About the author
Phil Handsaker
Government Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor
Founder of Energy Guardian. TrustMark registered Retrofit Surveyor. Domestic Energy Modeller. 1,000+ UK home surveys completed across Shropshire and beyond.
1,000+
UK homes surveyed
25+
Years as a landlord
35+
Free guides published
£200–500
Typical annual saving found for households
Why I built Energy Guardian
After completing over 1,000 EPC surveys across UK homes, I kept seeing the same pattern: households paying far more than they needed to — not because they weren't trying, but because the advice available to them was either wrong, incomplete, or designed to earn someone else a commission.
Comparison sites miss Utility Warehouse entirely. Boiler engineers recommend replacements when a £0 flow temperature adjustment would do the job. Landlords spend thousands on the wrong heating system and still fail MEES. Smart meters get installed and nothing changes.
Energy Guardian exists to fix that. Every guide, calculator, and recommendation on this site comes from direct field experience — not from affiliate incentives or SEO templates. I'm a practising surveyor, not a content farm.
I'm based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and I survey homes across the UK. If you have a question about your EPC, your heating system, or your energy bills, I'm happy to help.
Career timeline
Present
Founder, Energy Guardian
Running energyguardian.co.uk — independent UK energy advice, free tools, and honest supplier comparisons. Authorised Utility Warehouse partner (ref: AQ5419).
Ongoing
Government Qualified EPC Surveyor — ABC EPC, Shrewsbury
Conducting residential EPC surveys across Shropshire and the wider UK. 1,000+ surveys completed. TrustMark registered firm.
Ongoing
Domestic Energy Modeller
SAP modelling for new-build and retrofit projects. Advising landlords and homeowners on cost-effective routes to EPC improvement.
UW Partner
Authorised Utility Warehouse partner — ref: AQ5419. Energy Guardian earns a referral fee when households join UW through this site. This does not affect the independence of our advice or our reviews.
Independently verifiable
Professional credentials
Every credential below can be verified directly on the issuing body's official website.
Government Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor
Listed on the official GOV.UK Energy Assessor Register. Accredited to produce legally valid Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for residential properties across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
TrustMark Government Endorsed Quality
Registered with TrustMark — the Government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople and surveyors working in and around the home. Firm: Phillip Handsaker T/A ABC EPC, Shrewsbury SY1 2RL.
Domestic Energy Modeller
Qualified to model energy performance using SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) — the UK Government's methodology for assessing and comparing the energy and environmental performance of dwellings.
Knowledge base
Areas of expertise
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
Residential EPC production, interpretation, and improvement planning
UK Price Cap & Tariffs
Ofgem regulations, switching strategy, comparison site blind spots
Heating Systems
Gas, oil, LPG, electric, heat pumps, storage heaters — efficiency and MEES compliance
Home Insulation
Loft, cavity wall, solid wall, floor — heat loss pathways and payback periods
Renewable Technology
Solar PV, battery storage, EV charging, vehicle-to-home (V2H), plug-in solar
Smart Technology
Smart meters, TRVs, thermostats, HEMS — what actually saves money vs what doesn't
Landlord Compliance
MEES regulations, EPC improvement for rental properties, avoiding costly mistakes
Energy Scam Awareness
Identifying fraudulent energy offers, cold-calling tactics, and mis-selling
Editorial standards & independence
No comparison-site commission. Energy Guardian does not earn money when you switch energy supplier through a comparison site. We are not affiliated with uSwitch, MoneySuperMarket, or Compare the Market.
Utility Warehouse disclosure. We are an authorised Utility Warehouse partner (ref: AQ5419) and earn a referral fee when households join UW through this site. We recommend UW because independent analysis shows it genuinely saves most households money — not because of the referral fee. Our review at /utility-warehouse-review includes both advantages and limitations.
Field-first content. Every guide on this site is written from direct survey experience. Observations about loft insulation, boiler flow temperatures, TRVs, and heating systems come from real homes — not from manufacturer literature or press releases.
No personal data collected. The National Heating Survey and all calculators on this site collect no personal data. Survey responses are anonymous and aggregated. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
Have an energy question?
Whether it's about your EPC, your heating system, or your energy bills — get in touch directly.