Long Time No See…
Hey, long time no see. Ever since I moved into my property (Property Update 23: Turning the Key), I’ve been busy over the past year settling into my accessible home, learning how to live in it, shape it, and make it truly mine. Now that things have finally calmed down, I feel ready to return to writing here again.
The past year has been full of adjustments, experiments, and figuring out what independence looks like in a space designed around my needs. It’s been rewarding, but also absorbing, and writing naturally took a back seat while I focused on building a life inside these walls.
A New Beginning
As you know, I started a series exploring different towns and cities, but life got in the way and I never really got it off the ground. I still want to return to that idea, because accessible geography matters as much as accessible housing. But for now, I’m starting with something different: solar and battery storage.
Over the past few months, the whole conversation around plug‑in solar really pulled me in, and before I knew it, solar became a full‑on obsession. I found myself reading forums late at night, comparing systems, learning about batteries, and diving into the regulations that shape what disabled people can and can’t do with their homes. It felt like the right place to start. I’ll be planning plenty more posts soon, so stay tuned.
The Disability Price Gap and Energy
Disabled people across the UK face the disability price gap: the unavoidable extra cost of simply living. Medical equipment, mobility devices, heating needs, specialist diets, transport, and accessible housing all stack up.
Energy bills sit right at the centre of that gap. For many disabled people, electricity isn’t just a utility; it’s a lifeline. It powers independence, mobility, communication, and health. When prices rise, disabled people feel it first and feel it hardest.
Solar doesn’t erase disability‑related costs. But it can free up money that disabled people are currently forced to spend on electricity – money that can instead support independence, accessibility, and everyday life.
This isn’t theory for me. It’s personal.
Why I Chose Solar
After renovating my home, I had some savings left. Not enough for another major project, but enough to invest in something meaningful. Renovation teaches you a lot about your own priorities – what matters, what doesn’t, and what genuinely improves your day‑to‑day life.
With VAT on solar ending in April 2027, I knew this was the moment to secure the investment before costs rose again. Solar isn’t cheap, and disabled people rarely have the luxury of waiting for “the perfect moment.” When a window opens, you take it.
I wanted something that would reduce my monthly bills, support my independence, power the equipment I rely on, give me long‑term stability, generate my own energy, and potentially earn a yearly return.
As a disabled person, my electricity use is higher than average. I work from home. I use my PC daily. I charge my wheelchair. I run medical aids essential for my independence and for living with my fiancée. These aren’t optional costs; they’re part of my life.
Solar wasn’t just a home upgrade. It was a way to reduce one of the biggest financial pressures disabled people face.
Government Schemes Don’t Address Disabled Energy Needs
Government schemes for solar and home energy improvements are helpful, but they have never been designed with disabled people in mind. They focus on general household efficiency, carbon reduction, and broad affordability.
None of them addresses the reality that disabled people rely on energy in ways others simply don’t.
There are no schemes specifically aimed at reducing the cost of running medical equipment. No grants for people who need to charge wheelchairs daily. No targeted support for those who rely on heat pumps, showers, or hot water to manage pain, mobility, or hygiene before leaving for work.
Energy is often the difference between being able to participate in society and being forced to stay home.
Access to affordable energy affects employment, independence, health, and dignity. Disabled people deserve schemes that acknowledge this, not generic support that overlooks the very reasons our bills are higher in the first place.
Solar helps fill that gap, but it shouldn’t be the only option. More needs to be offered, and disabled people need to be part of the conversation.
Employment and Energy
Many disabled people work from home not because it’s easier, but because it’s the arrangement that allows us to put all our energy into the work we do. When you live with a disability, the energy you have each day is limited and precious.
Working from home also means higher electricity use: PCs, monitors, lighting, heating, cooling, and medical devices all run throughout the day. For disabled people, this isn’t just “home energy use”; it’s employment‑related energy use.
Solar directly supports this. By generating power during the exact hours disabled people are working, it reduces the cost of employment‑related energy use and helps ensure that working from home remains sustainable.
Financing My System
Solar isn’t cheap, and disabled people rarely have spare cash lying around for major upgrades. After renovating my home, I had some savings left, but not enough to pay for the entire installation outright.
That’s where the 0% stoozing strategy came in.
Stoozing uses a 0% interest credit card to borrow money for free while keeping savings untouched. You pay the card off gradually over the interest‑free period, making sure the balance is cleared before the promotional rate ends. It’s a way of stretching your money further, but it requires financial discipline.
For me, this wasn’t just a clever financial trick. It was a challenge I couldn’t afford to mess up. Managing money carefully matters for everyone, but when you’re already dealing with higher living costs, there’s far less room for error. A single financial slip can hit harder and take longer to recover from, especially when essential equipment, accessibility needs, or medical costs are involved.
Using stoozing allowed me to secure the solar installation before VAT returns in April 2027, while still keeping my savings intact for emergencies. It turned solar from something aspirational into something achievable.
My Battery‑First Research
Before I even considered solar panels, I spent months researching battery storage as a standalone solution. The idea was simple: use a flexible overnight tariff to charge a battery cheaply, then run my home from that stored energy during the day.
It felt like a manageable first step.
But once the stoozing strategy became viable, solar shifted from “maybe one day” to “actually possible.” The combination of solar plus battery storage offered far more stability, independence, and long‑term savings than a battery alone.
It was the moment the plan became real.
Choosing the Sigenergy SigenStor
I researched heavily because solar is a long‑term investment, not a quick purchase. The more I learned, the more I realised how important it was to choose a system that matched my accessibility needs.
I chose the Sigenergy SigenStor because it has excellent smart features, reliable automation, and an app that gives me full control. I don’t want to fiddle with settings or rely on physical switches. I want a system that works quietly in the background and gives me clear information when I need it.
It integrates smoothly with modern smart‑home setups and allows me to monitor usage, storage, and export effortlessly. Accessibility isn’t just about ramps and door widths; it’s also about digital control, predictable systems, and reducing physical effort.
This system wasn’t just the best technical option; it was the best accessible option.
Installer Lessons
One of the biggest lessons from my solar journey is simple: always get multiple quotes. Someone will come out cheaper, guaranteed.
Installers vary massively in price, labour costs, panel brands, battery options, warranty terms, customer service, and roof assessment quality. Comparing quotes gives you control, confidence, and a clearer sense of what’s actually fair.
Solar is a regulated industry, so make sure your installer holds the right accreditations:
- MCS Certified
- NAPIT Registered
- RECC Member
- TrustMark Accredited
- Part P Electrical Compliant
These credentials protect your home, your warranty, and your ability to export energy.
Beyond checking accreditations, ask the installer to walk you through the proposed system on a screen‑share call. Seeing the layout, components, and monitoring platform helps you understand how everything works and gives you space to ask detailed questions. It also ensures the system is tailored to your actual needs rather than a generic package.
When discussing system design, be clear about the appliances you use and any plans you have. If you expect to expand later, request a higher‑capacity inverter, ideally 10-12 kW, so your system has enough headroom for additional panels or increased household demand.
Solar Savings Become Disability Support
Solar doesn’t fix disability‑related costs – it frees up money to help pay for them.
Savings can support specialist diets, mobility aids, accessible transport, medication not covered by the NHS, adaptive clothing, assistive technology, home accessibility upgrades, and higher winter heating needs.
Even small reductions in monthly bills can create meaningful improvements in quality of life.
But Access Isn’t Equal – And That Must Change
Disabled people are more likely than non‑disabled people to rent their homes, live in social housing, or live in flats without roof access – all of which limit access to traditional rooftop solar. The people who would benefit most from solar are often the least able to access it.
This is where plugin solar could make a real difference. For renters and people in social housing, plugin solar offers a way to generate small amounts of electricity without needing permission from a landlord or major structural changes. It’s not a full solution, and it won’t replace a proper rooftop system, but it does open the door for disabled people who currently have no access to solar at all. It’s a step toward energy independence for those who have been excluded from it.
However, plug-in solar will never match the stability, output, or long‑term savings of a full rooftop system. Disabled people living in their own homes, especially those who rely heavily on medical equipment, mobility devices, and working‑from‑home arrangements, will continue to benefit most from traditional solar installations. Full systems provide the reliability, battery integration, automation, and year‑round performance that plugin solar simply can’t deliver.
So while plugin solar may help level the playing field for renters and social housing tenants, the gap remains. Disabled people deserve access to proper solar solutions regardless of their housing situation. Policy needs to change. Grants need to be targeted. Social housing needs to be solar‑ready. Landlords need incentives or requirements to install systems that benefit their tenants.
Energy independence shouldn’t depend on who owns your roof.
Solar as Disability Justice
Energy poverty is a disability issue. Solar is part of the solution, but only if disabled people can access it.
Solar supports financial independence, health stability, accessible living, younger disabled people choosing vibrant communities, reduced stress and anxiety, and cleaner air for respiratory conditions.
Solar isn’t just an environmental upgrade. It’s a social one. A justice one. A freedom one.
Thank You for Reading
Ever since I turned the key to my accessible home, life has been moving through one milestone after another. That moment marked the beginning of a new chapter, and starting my solar journey feels like the next step in shaping that home into a space that truly supports my independence.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update and follow along with everything that’s happened since then. Solar has already taught me a lot, and I’m looking forward to sharing how it performs, how it fits into daily life, and what it means for disabled people navigating higher energy needs.
If this post resonated with you, taught you something new, or made you think differently about disability and energy, please consider sharing it. Every share helps these conversations reach more people who need them.
Your support – whether through reading, sharing, or simply checking back in – keeps this project moving forward and helps amplify the voices of disabled people navigating housing, energy, and independence.
If you’re working on accessibility, energy justice, disability advocacy, or housing reform, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at info@buildmyaccessiblehome.co.uk – let’s work together to make the world more accessible, one home and one story at a time.
More updates soon.
Before You Go…
Enjoyed this post? Sharing it helps raise awareness about accessible housing and disability‑related energy needs.
Want to collaborate? Email me at info@buildmyaccessiblehome.co.uk – I’d love to connect.
Want to support the blog? You can donate via Buy Me a Coffee to help fund ongoing accessibility work and home adaptations.
What’s Coming Next
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing updates on how the solar system performs, the accessibility adaptations happening inside the house, and the lessons I’m learning along the way. I’ll also be diving deeper into energy justice, disability‑related costs, and practical tips for disabled homeowners.
Stay tuned – the journey is just getting started.