Solar PV to support Bellway in delivering ‘Zero Bills’ homesSolar PV to support Bellway in delivering ‘Zero Bills’ homes

Major housebuilder Bellway has joined Octopus Energy’s “Zero Bills” homes initiative which incorporates solar to lower household energy bills.

With the signing of this partnership, Bellway becomes the first national housebuilder to join the low-carbon homes project with the organisation currently building three Zero Bills homes in Stafford as part of a pilot. These will go on the market in December 2023.

A further 250 homes are planned to be developed at a Bellway site in Bedfordshire from 2024.

In a bid to eliminate bills from homes, each building developed under the initiative is kitted out with solar, batteries and heat pumps, all of which are then optimised by Kraken, Octopus’ tech platform. Octopus Energy also provides a bespoke tariff.

The rooftop solar generates electricity for the home and its heat pump, which then provides all heating and hot water, while the battery storage will store any excess electricity the solar panels generate for later use.

It is worth noting that the Zero Bills homes initiative aim to deliver no energy bills for at least five years, guaranteed. Households thus save approximately £1,800 a year on energy bills, Octopus said.

Octopus hopes to have delivered 50,000 Zero Bills homes globally by 2025.

Michael Cottrell, Zero Bills Homes director at Octopus Energy, said: “Zero Bills is a complete game changer, and having one of the UK’s largest housebuilders on board to develop their first Zero Bills homes is a momentous occasion for sustainable living.

“With Bellway committing to this revolutionary scheme, we can provide even more homeowners with zero energy bills for five years, guaranteed. It means we can make green living the standard, not the exception.”

This is the latest partnership in the Zero Bills homes initiative with Octopus having signed an agreement with Vertol, another housebuilder, in July. This partnership aims to deliver a total of 70 homes across two sites in Cornwall and Exeter, Devon.

This article first appeared on Solar Power Portal’s sister publication Current±.