Cornwall Living

Powering Cornwall forward

Royal Cornwall Show revealed a growing appetite for smarter home energy.

The crowds that flowed through the Royal Cornwall Show this year brought with them a common concern fuelled by recent world events: how to take greater control of household energy costs while preparing their homes for the years ahead. For GreenGenUK, the event offered an opportunity to hear directly from homeowners weighing up the choices available to them and seeking practical answers to pressing questions.

Air Source Heat Pumps, Solar PV systems and battery storage attracted sustained interest from visitors keen to understand how these technologies could work together to improve efficiency and reduce expenditure. Many were particularly interested in the relationship between solar generation and low-carbon heating. Producing electricity on-site through Solar PV can help power an Air Source Heat Pump, lowering running costs and enabling households to make greater use of energy generated at home.

Battery storage emerged as another area of growing curiosity. While many visitors associated batteries with solar panels, there was considerable interest in their value as a standalone investment. Advances in energy tariffs have created new opportunities for households to charge batteries overnight when electricity prices are lower and draw on that stored energy during periods of higher demand and higher costs. For many homeowners, the appeal lies in gaining greater flexibility and a stronger grip on monthly energy spending.

Discussion frequently turned to the changing energy market and the role of smart tariffs. As suppliers continue to introduce time-of-use pricing, households equipped with battery storage are finding new ways to maximise savings by shifting consumption to cheaper periods. Energy management is becoming an active part of household budgeting.

There was also considerable interest in the proposed increase to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The anticipated rise in grant funding from £7,500 to £9,000 for eligible households replacing oil or LPG heating systems with an Air Source Heat Pump would make adoption more accessible and strengthen the case for investing in low-carbon heating.

With fluctuating energy prices, GreenGenUK left the show with a strong sense that energy independence has become a central consideration for households across the county.