Why Leaf Sheep exists
Solar used to mean rooftops, scaffolding and a five-figure quote. It doesn't any more. Plug-in solar, portable power and home batteries have made clean energy something you can start with for a couple of hundred pounds — no roof, no installer, no jargon.
Getting started is still confusing, though. Half the advice online is written by energy giants who don't sell the kit, and the other half is manufacturers marking their own homework. Leaf Sheep is meant to be the honest bit in the middle: I test the gear, run the numbers, and say what's actually worth buying — especially if it's your first solar purchase.
Who I am
I'm Jon Bishop. I live in Devon, I make video for a living, and I'm not a solar engineer — which is rather the point. I'm working out how to cut my own energy bills without getting stitched up, and I'm filming all of it as I go.
When I don't know something, I ring someone who does: a distribution network operator, an electrician, an installer, a manufacturer. Then I put the answer here in plain English, with the date on it.
That also means you get the real numbers, including the disappointing ones. A kit that quietly generates less than the box claims is far more useful to know about than one that sounds good in a press release.
The name
The leaf sheep (Costasiella kuroshimae) is a tiny sea slug that eats algae, keeps the chloroplasts, and then runs on sunlight — one of the only animals on Earth that's genuinely solar-powered. It seemed a good mascot for what we're all trying to do here.
How this is paid for
I don't sell hardware. When you buy a kit through a link here, you buy it from the manufacturer or retailer, and they pay me a small commission. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn't affect what gets recommended — the full explanation is on the affiliate disclosure page.
Get in touch
If something on this site is wrong, out of date, or reads like an advert, tell me. The contact page comes straight to me.