Privacy Policy
Last updated: 13 July 2026
SolarCostsUK respects your privacy and is committed to protecting personal information submitted through this website.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, how it may be shared, how long it is retained and the rights available to you under UK data protection law.
Who We Are
SolarCostsUK is an independent information website providing guidance about UK solar-panel costs, battery storage, electricity tariffs, payback periods and related home-energy topics.
SolarCostsUK is operated by MWD Hosting. The website operator is responsible for the personal information described in this policy.
Privacy enquiries can be sent to:
Personal Information We Collect
When you use the secure contact form, we may collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your postcode, where voluntarily provided
- The enquiry topic you select
- The contents of your message
- Any other information you choose to include
Please do not include payment-card details, bank information, medical information or other sensitive personal information in your message.
Technical and Security Information
The website, hosting platform and security services may process limited technical information when you visit the website or submit a form. This may include:
- Your IP address
- Browser and device information
- Date and time of access
- Form-submission and rate-limiting information
- Security, diagnostic and error logs
This information is used to operate and protect the website, prevent spam and misuse, investigate technical issues and maintain website security.
How We Use Personal Information
We may use personal information to:
- Read, assess and respond to enquiries
- Clarify information published in our solar-cost guides
- Consider suggested corrections or updates
- Maintain appropriate records of correspondence
- Prevent spam, fraud, misuse and security incidents
- Diagnose technical problems
- Comply with applicable legal obligations
We do not use contact-form information for unrelated email marketing. We do not sell or rent personal information.
Our Lawful Basis
We normally process contact-form information on the basis of our legitimate interests in operating the website, responding to messages, maintaining accurate content, protecting the website and keeping appropriate records.
Where processing is required by law, information may also be processed to comply with a legal obligation.
The contact-form checkbox confirms that you understand how the information will be used. It is not used to subscribe you to marketing communications.
Who We Share Information With
Personal information may be processed by trusted organisations that help us operate and protect the website, including:
- Website hosting providers
- Email and SMTP service providers
- Website maintenance and technical-support providers
- Malware monitoring and website-security providers
- Backup and infrastructure providers
- Professional advisers where reasonably necessary
- Regulators, law enforcement or public authorities where legally required
These providers only receive information reasonably necessary to provide their services or meet a legal requirement.
We do not share contact-form information with unrelated organisations for advertising or unsolicited marketing.
How Contact Messages Are Stored
Contact-form messages are sent to the authorised email address:
Messages are not stored in a publicly accessible website database. Copies may nevertheless exist within secure email systems, website backups, hosting infrastructure, security logs and ordinary business records.
How Long We Keep Information
Contact messages will normally be retained for up to 12 months after the most recent correspondence. They may then be deleted unless there is a legitimate reason to retain them for longer.
Information may be retained for longer where reasonably necessary to resolve a complaint, prevent fraud, establish or defend a legal claim, maintain website security or comply with a legal obligation.
Technical and security records may be retained according to the normal retention periods used by our hosting, email, backup and security providers.
How We Protect Personal Information
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration or misuse.
The SolarCostsUK contact form includes:
- Server-side input validation
- Joomla session-token protection
- Signed form-timing checks
- Anti-spam honeypot fields
- Submission-rate limiting
- Field and message-length restrictions
- A fixed authorised email recipient
- Controlled email Reply-To handling
No method of transmitting or storing information online can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free.
Google Search Console
SolarCostsUK is connected to Google Search Console to help the website operator monitor indexing, search visibility and technical issues affecting the website.
SolarCostsUK does not currently use Google Analytics, advertising tracking, remarketing or behavioural-profiling technology.
Cookies and Session Technology
The website may use strictly necessary cookies or temporary session technology required for Joomla functionality and secure contact-form operation.
These technologies are used for website operation and security rather than advertising or behavioural tracking.
Further information is available in our Cookie Policy.
International Processing
Some hosting, email, backup or security providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where this occurs, reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that an appropriate legal mechanism or data-protection safeguard is used.
Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- Ask whether we hold personal information about you
- Request access to your personal information
- Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected
- Request deletion of your information
- Request restriction of certain processing
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Request transfer of information where the right applies
These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions and may not apply in every situation.
To make a request, email:
Making a Complaint
Please contact us first if you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator responsible for data protection.
External Websites
SolarCostsUK may contain links to installers, manufacturers, electricity suppliers and other external websites.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of external websites. You should review their privacy information before submitting personal information.
Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated when the website, contact form, service providers or applicable requirements change.
The latest version will be published on this page together with its updated date.
Contact
Questions about this Privacy Policy can be sent to: