New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- A family in Milton Keynes has turned its 1980s house into a self-generating energy system using solar panels, a heat pump and battery storage, allowing it to join a five-year tariff designed to eliminate energy bills.

Winter used to mean a familiar routine for Clare Naylor and her family: check the energy meter, put on another jumper and try not to turn the heating up too much.

The family's four-bedroom detached house in Milton Keynes was not particularly unusual. Built in the 1980s, it relied on a gas boiler and electricity from the grid, with the household spending about £130 a month on energy.

Now, the same property is producing, storing and using much of its own energy.

The house has been fitted with 17 s...