What you will find here
Guides are long-form explanations rather than calculators. Where a tool answers a specific question with a number, a guide sets out how a subject works, what the common mistakes are, and how to make a decision — the things that do not reduce to arithmetic.
There are three guides at present, and more are being written. Each is researched against UK sources — government guidance, British Standards, professional bodies and the NHS — and states plainly where the evidence is contested.
Available guides
What a guide is for
Most questions worth asking about a house, a bill or a hobby do not have a numerical answer. "How much paint do I need" does. "Why is my wall damp, and who should I believe about it" does not — it needs the causes explained, the evidence weighed, and the commercial interests pointed out.
Guides on this site follow the same principles as the calculators. British English, UK sources, plain explanation of technical terms, honesty about what is uncertain, and an explicit statement of where professional advice is needed. Nothing is written to fill space, and nothing claims more certainty than the evidence supports.
Each guide states when it was last reviewed. Where a guide covers law or guidance that is changing — as the damp guide does, with Awaab's Law still being phased in — it says so, and says what is expected next.
Guides being written
Planned, in rough order:
- Understanding your UK energy bill. Standing charges, unit rates, the Ofgem price cap and how it is set, what a tariff comparison actually compares, and how to read a bill that seems wrong.
- Where heat leaves a British house. U-values in plain English, what surveys typically find, which measures repay their cost and which do not.
If there is a subject you would find useful, the suggestions page takes guide requests as well as calculator ideas.
Frequently asked questions
How are guides different from the calculators?
A calculator answers a specific question with a number and explains how it reached it. A guide explains a whole subject — how it works, where the common mistakes are, what the evidence does and does not support, and how to make a decision. Guides carry no calculator, and are typically several thousand words.
How often are guides updated?
Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed. Guides covering law, regulation or published figures are reviewed when those change — the damp guide, for instance, covers legislation still being phased in through 2026 and 2027, and will be updated as each phase takes effect.
Can I suggest a guide?
Yes. The suggestions page takes guide requests as well as calculator ideas. Subjects where the existing advice online is thin, contradictory or commercially motivated are the most useful ones to hear about.
Related tools
References
These organisations publish the guidance behind this page.
- GOV.UK — government guidance and published figures underpinning much of this material
- British Standards Institution — the British Standards referenced across the guides
External guidance changes. Check the current position at the source before relying on it for a decision that matters.