We have the means to generate far more renewable energy than we're doing today if you look at sources like https://www.energydashboard.co.uk/map.

It has a feed all of the live and planned electrical generating plants across the UK. The dashboard also provides where our energy comes from over the past 15 minutes.

When I examined it on the 20th August, we had solar farms idle while our home plant was harvesting photons at 90% of the maximum available for our site! All while the Great Yarmouth Gas power plant was producing carbon dioxide to give us the energy we needed.

Why does having these sources idle cause such an issue for me? If they were live, especially during the summer, we would have much cheaper prices for electricity. The UK is a pioneer in renewable energy, it would be great if we could actually use it!

As a human computer interface designer (often called user interfaces), I am often criticised by my peers for my 'boring designs'. For me though, the story has always been about ensuring any person can make use of the information I am producing and displaying through my apps.

Since 2002, I have never locked my webpages to a colour or scheme. If you need it yellow text with a purple background because that makes your life easier: you should have that.

All of TSamko Ltd's apps are built with that philosophy, baked in from day one: which doesn't mean we get it right but we try and we listen to our users feedback. This podcast is the story of that journey towards an intuitive user interface for a solar optimiser, whether the screen is visible to you today, or not.

Further details on how this works may be found on optiPV's website.

On the 27th August 2026, it became possible to legally buy and use plugin solar cells.

In this episode of Driving off the Grid, Sam examines the opportunities that brings to everyone in the UK and why you should consider it.

Sam also discusses the app their company is about to publish called optiPV which helps to explore some of these opportunities using just your mobile phone!

• Navigating the newly established UK legal framework for 800W plug-in solar systems, including compliance with the Interim Product Specification and the G98 notification process.

• How granular control from solar arc and tracking calculations (such as those via optiPV⁠ ) compares to the fixed yields of plug-and-play kits.

• Real-world economics for micro-generation, balancing domestic base loads (fridges, routers, and standby draws) against time-of-use tariffs and smart meter tracking without sacrificing evening routines.

If you have any questions, or which like to take part in beta testing of optiPV⁠ please contact me via "help at optipv.co.uk" .