About Me | Mick Wall – Energy Stats UK

Who I Am

My name is Mick Wall, I’m from Sheffield, and I’ve worked in IT since 1991.

My journey into renewable energy began in 2018 with the installation of solar panels, and this website — Energy Stats UK — followed soon after in 2019.

I’ve always been the kind of person who likes to dig into the details and really understand how things work. That curiosity, combined with my IT background, meant that when I discovered how much data was hidden behind energy tariffs, I couldn’t resist finding new ways to make it accessible and useful.

Outside of Energy Stats UK, I work full-time at the University of Sheffield, and I’m passionate about helping people make sense of energy in a practical, real-world way.

Why I Started This Website

When I first had solar panels installed in 2018, I’ll admit I didn’t even know what a kWh was. Like most people, I just paid my utility bills without thinking too much about energy.

But having solar panels changed that. I began learning the difference between watts and kilowatt-hours, how generation from the roof could power the home, and how to match usage to production.

That curiosity led me into exploring different energy tariffs. I stumbled across the Agile Octopus tariff from a relatively new supplier at the time — Octopus Energy.

What fascinated me was that Agile published the next day’s pricing data via their Octopus Energy API. With my IT background, this was irresistible. I wrote some scripts to fetch the data, built some graphs, and the website was born.

It turned out that other people were just as interested in the data as I was — and from there the site grew as I added more Octopus smart tariffs.

My Experience in Energy and Technology

I’ve worked in IT all my life, so I naturally like to understand how things work. That curiosity carried over into making my 1930s semi-detached house a fully electrified home.

Here’s a timeline of what we’ve installed:

• 2018 – 5.1 kW Solar PV

• 2020 – Home batteries

• 2021 – EV + myenergi Zappi charger

• 2022 – Heat pump tumble dryer

• Feb 2022 – Mixergy hot water cylinder + myenergi Eddi diverter

• Oct 2022 – 5 kW Vaillant Arotherm — see my heat pump summary

• Jan 2024 – Induction cooker

We are now a gas-free, fully electrified household.

To deepen my understanding, I’ve also completed the Heat Geek Mastery course, normally aimed at heating engineers.

I’m also constantly dabbling with Home Assistant and have my whole house and heat pump monitored using Open Energy Monitor.

How This Website Works

At its core, the Energy Stats UK system is a database (InfluxDB) populated by custom Python scripts that I wrote.

• These scripts pull pricing data daily from Octopus Energy’s REST and GraphQL APIs.

• Graphs are generated and displayed via Grafana.

• The website itself runs on WordPress.

This setup means the site is able to provide up-to-date, transparent tariff data alongside insights and blogs.

Where I’ve Been Featured

Being an early adopter of home electrification in an existing 100-year-old house has led to a lot of interest in my journey.

Some highlights include:

• BBC News – Heat pumps: The ‘geeks’ obsessing over their new heating systems

• Octopus Energy Blog – API Pioneers

• Mixergy – Mick Wall puts Mixergy to the test

• Asked to present at the 2025 Heat Pump Unconference

Guest on multiple podcasts:

• Heatio Home Energy Show (2 episodes)

• BetaTalk Low Carbon Heating Podcast (2 episodes)

• Renewable Heating Hub Podcast (2 episodes)

• Gary Does Solar (YouTube)

My Commitment to Transparency & Trust

Energy Stats UK is a hobby project that I run alongside my full-time role at the University of Sheffield.

Yes, I’m a big Octopus Energy fan — their tariffs are genuinely innovative — but I’m just a regular customer, not affiliated with them.

I aim to keep this site independent, transparent, and useful for anyone exploring solar, EVs, batteries, or smart tariffs.

Explore More

As well as publishing live and historical tariff data, I also write detailed blogs about my own renewable energy journey.

• Blog summary page

• Vaillant Arotherm Heat Pump Guide

Connect With Me

If you’d like to follow my work beyond Energy Stats UK, you can find me on:

• LinkedIn – professional background and connections

• Twitter / X – regular updates and thoughts on renewables

I use these platforms to share insights, updates, and practical experiences from my own path towards a fully electrified home.

And here are the Energy Stats UK social media accounts to follow where we share daily pricing graphs and information.

• Twitter / X

• Mastodon

• Bluesky

Get In Touch

I’d love to hear from you — whether it’s a collaboration, a podcast invitation, or just to share your own experience.

You can reach me via the contact form.