About SwitchedOnHome

I'm Gary, a homeowner on the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire border, and this blog documents my genuine journey with home energy, smart home technology, electric vehicles, and smart spending. It's not a marketing exercise—it's me sharing what actually works, what doesn't, and the real numbers behind it all.

Why I Started This

A few months ago, I started investing in renewable energy and smart home technology. Like many people, I was curious about whether it all made financial sense, how to actually integrate these systems properly, and what the learning curve would look like. I quickly realised there weren't many places online where someone was honestly documenting the process—the wins, the mistakes, the hidden costs, and the actual data.

So I decided to share my own experience. This site exists because I wish something like this had existed when I started out.

What I'm Working With

My setup has evolved considerably. I've got 16 solar panels generating 7.6kW (8 panels each on a more or less East / West facing roof), a Tesla Powerwall 3 for storage (no expansion pack.... yet), and a Mitsubishi Ecodan R32 air source heat pump handling heating and hot water (though I'm still not entirely happy with Nest's control of it). Two Peugeots—an e-308 for me and an e-208 for my partner—are charged at home using a Hypervolt Pro 3 charger.

The smart home side is equally mixed. I'm currently mainly using Apple Home. But have invested in a Home Assistant Green, which I'm tinkering with now, and will likely become my brain, with integrations for Tesla, Octopus Energy, and the Hypervolt. I've got Philips Hue lights, Meross smart plugs, Aqara sensors, a Eufy camera, and other bits and pieces. It's a genuine home setup, not a showroom—which means plenty of compromises and learning experiences.

I've also recently switched to the Octopus Energy Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, which has been game-changing for managing EV charging and storage. And because I've got a second home in France, there's a separate security setup running remotely there too (more on that later).

The Philosophy Here

I believe in documenting everything as I go. Real data. Real experiences. When something works brilliantly, I'll tell you. When I've made a costly mistake or wasted time on something that didn't deliver, I'll be honest about that too. No sales pitches, no affiliate commission drives (although I will have commission links if you want to support me, but will be open about those), just what actually happened and what I learned from it.

I'm interested in the intersection of technology, energy, and genuine value. That means looking at return on investment, exploring automation that genuinely saves time or money, and sometimes admitting that the simple solution was better than the clever one. And let's face it.... I'm a geek at heart.

What You'll Find Here

This blog covers four main areas: home energy (solar, storage, heat pumps, and tariffs), smart home technology (automation, integrations, and the hardware that ties it together), electric vehicles (charging, costs, real-world performance), and smart spending (the financial side of all this—what's worth it and what isn't).

Each post aims to be useful whether you're just thinking about making a change or you're already deep in the weeds of setting something up. I'll share what worked, what didn't, and why.

Let's Go

If you're curious about making your home more efficient, exploring smart home technology, or just want to follow someone documenting this stuff honestly, I'm glad you're here. This is a real journey, and I'm sharing it as it happens.