Colin and Jan from Norwich

Retired couple Colin and Jan Sims from Wroxham near Norwich got in touch with Free Solar specialists HomeSun to understand the options. Saving money and improving the value was the driving force behind the decision to go for a solar system on their south-facing bungalow - less than a mile down the road from the beautiful Norfolk Broads.

What they had not reckoned on, however, is that, along with 16 photovoltaic solar panels and scaffolding delivered to their home, would be a specially made cake and champagne, personally presented by Britain's most celebrated TV weatherman , Michael Fish, to mark the 1000th solar home in Britain supplied by Free Solar specialist, HomeSun. And to cap it all, the sun shone brilliantly thoughout the whole day.

Retired builder, Colin Sims and his wife Jan have lived in Norfolk for over 20 years, moving to their modern, 1965-built, four bedroom bungalow in Wroxham some four years ago. With five children and eight grandchildren, Colin was soon back at work for himself, supervising construction of an open plan fitted kitchen and a huge dining area extension to accommodate family get-togethers and entertaining friends. With a close eye on ever increasing domestic utility prices, the Sims "put in all the obvious energy savers, including cavity wall insulation, full loft insulation, a "water widget " on our shower, a special low voltage electrical system, and even dual-flush WCs."

"It's a real no-risk, no-brainer," said Colin. "We liked the size, scale and credentials of HomeSun."

We could have bought solar from them and taken the Feed-in Tariff ourselves, but we might downsize at some point and we’d be out of pocket on the expense with the system. With Free Solar there’s nothing to pay, and we think the free solar installation instantly adds to the capital value of our house. Plus because HomeSun only makes its money from Feed-in Tariffs if the system works well, our interests are aligned. We can be confident that the solar system is a good one and it will be maintained well.

The installation took just a day and the Sims plan to maximise their solar power benefit by staggering usage through daylight hours of major electricity users like their tumble dryer and washing machine, which in turn will reduce their need to draw on power taken from the grid. "Over the course of a year, we expect to save between a good third -and possibly more - of our electric bill, and of course insulate ourselves from inevitable further price increases" said Colin.