Alpha ESS UK MD Mark Hale joins us at Waxman Energy. We dive into the G3 range, new heated UL9540 batteries, installer support, and C&I solutions like H50 (parallel up to 10). We touch on Octopus Intelligent Flux integration, an app refresh landing end-of-year, and a backup gateway coming Q1. Practical chat on insurance docs, commissioning in ~5 mins, and simplifying SKUs with interchangeable 4.8/9.6 kWh batteries.

00:00 Intro at Waxman Energy
01:13 Alpha ESS UK roots & longevity
02:30 UK installer support (ex-installers, first-install on-site)
04:17 G3 range overview (3.68/5/8kW, parallel)
05:34 New batteries: heating for cold installs
07:20 Safety: suppression, venting, UL9540 & insurance docs
09:05 1C cells (4.8 kWh) vs 0.5C; 9.6 kWh; scaling
10:00 Interchangeable 4.8/9.6 across single & three-phase
13:03 Installer Hub (docs, videos), 5-minute commissioning
15:00 C&I: 30/50/100 kW cabinets; outdoor, safety features
16:08 H50 cabinets, factory commissioning & sign-off
18:28 Care homes & farming use cases
19:36 H50 parallel (up to 10); M50 teaser
20:49 24/500 kW, 1.4 MWh container (late-year)
23:41 New app end-of-year
24:04 Octopus Intelligent Flux integration
25:18 Backup gateway coming Q1
26:31 Market shift & smarter customers
27:51 Waxman events & wrap

AlphaESS UK Website alpha-ess.co.uk

Waxman Energy waxmanenergy.co.uk

We hijack The Renewables Podcast studio to sit down with Mark Allison — the force behind Apprentice 121, Powersonic, and one of the most connected voices in the UK electrical industry. We talk about the brand-new Apprentice 121 Training Centre in Driffield and what proper, hands-on renewables training should look like.

In this episode:

• How Apprentice 121 grew into a national training movement

• Why classroom-only solar courses miss the mark

• FIT retrofits with batteries, smart metering & commissioning quirks

• PAS guidance, large domestic storage & practical safety tips

• Gateways are coming – Tesla, SIG Energy, EcoFlow & more

• Battery recycling, packaging waste & sustainability

• SolarEdge vs SIG, Victron everywhere & manufacturer pitfalls

• College drops: giving back to train the next generation

Guest: Mark Allison – Apprentice 121 / Powersonic / The Renewables Podcast
Hosts: Michael Stott & Dan Holliday – Only Panels – Solar Installer Chats

📅 Apprentice 121 Training Centre launch: 29 Oct 2025
🕖 New episodes every Wednesday 7 PM
🌐 onlypanels.com

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Three mics. One office. No filter.
Jay joins Mike & Dan back in the DMH HQ for a brutally honest chat about what life’s really like inside the business. From HGV driving to PV installs, broken panels, red-tape madness and why he’s still not trusted with the van keys — nothing’s off-limits.

This one’s half therapy session, half toolbox talk, all chaos.

What’s inside:

• £10k career switch and the training company that went bust

• Industrial vs renewables: real work vs red tape

• Storm-proofing gone wrong (and right)

• Josh the apprentice, the “whoever drives it washes it” rule

• That moment when the smart meter hits 0 kW ⚡

• Why renewables installers stick together tighter than duct tape

Heads-up: Recorded live in one room — bit of echo, plenty of energy.
New episodes every Wednesday 7 PM 🎧

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