Choosing a solar panel installer on the Wirral

The four registers to check

Every claim an installer makes about itself can be checked against a public register. It takes a few minutes and it is the best protection you have.

Look the firm up by its own name, not by a name the salesperson gives you, and check that the company number on its paperwork matches the register. If a firm says it is "MCS approved" but you cannot find it, ask which certificate number it works under: some smaller installers work under another firm's certification, and you should know whose name will be on your MCS certificate.

Questions to ask every installer

Put the same questions to each firm and ask for the answers in writing. The ones in bold matter most on the Wirral.

1. How many panels, of what make and wattage, and what total size in kW?
2. What will the system make in a year by the MCS method, and what shading did you allow for?
3. Which salt-mist test did the panels pass, and is the mounting kit MCS 012 certified? Essential on the open coast from New Brighton to West Kirby.
4. Is my home listed or in a conservation area, and will you check? Wirral has 26 conservation areas and over 1,900 listed buildings.
5. Where will the inverter, isolators and any battery go, and how will the cables enter the roof?
6. Will you notify SP Energy Networks under G98, or does the system need a G99 application first?
7. What warranties come with the panels, the inverter and your workmanship, and is the workmanship warranty insurance-backed?
8. How much is the deposit, how is it protected, and when are the other payments due?
9. Who does the work: your own staff or subcontractors, and who do I call if something goes wrong?
10. Can I see two or three recent installations near me, or speak to the owners?

Red flags

Some selling habits have no place in a good installer's process. Walk away if you meet any of these.

• A price that only lasts until the salesperson leaves. A fair quote will still be fair next week.
• Panels "at no cost to you", or a grant said to be open to everyone. There is no general grant for solar panels. The real Warm Homes: Local Grant has strict eligibility and its installers are appointed by the scheme, not sold door to door. Our page on grants and funding on the Wirral sets out who can apply.
• Savings promises without the sums. Any figure for savings should come with the tariff and the share of the electricity you are assumed to use at home. A percentage alone is meaningless. To run the numbers yourself, see whether solar is worth it on the Wirral.
• A large deposit up front. Ask how it is protected and how much of the price it is.
• No written, itemised quote. If they will not put the panels, inverter, kit, warranties and output in writing, you cannot compare or enforce it.
• Pressure to sign on the doorstep. Under the consumer codes and consumer law you normally have 14 days to cancel a contract signed at home, but it is easier not to sign in the first place.

Comparing quotes

Lay your quotes side by side and compare the price per kW, the predicted output per kW, and what is included. Two quotes for "4 kW" may be very different: one might be ten 400 W panels with a basic string inverter and no bird mesh, another nine 450 W panels with a battery-ready inverter, mesh and a longer workmanship warranty. Divide each price by its size in kW and check it against the government's average for home installs (about £1,955 per kW up to 4 kW, and £1,645 per kW for 4 to 10 kW in 2025/26; our Wirral cost guide sets out prices by system size). A quote far above that should explain why; one far below it should make you ask what has been left out.

Then compare predicted output. On the Wirral a well-sited south roof should be predicted at roughly 950 to 985 kWh per kW a year, an east or west roof at about 80% of that. A prediction much higher than our peninsula map suggests for your area and roof direction deserves a question.

Local or national?

Wirral has local solar installers, electricians who fit panels, roofers who have added solar, and national firms that cover Merseyside from a regional base. None of these is better by default. A local firm may know the council's conservation officers and the quirks of slate roofs in Oxton or Port Sunlight; a national firm may offer more products and a larger warranty backer. The checks above apply equally to both. The city region's group buy, Solar Together, is a third route: approved installers bid in an auction and you get one recommended offer to accept or turn down. See Solar Together.

After the installation

When the work is finished you should receive the MCS certificate, the electrical installation certificate, confirmation that SP Energy Networks has been notified, the panel, inverter and kit datasheets, warranty documents, and instructions for the monitoring app. You need the MCS certificate to apply for an export tariff under the Smart Export Guarantee, and an export meter (usually your smart meter) to be paid. Keep everything together: you will need it if you sell the house, claim on insurance or replace the inverter. Our care guide covers what to watch in the first year.

Why this site does not list installers

We would rather show you how to check any firm than recommend particular ones we cannot vouch for, so we do not rank or review them. If you have a question about a quote you have been given, send it through the form below and we will reply by email.