Solar panels in Witham.

A typical Witham home installs a 4.4kWp system of 10–12 panels for roughly £5,500–£8,000 including scaffolding, inverter, fitting and certification. Adding a 5–10kWh battery is usually another £3,500–£6,000. Domestic solar and batteries are currently 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. You get a fixed written quote after a free survey.

In this part of Essex a south-facing 4.4kWp array generates roughly 4,000–4,300kWh a year. Most households save around £400–£700 annually on electricity with panels alone, and more with a battery on a time-of-use tariff, plus Smart Export Guarantee payments for what you send back to the grid. We give you a generation and savings estimate based on your own roof and bills, not a national average.

Usually not. Roof-mounted solar is permitted development on most homes as long as panels don't project more than 200mm from the roof slope and don't sit above the highest part of the roof. Listed buildings always need consent, and panels on a principal elevation facing the road in a conservation area need permission. We check your address with Essex planning before quoting.

Scaffolding goes up first, then a standard Witham house is normally one to two days for panels, inverter and commissioning — add half a day for a battery. From accepted quote to working system is typically three to six weeks, mostly waiting on the UK Power Networks notification and scaffold slot.

South-facing is best, but east–west splits work well and often suit household usage better because you generate morning and evening. You need reasonably unshaded roof area of about 20m² for a 4.4kWp system. Pitch, tile type, felt condition and shading all get checked at the free survey — and if the roof isn't up to it, we'll say so.

Not necessarily, but it changes the economics. Without one you export most of your midday generation for a few pence and buy it back at peak rates. A 5–10kWh battery lets you use your own power in the evening and charge cheaply overnight on an off-peak tariff. We'll model it both ways so you can decide.

Every large energy supplier must pay for exported electricity. Rates range from around 4p/kWh on basic fixed tariffs to about 15p/kWh on the best smart tariffs, and you can take your export tariff from a different supplier to your import one. You need an MCS certificate and a smart meter to sign up — both of which we sort out.

Not when they're fitted by roofers. Brackets fix to the rafters and tiles are cut and dressed back properly around them. We're a roofing company first, so the flashing, felt and any repairs are done right before a single rail goes on.

Very little. Rain does most of the cleaning, though a wash every few years helps on a low-pitch or tree-lined Witham roof. Inverters typically last 10–15 years and are the usual replacement; panels carry 25-year performance warranties. We offer servicing, cleaning and bird proofing.

Yes — installs are carried out and certified to MCS standards, which is what the Smart Export Guarantee, mortgage lenders and insurers require. We carry £5m public liability and give a written workmanship guarantee on top of the manufacturer warranties.