Solar, Heat Pumps & EV Charging for Cornish Holiday Lets

From 6 April 2025, the long-standing Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime was abolished. Previously, FHLs qualified for: full mortgage interest relief (vs limited to basic rate for standard rentals), Capital Gains Tax reliefs including Business Asset Disposal Relief (10% rate), Capital Allowances on furnishings and equipment, and pension contributions counted against FHL profits. From 6 April 2025 all of these are removed, and FHLs are treated as standard rental income.

Critically for renewables: the loss of Capital Allowances means that the cost of installing a heat pump or solar system is no longer immediately deductible against rental income in the year of installation (which previously created a powerful tax incentive for FHL owners). However, the installation cost is still deductible against future Capital Gains when the property is sold (as an improvement to the capital asset), and the energy savings are retained in full as reduced operating costs.

Three transitional points: (1) FHLs operating before 6 April 2025 retain Capital Allowances claims already in progress through their remaining write-down periods, (2) the 'replacement of domestic items' relief continues for furnishings, (3) properties that fall out of FHL status due to falling below the 105-day let threshold automatically convert to standard rental from the next tax year. We recommend FHL owners speak to their accountant about timing — but renewable installs remain economically advantageous even without FHL Capital Allowances, particularly given the operational cost reduction and the EPC compliance horizon.

The 0% rate of VAT on the installation of qualifying energy-saving materials in residential accommodation was extended on 1 May 2023 to include a wider product range (heat pumps, solar PV, batteries, insulation, wind turbines) and runs until 31 March 2027. A common misconception is that this only applies to a 'main residence'. HMRC's notice 708/6 is clear: the relief applies to 'residential accommodation', which explicitly includes 'furnished holiday accommodation' and 'second homes' provided the property is used for residential purposes (rather than as a commercial guesthouse with permanent staff, which would be 'commercial accommodation' at 20%).

The practical test: if your property has a kitchen for guest use, sleeps families on holiday, and is let by the week or fortnight, it qualifies for 0% VAT on renewable installations. If it operates as a serviced apartment with daily cleaning and staffed reception (B&B, guesthouse, hotel), it's 20% VAT. Almost all Cornish holiday lets fall into the 0% category.

This is significant: on a £18,000 heat pump + solar + battery package, the 0% rate saves £3,000 vs the commercial rate. We confirm 0% eligibility at survey stage and include the relevant VAT certification in your invoice. Where you have a mixed-use property (e.g. an annexe that's sometimes a holiday let and sometimes family use), we can apportion VAT accordingly.

The current Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regulations require all let residential properties to have an EPC of E or above. The government's 2023 consultation on extending MEES to require EPC C for new tenancies by 2028 and all tenancies by 2030 has been delayed but is widely expected to proceed in the 2026-2027 legislative window. The application to Furnished Holiday Lettings has been less clear, but the most recent consultation document (DESNZ October 2024) explicitly proposed extending MEES requirements to short-stay lets, including FHLs, on a timeline matching long-let properties.

The practical implication: Cornish holiday lets currently rated EPC D or E (the majority of the stock, particularly converted granite cottages, older bungalows and 1960s-1980s coastal properties) will need substantial upgrades within 5-7 years to remain lettable. The cost-effective package to move a typical EPC E property to EPC C combines: (1) solar PV (adds 4-7 EPC points), (2) heat pump replacing oil/LPG/electric heating (adds 8-14 points), (3) loft insulation top-up to 270mm (adds 2-3 points), (4) cylinder insulation if missing (adds 1-2 points). The combined package typically delivers 18-22 EPC points, moving a D55 property to C73 or an E45 property to C68.

We model the EPC outcome at survey stage using the SAP 10.2 calculation engine and provide a predicted post-install EPC rating in writing before contracting.

A typical 3-bed Cornish holiday let consumes:

• Peak summer week (mid-July): 220-340 kWh electricity, 0 kWh heating (in most properties)
• Shoulder season (May, September): 90-160 kWh/week electricity, low heating demand if heated
• Winter (December-February): 60-110 kWh/week electricity, 240-440 kWh/week heating equivalent if operating
• Annual total: 7,500-12,000 kWh electricity, 8,000-18,000 kWh heating equivalent (typically oil or LPG currently)

The summer peak is driven by: hot tubs (3.5-4.5 kWh per heating cycle, typically 2-3 cycles per stay change-over), electric showers (8.5-10.5 kW for 8-12 minutes per guest per day = around 12-18 kWh per day for a 4-guest party), EV charging by visitor guests (around 10-25 kWh per charge, increasingly common), tumble dryers between change-overs (4-6 kWh per cycle), and air conditioning in newer properties (1-2.5 kWh per hour of operation).

Solar PV maps brilliantly onto this demand profile: peak generation occurs exactly when peak demand occurs. A 6-8 kWp south-facing array on a Cornish holiday let generates 6,500-9,000 kWh/year, with around 60-75% of that occurring May-September. Pair with a 9.5-13.5 kWh battery and direct self-consumption rises to 70-85% of generation during the summer let season.

Our most-installed renewable package for Cornish holiday lets is a 6.5-7.5 kWp solar PV array (16-18 panels of 410-440W each) paired with a 9.5 kWh battery and a 7 kW EV charger. Typical product specifications:

• Solar panels: REC Alpha Pure-R 410W, JA Solar 440W or LG Neon H 405W all-black aesthetic
• Inverter: Solis 6kW hybrid, Fox ESS H1-6.0 hybrid, or Tesla Powerwall 3 with integrated 11.5kW inverter
• Battery: Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh, the most common choice for holiday lets due to backup power capability), Givenergy 9.5 kWh, or Fox ESS HV2600 (stackable to 13kWh)
• EV charger: Myenergi Zappi v2.1 (solar-following with eco modes) or Andersen A2 (premium aesthetic for high-end lets)

Typical install cost (0% VAT) for the integrated package: £15,800-£19,500 for a 3-bed holiday let. Annual financial benefit: £1,400-£2,200 (combining direct self-consumption savings, SEG export tariff at 15p/kWh, and EV charger revenue if monetised). Simple payback 7-10 years. The Tesla Powerwall 3 inclusion adds £1,800-£2,400 to the install cost but provides automatic backup power during grid outages (Cornwall has more outages than UK average) and creates a marketable feature for the listing: 'fully backed-up power, hot water and EV charging even during storms'.

Heat pumps in holiday lets have a different design brief than residential installs. The system needs to: (1) heat the property quickly from a cold-set-back state (typically Friday afternoon changeover to first guest arrival), (2) maintain stable temperatures during occupied periods regardless of guest behaviour, (3) protect the property from frost damage during unoccupied winter periods, (4) operate efficiently across wildly varying occupancy patterns.

Our standard holiday let heat pump specification:

• Capacity: Sized to design heat loss + 15-20% margin (vs the 5-10% margin typical on residential installs) to handle rapid warm-up from cold-set-back
• Controls: Smart thermostats with remote access (Nest, Tado, or the heat pump manufacturer's app) so the owner can pre-warm the property before guest arrival
• Frost protection mode: Maintains 7°C minimum during unoccupied winter periods, drawing minimal power but preventing pipe burst
• Cylinder sizing: Upsized typically 50L over residential equivalent to handle peak shower demand on changeover days (4-guest party showers + bath + dishwasher fill)
• Smart electricity tariff: Octopus Cosy or Go heating overnight at 7-9 p/kWh, then coast through the day on cylinder reserve

Typical product: Mitsubishi Ecodan PUZ-WM 11.2kW with FTC6 controls and Melcloud remote app, paired with a 250-300L Mixergy cylinder.

Approximately 40-55% of Cornish holiday lets in the £1,200+/week tier now include a hot tub or outdoor sauna. These are significant electrical loads: a typical 6-person hot tub draws 3-4 kW continuously for 6-8 hours to heat from 15°C to 38°C after a changeover empty/refill, then 250-400W standby load to maintain temperature. Annual hot tub electricity consumption typically 4,500-7,500 kWh — comparable to whole-house heating in a well-insulated property.

Our recommended approach: (1) Confirm the hot tub electrical supply is on a dedicated 32A circuit with appropriate RCD/RCBO protection, (2) Pair the hot tub circuit with a Myenergi Eddi solar diverter — this routes excess solar generation directly to the hot tub heater during sunny periods, dramatically reducing import costs, (3) Time-control hot tub heating to off-peak tariff windows (Octopus Cosy off-peak 4-7 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.) for the residual demand not covered by solar, (4) For new installs, specify an inverter-driven heat pump hot tub (ArcticSpa, MyLine HP) rather than direct-electric resistive heating, reducing electricity consumption by 60-75%.

The Eddi diverter alone typically saves £300-£500/year on a hot-tub-equipped holiday let. Heat-pump hot tubs save a further £500-£900/year.

Approximately 22-28% of UK car households now own an EV or PHEV (SMMT September 2024 data, trending +5pp per year). Among the demographic that books premium Cornish holiday lets — typically £1,000+/week — EV ownership runs at 38-45%. Booking platforms (Sykes Cottages, Classic Cottages, Forever Cornwall, Cornish Cottages) increasingly highlight EV charging as a filterable amenity, and listings with EV charging command 4-7% booking premiums per Sykes Cottages 2024 data.

Our standard holiday let EV charger specification:

• Charger: Myenergi Zappi v2.1 — solar-following modes mean the charger uses excess solar generation by preference, only drawing grid power when solar is insufficient. Tethered Type 2 cable, 7.4kW or 22kW (three-phase) options.
• Mounting: External wall-mounted near guest parking, IP65 rated for Cornish weather
• Access: Smart app-based access (Zappi MyEnergi app) so guests register on arrival, owner sees consumption per stay
• Billing: Either bundled into stay rate (most premium lets do this) or metered and charged to guest at 30-45p/kWh (still cheaper than commercial public chargers at 65-89p/kWh)

Install cost £1,200-£1,800 for Zappi + standard installation. OZEV EV chargepoint grant of £350 for landlords (extended to FHL owners) covers part of this. Annual revenue if metered: typically £400-£900 depending on guest EV penetration and stay length.

Typical 2026 pricing for a Cornish holiday let comprehensive renewable retrofit (0% VAT throughout, BUS grant on heat pump only):

• Solar + battery + EV charger package only (6.5kWp + 9.5kWh + Zappi): £15,800-£18,500 / annual benefit £1,500-£2,100
• Heat pump + cylinder + radiator upgrades (11kW Ecodan + 250L + 8 radiators): £15,500-£18,500 gross, £8,000-£11,000 after BUS
• Full integrated package (heat pump + solar + battery + Zappi + Eddi for hot tub): £29,500-£35,500 gross, £22,000-£28,000 after BUS, annual benefit £2,800-£4,200
• Premium package with hot tub heat pump upgrade: add £4,800-£6,800 for hot tub HP conversion, additional £600-£900/year savings

Payback periods: solar-only package 7-10 years, heat pump-only package 6-9 years vs oil/LPG, full integrated package 7-9 years. Critically, the integrated package also delivers a marketable upgrade for the listing (EV charging, hot tub running on solar, backup power capability) typically supporting a 6-12% rate increase justified by the amenity bundle.