heat pumps and biomass boilers. Another is the EV ChargePoint Grant, part of the wider ‘Plan for Change’ initiative, which covers up to 75% of the cost (up to £350) for home EV charger installation — supporting cleaner energy use and transport in tandem.
This public investment is helping to expand the customer base for renewable energy technologies far beyond early adopters and into the mainstream — and that means more opportunities for installers to grow their business.
The interoperability roadblock
Of course, as any new technology or solution emerges, so too do new challenges. Companies already installing integrated renewable energy ecosystems consistently highlight a common issue: ensuring that devices from different manufacturers work seamlessly together.
For a renewable energy smart home to function smoothly, its various components must communicate effectively. This hinges on interoperability — enabled by open protocols, or standardised communication languages, that allow devices from different manufacturers to “speak” the same language. When this happens, homeowners benefit from a truly integrated experience.
Historically, many manufacturers focused on developing closed protocols that locked customers into proprietary ecosystems. Fortunately, that’s starting to change. Momentum is building behind open protocols like Matter and Modbus, which enable cross-brand compatibility and foster greater industry collaboration. For installers, this shift means simpler commissioning, fewer support issues, and improved longterm reliability for their customers.
A skills gap that needs closing
Even with better device compatibility, integrated renewable energy ecosystems won’t work without the right people to install them. And that’s another challenge.
Traditionally, renewables installers have specialised in a single technology — such as solar PV, heat pumps, or EV chargers. But renewable energy smart homes demand a more integrated approach. Today’s installers must not only be able to install and maintain multiple technologies, but also understand energy management, thermal performance and IT networking.
In the UK, there is already a critical shortage of qualified renewables professionals — and fewer still possess the cross-disciplinary skills required to design and install fully-integrated renewable energy ecosystems. The industry’s longstanding siloed approach to training — solar-only or EV-only qualifications, for example — no longer meets the demands of modern smart homes.
To close this gap, education and training must evolve. Installers need hands-on, practical learning that reflects the interconnected nature of today's technologies.
This is one of the reasons we created the Segen Academy. It’s designed to equip professionals with the real-world skills needed to move beyond single-technology installations and into whole-home system design. Whether you’re an experienced renewables installer or coming into the industry from a plumbing or electrical background, the Academy delivers training that matches the realities of today’s evolving energy landscape.
Real results: Smart integration in action
Despite these challenges, when all the pieces of the puzzle are put in place, the benefits of a renewable energy smart home are clear.
Take the recent retrofit of a 1960s semidetached home we’ve been following. The upgrade included a 12.3 kWp rooftop solar PV system, an 11.7 kWh battery, and a smart-ready 13.9 kW heat pump — all coordinated through a central HEMS.
The system is programmed to prioritise solar use: powering appliances and the heat pump first, then charging the battery, and finally exporting any excess to the grid. When solar production drops, the battery supplies power before the grid is tapped.
As a result, the home now uses 43% less energy from the grid, significantly reducing energy costs. In addition, running the heat pump on solar energy has improved its seasonal performance factor (SPF) from 4.2 to 6.7 — a 60% efficiency gain. This translates into £430 in annual savings compared to a traditional gas boiler.
The future is bright
As this example shows, the renewable energy smart home isn’t a future concept — it’s already becoming a reality. But to unlock its full potential, we must continue advancing interoperability through open protocols and close the skills gap with forward-thinking training. Encouragingly, the pieces are starting to fall into place.
With continued technical innovation and greater cross-industry collaboration, renewable energy smart homes can become the backbone of a cleaner, more resilient energy future.
