Clean energy solutions provider Egg is teaming up with B&Q, the UK’s leading home improvement retailer, to help more customers install solar panels and power their homes more sustainably.
This is the first time B&Q (www.diy.com) is offering roof-mounted solar panels; and it has selected Egg (www.crackingenergy.com) as its official solar partner to design and install systems tailored to the needs of individual homeowners.
B&Q will assess the suitability of customer homes for solar panels as part of its new Energy Saving Service, which advises customers on how they can improve energy efficiency. Customers book an appointment with a B&Q advisor to go through a range of available data from their property, including its age, construction, EPC rating and current energy usage. B&Q will then present a personalised action plan on ways and products to potentially reduce energy usage. Customers keen to pursue solar panel installation will be referred across to Egg to design, deliver and install a bespoke solar solution.
Egg’s solar experts look at many aspects of a property to design a solution that will deliver an impactful proportion of the household’s energy needs. Factors considered include the property’s location, available roof space, roofing materials and direction of pitch. If homeowners want to utilise solar energy outside of daylight hours, Egg also provides battery storage. Egg manages the full process, from consultation and design, through planning, to installation.
Julie Agnew, CEO of Egg said: “It is significant and exciting that B&Q – one of the most trusted names in home improvements – is guiding customers through energy saving options, enabling them to create homes that are more sustainable and cost efficient. Egg is thrilled to be partnering with B&Q to remove the complexity around solar panels and make solar energy a viable solution for more homeowners.”
Chris Bargate, Strategy Director at B&S, said: “To make it easier for customers to build an action plan to reduce energy use in their homes, we launched the B&Q Energy Saving Service. The service offers free, personalised guidance to identify what customers need to do and access to products and services to get it done. We’re pleased to have partnered with Egg to offer the installation of solar panels and storage to help enable our customers to power their homes more sustainably.”
Solar solutions from Egg start from £7,740, based on an eight-panel system with a 15-year product warranty and a 25-year performance warranty. In the summer of 2022, Egg saw enquiries for solar panels rocket as much as 830% year-on-year, as hot weather and forecasts of rising energy costs led to increased interest in harnessing cleaner energy and reducing household bills.
Egg was launched in February 2022 by Liberty Global Ventures, the investment arm of Liberty Global plc (“Liberty Global”) (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK). The launch of Egg follows Liberty Global Ventures’ acquisition of specialist sustainable energy solutions provider The Phoenix Works in 2020. The Phoenix Works was founded in Leeds and has been installing solar panels for domestic and business use since 2010.