HBS Solarwarm through its sister company HBS New Energies is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded Microgeneration Installer Certification.

This certification allows HBS Solarwarm to undertake the supply, design, installation, commissioning and handover, of solar heating microgeneration systems that meet the requirements of the BERR (Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform).

It also means that we can help our qualifying customers to obtain grants for their solar panel system installations under the Government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Currently under this scheme, householders can apply for an overall maximum Government grant of £400 or 30% of the relevant eligible cost of installing a solar system - whichever is the lower.

To find out more call us now on 0800 61 21 200 or contact us.

Rising unemployment and higher energy prices are likely to push hundreds of thousands more homes into fuel poverty says government advisory body - Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG).

FPAG reported that about 4m households in England are spending over 10% of their income on energy and are already in fuel poverty. Accordingly, FPAG has urged ministers to put together a detailed plan for meeting their own target of ending the problem by 2016.

One of the main causes of fuel poverty is high energy prices with average domestic fuel bills having increased by 125% over the past five years. The FPAG report states that the long-term trend on prices is likely to be upwards - not least due to the huge industry investment required to meet green energy targets - and the price hikes imposed by foreign energy providers will contribute to this.

Besides offering a wide range of competitively priced new green energy products to householders, HBS Solarwarm is working alongside national new build developers on major Housing Association projects. These projects call for greener home energy technologies and HBS Solarwarm is providing the Housing Assoications with thermal solar energy systems that can reduce tenant’s hot water bills by up to 60%. All this means that hard pushed tenants will be able to make significant savings off their annual energy bills instantly and for years to come.

The FPAG report has been welcomed by one of the main consumer watchdogs, Consumer Focus and its spokesman Jonathan Stearn is reported by the BBC to have said: “We are urging the government to heed the warning of its own advisory group, that energy prices could rocket in the next few years.”

“If the government is serious in its aim to end fuel poverty, it needs to do much more to help the most vulnerable households.” The numbers in fuel poverty fell dramatically during the early part of this decade, with the government establishing several schemes that provide help for vulnerable households.

To find out how you can save up to 60% off hot water bills annually, rising to 95% off hot water bills in the summer months call us now on 0800 61 21 200 or find out more here

Daily Express Consumer Editor, Louise Barnett, reporting on 22nd June 2009 said that energy bills would hit a high of £5,000 a year with rises of up to 42% predicted for the next decade. In the same article, experts at USwitch said that average annual energy bills had doubled from £580 five years ago to £1,243 today. The report also recorded how customers would suffer even steeper price rises with energy bills quadrupling by 2020. These price rises will apparently pay for investment in an outdated infrastructure and to fund new green energy policies. Over reliance on Eastern European gas and foreign electricity suppliers will also contribute to making Britain open to hikes in energy bills.

For existing HBS Solwarm customers with solar installations, these price rises will be softened by an up to 60% saving on the cost of domestic hot water, making payback on their investment in thermal solar energy for the home quicker, and energy bills more predictable.

To find out more about how you can save with HBS Solarwarm’s new style solar panel systems that can save on both hot water and heating bills or to find out more about our range of new energy heating and hot water solutions click here or call us today.

To find out more about the article that appeared in the Daily Express click here

Government Statistics published February 2009 showed the following real price increases Q4 2007 to Q4 2008.

• Prices for all fuel and light have risen by 34.3% in real terms.
• Domestic electricity prices, including VAT rose by 28.3% in real terms in the year to Q4 2008.
• Domestic gas prices, including VAT rose by 48.2% in real terms in the year to Q4 2008
• The price of coal and smokeless fuels increased in real terms by 30.3%, and the price of heating oils by 6.5% between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008.

HBS Solarwarm is proud to announce that it has become a member of The REAL Assurance Scheme. Set up by the Renewable Energy Association, the country’s leading trade organisation for renewable energy producers and suppliers, and approved by the Office of Fair Trading, this scheme aims to guarantee a high quality experience for consumers buying microgeneration units. HBS Solarwarm’s REAL membership also shows that HBS Solarwarm has agreed to abide by the REAL Consumer Code, a symbol of professional excellence.

The REAL Assurance Scheme Consumer Code.

This Code relates to the contacts companies have with consumers and covers all the factors that contribute to the overall consumer service including providing:

• clear information on the systems planned and their performance;
• any arrangements for installing and connecting the system;
• the selection and quality of goods supplied;
• details of the conditions of business that apply;
• the standard of any installation and other on-site work;
• guarantees, and any maintenance and after-sales services needed;
• what action will be taken to deal with any problems; and
• monitoring and continuously improving procedures.

The code also advises that consumers have the right to expect that goods and services supplied by a member will perform properly, be fit for their purpose and meet the quality standards they would reasonably expect, including the standards set out in the Code. If these standards are not met, consumers can complain using the Code’s complaints procedure. The principles set out in the Code are not intended to interpret, replace or restrict the law, and none of the conditions of the Code will affect consumers’ rights under any existing consumer protection law.

For more information on the code visit www.realassurance.org.uk

HBS Solarwarm is offering half price loft insulation on solar panel orders placed before 31st March, 09. This offer now brings householders even more opportunity to save money on domestic hot water and heating, and is just one way in which HBS Solarwarm’s engineers are making sure that householders get maximum savings and energy efficiency from their home heating.

Every HBS Solarwarm solar panel heating system is individually configured by the company’s engineers to ensure maximum energy savings, but because the company specialises in heating systems, you also get the benefit of an analysis and optimisation process that increases the efficiency of your central heating system as a whole.

This means that at installation, unlike many solar companies who do not specialise in heating, HBS Solarwarm also takes the opportunity to flush your whole heating system through and to service your boiler (subject to technical survey) – all free of charge. This flush process evacuates the collected debris and limescale that builds up in the heating system, reducing efficiency, and costing you money. Coupled with new loft installation – at half the usual price – HBS Solarwarm is now able to ensure that not only is your new solar equipment operating to full capacity, and your whole heating system ‘clean’ and optimised for energy savings, but your home is also better insulated to retain heat for even more energy savings.

Having loft insulation installed to meet the current building regulations e.g. 270mm of mineral wool (or a suitable alternative) is one of the energy efficiency measures required before householders can apply for a Government ‘Low Carbon Buildings Grant.’ To find out more about our solar panel systems and loft insulation offer, call HBS Solawarm on 0800 61 21 200, contact us for a free home survey, or visit our Southampton Showroom.

HBS Solarwarm is a family heating and ventilation firm in business since 1950 and operating in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, West Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and London.

HBS Solarwarm has opened a dedicated new energies showroom at their Southampton headquarters. Here visitors can pick up literature and see working displays of solar panel heating and hot water systems. Also on show are working heat pump technologies (supplied by sister company HBS New Energies) and there is information on hand regarding biomass home heating and wood burning stoves.
HBS Solarwarm is an installer of solar systems, whilst HBS New Energies provides integrated heating systems that can use a wide variety of new energies, including solar, biomass and heat pump technologies. Both companies specialise in home heating – new and traditional fossil fuel systems – and both are set to respond to growing consumer concerns about global warming and hikes in energy prices - by providing families with the means to reduce household CO2 emissions and at the same time offering a way to reduce home energy bills.
HBS Solarwarm and HBS New Energies operate throughout the South of England covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire West Sussex and the London area. The company already offers a free no obligation home consultation and survey service, but in response to a rising demand for more information on alternative energies, the firm has opened this new energies showroom, so now customers can see exactly how these new energy systems work at first hand - including for example, viewing the energy output from the solar panels on the roof of the showroom.
Choosing exactly the right heating system for your home is a difficult enough decision – even when you are familiar with the fuel options, but it is especially so when you are looking for a new energy alternative, that’s why HBS Solarwarm believes that their new showroom will prove particularly popular.
The HBS Solarwarm showroom is situated on the East side of Southampton, just off junction 8 of the M27. Visitors are welcome to come to the showroom just to look at the new energy displays and to collect literature, and if you’d like to know more or to discuss your own home energy needs, there is usually an advisor on hand for free advice. However, if you’d like to be sure of receiving specialist advice, you will need to make an appointment with an advisor using the telephone or email contact details below.
Showroom Opening Times:
The HBS Solarwarm showroom is open to the public Monday – Friday 10am-5pm but if you are aiming to visit on a bank holiday, or would like to arrange a weekend or evening appointment call in advance on:
0800 61 21 200
Click here to make an appointment online:

Unable to visit th showroom? Click here to make free no-obligation appointment at your home: