How to find a solar panel installer in Southport

Three registers to check

MCS

MCS certifies firms that install small-scale renewables. Its certificate is what your export tariff supplier will ask for, and it is required for the Warm Homes schemes. Search the MCS register by postcode and technology, note the certification number, and check that the firm is certified for solar PV specifically, not only for heat pumps.

A consumer code

MCS-certified firms selling to households must belong to a consumer code approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute; for solar this is usually the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or the HIES code. The codes set rules on selling, contracts and deposits, and give you a free route to resolve disputes. Check membership on the code's own website, not just the firm's.

TrustMark and Companies House

TrustMark registration is needed for some government-funded work and is a further check on the firm. The Companies House register shows how long the company has existed, who runs it and whether its accounts are up to date. A firm that has changed its name several times in a few years deserves a question.

The survey

A quote without a visit is a guess. Southport's older roofs are where guesses go wrong: hipped faces fit fewer panels than an aerial photo suggests, slates may need repair, and a stack or a neighbour's tree can shade one end of the array. At the survey, expect the installer to:

• measure the usable roof faces, or use a drone or measured image, and look at the roof covering and its condition;
• check shading through the day and the year, which the MCS output method requires them to state;
• look at the consumer unit, the earthing and where the inverter, isolators and any battery would go;
• ask how much electricity you use and when, so the system and any battery are sized to you;
• explain the scaffolding: where it goes, for how long and whether a neighbour's land is needed.

Bring your own numbers. If you have used the roof planner, compare its panel count with the installer's. A big difference is not wrong in itself, but it should have a reason you can follow.

Southport details to settle before anyone quotes

Some questions are particular to the town, and a firm that has done its homework on your address should be able to answer them at the survey rather than after the scaffold goes up.

• Is the house in a conservation area? Southport has nine: Lord Street, the Promenade, Birkdale Park, Gloucester Road, Birkdale Village, West Birkdale, Churchtown Village, North Meols and Hesketh Road. Sefton's leaflets for three of them warn that solar panels can need planning permission in some cases. The conservation areas page explains which positions are affected.
• Is it listed? By our count of Historic England's open data, 271 list entries fall inside the Southport built-up area, and Sefton's guidance is that listed building consent is needed for nearly all works.
• Is the flat yours to decide? In the 2021 Census, 7.7% of Southport households lived in a flat inside a converted house, against 4.2% across Sefton. The roof then usually belongs to the freeholder, whose consent comes before any quote; see flats.
• Could the grant do it instead? If your household qualifies for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Sefton Council's Retrofit Team arranges the work through the surveyor and installer named on the council's page, so there is no firm for you to choose. Check the conditions on the grants page before you collect quotes.

Questions worth asking

1. Who will do the work: your own staff or a subcontractor? Whose name goes on the MCS certificate?
2. How was the yearly output worked out, and what shading did you allow for?
3. How will you fix the brackets to this roof covering, and who replaces any slates or tiles you break?
4. Will the network operator be notified after connection, or does it need to approve the system first?
5. What warranties come with the panels, the inverter and your workmanship, and who backs the workmanship warranty if you stop trading?
6. How much is the deposit, how is it protected, and when are the other payments due?

Signs to walk away

• Pressure to sign the same day, or a price that is only good if you sign now.
• A claim to be "from the council" or "the government scheme" without an application behind it.
• A quote that names no panel or inverter model.
• A predicted output well above PVGIS for the roof, with no explanation.
• A request for most of the price before any work is done.
• "Free panels" in return for the roof: ask who would own them and who keeps what they earn.

Your rights if you change your mind

A contract agreed in your home, or anywhere other than the firm's premises, can normally be cancelled within 14 days without giving a reason. If you ask the firm to start inside those 14 days and then cancel, it may charge for work already done. Citizens Advice explains the rules. Consumer code members must tell you about the cancellation right in writing.

Read on

• What it should cost
• From quote to switch-on
• Size your roof first
• Words on a quote

Sources for this page

1. MCS: find a certified installer
2. MCS standards and tools library (MIS 3002, MCS 012)
3. Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC)
4. HIES consumer code
5. TrustMark
6. Citizens Advice: cancelling a service you have arranged
7. Sefton Council: conservation areas
8. Sefton Council: Lord Street conservation area advisory leaflet (2018)
9. Sefton Council: Promenade conservation area leaflet (2021)
10. Sefton Council: Hesketh Road conservation area advisory leaflet (2021)
11. Historic England: National Heritage List for England open data (listed buildings)
12. Sefton Council: conservation and heritage FAQs
13. ONS Census 2021: Southport constituency (2010 boundary) and Sefton, accommodation, tenure and age
14. Sefton Council: Warm Homes: Local Grant (retrofit)