How to hire
Start with the roof, not the quote. Clear, unshaded, roughly south-facing roofs earn most from panels, while north-facing ones get very little direct sun [5]. Shade from chimneys, dormers and nearby trees matters as much as direction, and most homes now install between four and six kilowatts of panels [6]. When you first enquire, describe the roof, the shading and when the house uses most power, so each firm sizes the same system.
Telford work varies street by street, so describe the house honestly. Newer estates around Lawley often bring clear, high roofs with easy scaffold access, while older semis and terraces in Wellington, Dawley and Madeley more often bring chimneys, dormers, neighbour trees and tighter parking for the install day. Homes in and around Ironbridge bring heritage limits that shape the design before output does. Roof, loft-hatch and fuse-board photos with the first enquiry save every firm a wasted trip.
Check certification on the register, not the van. MCS is the UK quality mark for small-scale renewables such as solar panels and battery storage [1]. Ask each firm for its MCS certificate number, then search the name on the MCS installer finder and check the listing matches the business on your quote [2]. A logo on a website proves nothing on its own, and matching numbers take a minute to confirm.
Ask which consumer code covers the contract. The Renewable Energy Consumer Code sets protection standards for firms selling renewables to households and carries a find-a-member search [7]. HIES runs a similar consumer code, also backed by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, with deposit and stage-payment protection, insurance-backed guarantees and dispute resolution [8]. TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in the home, also with a find-a-tradesperson search [9]. Get the scheme name into your paperwork, since MoneySavingExpert's buying advice likewise says to buy from an installer in one of these schemes [5].
Get two or three itemised quotes on the same written scope, naming the panels, inverter and battery models, scaffolding, who handles the network operator, and the VAT position. Installing panels in a home carries no VAT until the end of March 2027, and batteries fitted with panels or added to them qualify too, with five per cent applying after that date [4]. A deposit for kit is normal; the full balance before work starts is not, so check what protects your deposit [8]. Craig Michael Renewables shows how open pricing looks in practice, publishing a starting price with free surveys and no deposits.
Panels on most homes count as permitted development, though limits and conditions apply, and you can seek a lawful development certificate for written confirmation; listed buildings and conservation areas face tighter rules, so raise any doubt with Telford & Wrekin Council's planning desk before you sign [10]. Larger systems can need approval from the local network operator before they connect [6]. Ask each firm to confirm both answers for your address.
Two Telford specifics deserve their own check. Inside the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, an Article 4 direction removes the usual permitted development right, so solar panels on a dwelling there need planning permission [11]. Where the house itself is listed, works affecting its special interest need listed building consent from the council, and unauthorised work is a criminal offence [12]. Either doubt goes to Telford & Wrekin Council's planning desk with the address before any contract is signed.
Close the job on paper. You should finish with an MCS certificate for the installation, written warranties for the panels, inverter, battery and workmanship, equipment manuals, and confirmation of the network-operator notification plus your export-tariff application [1] [3]. File everything with your house papers, since a buyer will ask for it. If any document is missing, hold back the final balance until it arrives.
A typical job runs the same course. First contact trades roof photos and usage patterns for a survey date, and the survey fixes the panel layout, kit models and scaffold plan for the written quote that follows. On install day the crew scaffolds, mounts rails and panels, wires the inverter and battery, then tests and commissions the system. The installer notifies the network operator — National Grid Electricity Distribution across the Midlands [13] — with small systems notified within four weeks of switch-on [14], and the export-tariff application goes in alongside.
The written quote should name the panel, inverter and battery models, the scaffold plan, who notifies the network operator, the VAT position on each line [4], the payment stages and what protects any deposit [8]. The handover file at the end should hold the MCS certificate [1], written warranties for panels, inverter, battery and workmanship, equipment manuals, the network-notification confirmation and the export-tariff paperwork [3]. Match the two files before the final balance moves: anything promised in the quote should have its matching paper in the file.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford figures run like this: a typical four-to-five kilowatt-peak roof array costs around £7,600, the Energy Saving Trust figure, though the final sum moves with system size, installer and location [5]. Fitted prices sit near £1,500 per kilowatt, putting a four-kilowatt system at about £6,000 [6]. One ranked Telford firm publishes a £5,699 starting price with free surveys and no deposits.
Adding a battery costs about £5,000 on top, and at that price it can add years to the break-even point, which already sits at a decade or more for panels alone at current price-cap rates [5]. Export payments help, but each exported unit usually earns far less than each imported unit costs, so using power in daylight hours or storing it pays better than selling it [5].
Scaffolding and roof complexity move the price most, along with the inverter and battery brands, any network-operator upgrade work, and how far the crew travels across Telford and Shropshire. Panel tiers and monitoring extras add smaller steps. Treat any quote far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what sits behind the gap.
Check the VAT line before you sign. Panel and battery installations in homes carry no VAT until the end of March 2027 and return to five per cent after that date [4]. Every quote should separate labour, materials and VAT on the same written scope, name what changes the price if the roof throws up surprises, and set payment stages you both sign.
A battery fitted with the panels or added later is priced as its own job, at roughly £5,000 fitted [5]. The choice is as much about size as brand: too small and it drains before the evening peak ends, too large and much of its capacity sits idle through the darker months. Fitting it with the panels shares the labour and paperwork of one job, while a later retrofit carries a second visit and its own labour charge, so price both options while the scaffold is in the quote.
Larger domestic arrays and commercial roofs price on survey. Roof access, cable runs, inverter sizing and any network-upgrade work move the sum more than the panel count does, and a commercial roof may need its network approval before anything is ordered [6]. Combined jobs — panels with a battery and a car charger from one contractor — save a second round of visits and paperwork, though each part should still carry its own priced line so a dear charger cannot hide inside a keen panel price.
Red flags
Prices a system without visiting the roof or asking about shading, direction and daytime use.
Cannot give an MCS certificate number you can find yourself on the MCS installer finder [2].
Wants the full balance paid before the scaffolding goes up.
Offers no written contract naming the panel, inverter and battery models, warranties and dates.
Promises export earnings or a payback date without showing the sums behind them.
Cannot say who notifies the network operator or which export tariff your home will use [3] [6].
Names no consumer code, deposit protection or insurance behind the job [7] [8].
Presses you to sign on the day for a discount that expires at midnight.
Treats scaffolding as optional on a two-storey roof instead of pricing safe access.
Gives no business address or written terms to check against if the system underperforms.