Winter 2023 has been a mild one on record, however a few cold snaps over the last few months saw temperatures falling below 0°C in most parts of the UK for consecutive days, and as low as -10°C in Inverness, Scotland. Those of you who enjoy the exploring the wintery scenery in your motorhome and campervans, or those with off-grid garden offices or sheds, may have noticed a decreased performance in your batteries. Why is this? Is there such a thing as winter batteries? And what can you do to take care of your lithium batteries in cold weather? What happens to batteries in cold weather? A batter ..read more

Electric cars, commonly referred to as EVs, are gaining popularity in the UK due to the push for a more environmentally friendly nation. More than 265,000 electric cars were registered in 2022, which is a growth of 40% on 2021. Whilst being a green solution for drivers, 40-50% of the total electricity production in the UK is still generated by fossil fuels, so electric vehicle owners are turning to household solar power solutions in an attempt to go completely green. But is it possible? This blog post will explain if it is possible to charge your EV, and any alternatives to help decrease your ..read more

Can solar panels heat my hot tub? Is there such a thing as a solar powered hot tub? Can I take my hot tub off grid? With the increase in hot tub sales in the UK these are just some of the questions we are asked weekly. The simple answer is no, not all-year-round. However, this blog post will explain why a solar powered hot tub would not work, and alternatives to help decrease the cost of keeping your hot tub running. How much electricity does my hot tub use? The average hot tub draws around 5.5kWh every hour whilst being used. When not in use, a hot tub can consume an average of 7kWh of electr ..read more

On Wednesday 1st February 2023, two of our Solar Technicians, Tom and Matt, travelled to East Malling, near Maidstone in Kent to install a solar system at a food education charity called Communigrow. A cold and early start, we arrived at Communigrow’s community garden just as the sun was rising above the trees. Here we met Sheena who is the Operations Manager for the charity. Sheena invited us to explore the grounds which is used for educating and reconnecting people to freshly grown food and the outdoor environment. They offer practical experience to young people and adults, including those ..read more

Electricity prices in the UK have risen by 65.4% since January 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics. This rise has seen many of us affected and as a result we are all having to change our behaviours to cut down on usage. Over 1 million households in the UK have turned to solar energy to help cut down on costs but not every house is suitable for them to be installed. That is why home battery storage without solar panels should be something to consider. We have explained below what home battery storage is and how it works, as well as the benefits and disadvantages of having a ba ..read more

We have previously conducted tests into whether or not MPPT charge controllers can really produce up to 30% more power under partially shaded or overcast conditions than PWM units as claimed by many manufacturers. We conducted our tests at 14.00 on the 17th of July 2013, facing one of Sunstores 80w monocrystalline solar panels directly south at a 60-degree angle. Before connecting the charge controllers we measured the open circuit power of the solar panel and recorded the following results: Voltage = 20.1v Current = 2.53a Power = 50.85w The two charge controllers selected for this test wer ..read more

Here’s the latest update to the Aixam Mega Story. Well, what to say… we have recently done a few conversions similar to our own van, mostly transforming the vehicle to work without the ECU. During this time we’ve learned a great deal, with the main aspect being that after 2009 the speed controller and ECU seem to have changed and is now difficult to bypass. The Curtis instruments ECU is workable but the newer Sevcon version is locked out of becoming a Master and running without the ECU. Just a warning for any potential purchases. On our own vehicle we have recently changed the batteries. Unfor ..read more

Park homes are very popular these days with the quality of the buildings being built to a very high standard. Low running costs and efficient living along with well placed and naturally beautiful sites make them a very attractive alternative to standard construction homes. The biggest issue we find with these homes is the heating. With a lot of sites not having mains gas, this means bottled gas is the alternative along with electric. However, bottled gas can be expensive. In contrast, electric heating is inefficient compared to gas but easier to install and requires lower maintenance tha ..read more

BBC Bristol has recently aired a documentary called The Great Bear Stakeout. Sunstore were contacted about supplying a Solar Energy Solution for keeping the batteries of the documentary teams’ equipment powered up. We are very proud to have provided a Solar Energy Solution to BBC Bristol for powering their equipment in the remote wilderness of Alaska. We supplied BBC Bristol with several 85w Solar Battery Charger Briefcases and a Battery Monitor (designed and built in-house specifically for this project) as a complete Solar Energy Solution. We also assembled a Wiring Loom for them s ..read more