ivie, which makes the ivie app and ivie Bud, has published the first two titles in a series of home energy guides it calls the Future of Energy series. The first, Solar 101, covers solar power and is available as a free download1. A second guide, Battery 101, covers home battery storage and is also free2.
The company said the series is made up of short guides, each covering a different part of home energy. It said the first guide answers what solar power is, how solar panels work and what affects their performance1. The second answers what home battery storage is, whether a battery is needed alongside solar, and how expensive a home battery system is2.
"We have created a series of short, easily digestible guides, each centred around a different element of home energy that will be a mainstay in the future."
The Solar 101 page states that the share of zero-carbon power in Britain's electricity mix rose from less than 20% in 2010 to over 50% in February, May, October, November and December of 2022, and that 2024 is expected to see further growth1.
| Guide | Subject | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Solar 101 | Solar power, how panels work, what affects performance | Free1 |
| Battery 101 | Home battery storage, batteries with solar, system cost | Free2 |
Neither page states a publication date beyond the January 2024 uploads, and neither sets out how many guides the series will eventually contain. The Solar 101 page refers to heat pumps as a future subject but gives no date for that guide1. No prices, product specifications or installation details are given in either page.
Why it matters for households
The guides are written for households weighing up solar panels and battery storage, and they set out the questions a homeowner is likely to meet when considering either. The Solar 101 page frames the case in terms of the grid mix, noting the rise in zero-carbon generation since 20101. For a household, that shift is the backdrop to decisions about generating and storing power at home, which is the subject of solar panels and household energy independence.
The Battery 101 page addresses the question of whether a battery is needed alongside solar, and what a home battery system costs2. Those two points sit at the centre of how much of a home's own generation can be used on site rather than exported, and how a battery pairs with an inverter, covered in hybrid solar inverters. Neither guide page gives figures on payback, export rates or system prices, so the practical economics of either option are not reported here.
What happens next
Both guides are available now as free downloads1. The Solar 101 page indicates that further guides in the series will cover other home energy subjects, naming heat pumps, but no dates or titles for later guides have been reported1.