01Move
DNA dimensions
Installs/month (8–14), avg ticket (£8.4k–£22k), battery + EV-charger attach %, NICEIC + MCS audit pass, SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) sign-up share, commercial vs domestic mix.
All playbooksServices
Solar installer playbook.
A London MCS + RECC certified solar PV + battery storage installer covering residential rooftop (3–8 kWp on Victorian terrace + suburban semi), commercial flat-roof (10–250 kWp) and battery + EV-charger bundles (Tesla Powerwall 3 / GivEnergy / SolarEdge + Zappi). The 2026 win is the residential PV + battery + EV-charger triple-stack at £14k–£22k under the 0% VAT energy-saving-materials window.
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Overview
A London solar installer in 2026 runs three engines: residential PV + battery + EV-charger bundle (£14k–£22k ticket at 22–32% margin under 0% VAT energy-saving materials, 8–14/month per 2-crew team), commercial flat-roof PV (10–250 kWp, £18k–£280k, 32–42% margin, 1–3/month) and battery retrofit / O&M (Tesla Powerwall + GivEnergy + Fox ESS, £6k–£14k retrofit + £180–£480/year monitoring contracts, 4–8/month). Maths for 2-crew + 1 designer + 4 installers: 11 residential × £14.4k + 1 commercial × £42k + 6 battery retrofits × £9k = £252k/month gross. Battery + EV-charger attach is the brand spine — Octopus Intelligent Go + Cosy tariff arbitrage (8p import / 15p export) only works with battery + smart-charger, so single-PV quotes lose to bundled competitors at 2.4× rate.
11
Installs/month
68%
Battery attach
£14.4k
Avg ticket
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Install crew kit (per van)
Sign-written van + ladder rack + secure inverter / panel rack
£14,000–£24,000 used
Scaffolding hire account OR own Layher tower (10m) per job
£480–£1,800 per install (hire) or £8.4k–£18k capex
Roof safety kit (Petzl / Capital — harness + line + edge protector)
£900–£2,400 per crew
Inverter + DC isolator + DC string + AC commissioning test kit (Seaward Solar Survey 200R)
£2,400–£4,400
MC4 crimper + DC cable + roof-mount kits (K2 / Schletter / Renusol)
£1,400–£3,400 + per-job consumables
Battery + EV-charger commissioning + IET 18th Edition testers (Megger MFT1741)
£900–£2,400
Cordless drill + impact + core-drill + cable detector
£900–£2,400
Thermal-imaging camera + IV-curve tracer (PV health checks)
£2,400–£4,400
02
Stock + design + depot
Industrial unit (140–340 m²) with panel + battery + inverter store
£3,400–£10,000/month rent
Panel stock (JA Solar / Longi 420W) — 80 panels floating
£8,400–£18,000
Inverter + battery stock (SolarEdge / Tesla Powerwall 3 / GivEnergy)
£24,000–£68,000 floating
OpenSolar Pro / Aurora design + LiDAR shade + Google Solar API
£140–£540/month
Commusoft / Joblogic + MCS Portal + DNO portal
£280–£640/month
03
Compliance + accreditation
MCS (PV + battery) — company audit
£1,800 + £640/year + audit £1,800–£3,400
RECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code)
£480–£900/year
NICEIC / NAPIT (electrical installer)
£640–£1,400/year + audit
HIES (Home Insulation & Energy Systems) membership
£480–£900/year
Manufacturer training (Tesla Powerwall + GivEnergy + Fox ESS + SolarEdge + Zappi)
Free–£1,400 per cert per installer
Public + product + £5m liability + product-recall + working-at-height
£2,400–£5,400/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Catchment
≥80,000 owner-occupied homes within 15-mile depot radius
Residential PV+battery pipeline density.
Roof profile mix
Mix of pitched terrace + suburban semi + detached
Avoid pure flat-Victorian-terrace (planning + chimney shade limits).
Commercial proximity
≥40 warehouses + 60 SME offices within depot radius
MEES + EPC C uplift commercial pipeline.
DNO area
UK Power Networks (London + SE) familiarity
G98/G99 connection paperwork lead-time predictability.
ULEZ
Euro 6 fleet only
Daily £12.50 ULEZ avoided.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Inner London (Wandsworth / Lambeth / Hackney)
£6,400–£14,000
Owner-occupied terrace + EV-friendly demographic. Battery attach > 80%.
Outer London (Bromley / Enfield / Ealing)
£3,400–£8,400
Sweet spot: detached + semi roof + driveway EV-charger.
M25 commuter belt (St Albans / Sevenoaks / Reigate)
£2,400–£5,400
Large detached roofs + 6+ kWp systems + Powerwall.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
ReqMCS (PV + battery) company audit
MCS Service Co
£1,800 + £640/year + audit £1,800–£3,400
12 weeks
ReqRECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code)
RECC
£480–£900/year
6 weeks
ReqNICEIC or NAPIT (electrical installer)
NICEIC / NAPIT
£640–£1,400/year + audit
8 weeks
OptHIES (Home Insulation & Energy Systems)
HIES
£480–£900/year
6 weeks
ReqCity & Guilds 2399 (PV install) + IET 18th Edition per installer
C&G / IET
£640–£900 + £540 per installer
8 weeks
OptManufacturer cert (Tesla + GivEnergy + Fox ESS + Zappi)
Brand-direct
Free–£1,400 per cert per installer
4–8 weeks
ReqWorking at Height + IPAF + PASMA per installer
PASMA / IPAF / CITB
£280 per cert per installer
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m liability + product-recall + working-at-height
Hiscox / Tradesman Saver
£2,400–£5,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-transit
Broker
£640–£1,800/year
1 day
ReqVehicle (commercial) + ULEZ-compliant × van fleet
AXA / NIG
£640–£1,400 per van
1 day
ReqWaste carrier (upper tier) + WEEE registration
Environment Agency
£154/3 years + £40/year
2 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Setup
Weeks 1–8- Companies House + NICEIC + MCS + RECC applications
- First van + installer kit + IET 18th Ed for lead installer
- Public liability + product cover
02
Phase 1 — Accreditation
Weeks 8–20- NICEIC + MCS audit visits + corrective work
- Tesla + GivEnergy + Zappi manufacturer training
- OpenSolar Pro + Joblogic live
03
Phase 2 — Soft launch
Weeks 18–24- First 4 residential PV + battery installs (loss-leader portfolio)
- EPC assessor + retrofit-coordinator outreach
- GBP + Trustpilot + Checkatrade live
04
Phase 3 — Commercial channel
Weeks 22–32- First 10–50 kWp commercial install delivered
- Octopus / E.ON SEG export integration live
- Second install crew + van
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 32+- 11 installs/month sustained
- Battery attach > 65%
- Commercial pipeline > 1 install/month
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Depot lease + deposit + racking + security
£10,000 → £28,000
Van fleet (2 vans) + sign-writing + ladder rack
£30,000 → £52,000
Install kit (commissioning + crimper + roof safety × 2 crews)
£10,000 → £22,000
Scaffolding (own Layher 10m tower) + roof PPE
£8,400 → £18,000
Opening panel + inverter + battery stock
£34,000 → £84,000
Software (OpenSolar + Joblogic + MCS portal)
£900 → £2,400
Insurance + MCS audit + NICEIC + RECC + HIES + licences
£8,400 → £18,000
Pre-launch marketing (GBP + Solar Together + Checkatrade)
£3,400 → £10,000
Working capital (3 months)
£42,000 → £100,000
Typical total
£147.1k–£334.4k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Depot rent + business rates + utilities
£4,400 → £12,000
Van fleet (lease + fuel + insurance + ULEZ × 2)
£1,800 → £4,400
Panel + battery + inverter COGS (58–68% revenue)
£80,000 → £180,000
Wages (4 installers + designer + admin + sales)
£28,000 → £60,000
Software + MCS + RECC + NICEIC + insurance
£900 → £2,400
Marketing + Octopus partner referral + GBP + Solar Together
£2,400 → £8,400
Typical total
£117.5k–£267.2k
Numbers that compound
How a solar installer actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: first residential PV survey + sale (£14k). £0 install revenue.
02Day 30
First 4 installs delivered. £56k revenue. MCS audit booked.
03Day 90
MCS + RECC + NICEIC live. 8 installs/month. £124k revenue.
04Day 180
11 installs/month + first 28 kWp commercial install (£62k). £236k revenue.
05Day 365
Mature: £268k/month, battery attach 68%, 2 commercial installs/month.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a solar installer.
02Move
Suggested route
Become MCS + RECC + NICEIC + HIES member, certify battery installer (LRQA + manufacturer training Tesla / GivEnergy / Fox ESS), launch a £14k PV+battery+EV-charger bundle, partner with 4–6 EPC assessors + 3 retrofit-coordinators (PAS 2035), build a commercial flat-roof channel for warehouses + offices needing MEES EPC C uplift.
03Move
Automations
Online roof-quote via Google Solar API + LiDAR shade study, DNO G98/G99 application auto-paperwork, SEG export-tariff sign-up workflow, install-day SMS, commissioning certificate upload, monitoring portal login emailed, annual O&M reminder.
04Move
Integrations
OpenSolar / Aurora design software, Commusoft / Joblogic, MCS Installer Portal, Octopus Energy + E.ON SEG API, GoCardless DD, Stripe + Klarna 0% finance, GBP, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
Installs/month, battery attach % and MCS audit-pass vs MCS London cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors ex-Solar Energy UK board, ex-Solarcentury / Octopus Energy project managers and EPC + retrofit-coordinator network leads.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
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