A solar revolution is on its way to Britain and can help save us from volatile and high energy bills, if you believe Ed Miliband.

Plug-in solar panels are popular across Europe but currently rules in the UK mean that we can’t buy them and, as it says on the tin, simply plug them into our home’s electricity supply.

But changes are afoot that will mean we could soon be buying individual panels that cost £400 and simply plugging them into a three-pin wall socket, where thanks to the magic of an inverter they would put power into your home.

And we might even be able to nip down to the middle of Lidl to buy them, with the discount supermarket among those talking about offering them – in its famous middle aisle.

In Germany, Ikea sells panels and there and in other European countries they are popular, so could they transform our homes? How long would it take to get your money back – and what’s the prepper angle on the interest in all this?

Georgie Frost and Simon Lamber talk plug-in solar panels and energy bills on this episode of the This is Money podcast.

They also discuss summer holiday flights and what the massive disruption triggered by the Iran war will do to prices and demand – and how to target a cheaper break.

Plus, with the government announcing its new town locations, where do property experts think the best one will be.

And, there are rumblings in the finance world over private credit, with the Bank of England among those warning about what’s been dubbed shadow banking. What’s going on, could it trigger a financial crisis and should you be worried?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.