Rogue companies are taking advantage of soaring demand for solar panels by mis-selling savings to customers, industry insiders have warned.
The Government has vowed to unleash a “rooftop revolution” by making grants and loans available to help people install solar on their home.
But members of the public are being warned to avoid scammers who overexaggerate savings or fraudulently claim to be part of government schemes.
In the worst cases individuals have had solar installed by rogue firms who leave them with problems including leaking roofs and serious safety hazards.
How companies lie to exaggerate solar savings
Installing solar can save a household significantly on their energy bills, but the savings can vary dramatically depending on factors including the type and orientation of the panels.
Before carrying out work on your property, solar installers should provide a performance estimate, which calculates how much electricity you can expect to generate and provides estimates on bill savings.
However, one auditor of solar firms, who asked to remain anonymous, told The i Paper firms sometimes fill these out incorrectly to maximise savings, for example by listing a roof as being south facing when it isn’t.
“They could say you’re going to be generating 3,600 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, but if you change the orientation of it and you put a shading factor in, you could only be getting 1,800kWh per year,” he said.
The Advertising Standards Agency has been clamping down on the mis-selling of solar following a proliferation of online ads that promise unrealistic savings and low-cost installs, that usually end up being more expensive in reality.
In December, Kent County Council Trading Services convicted three men from two companies for targeting elderly and vulnerable people with solar scams.
As part of these scams, households, the majority in their 70s or 80s, would be offered free assessments and then pressured into buying expensive equipment.
The i Paper has seen multiple examples of ads online offering people multi-thousand pound vouchers off solar under the guise of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, however these ads do not appear to be connected to any public scheme.
These ads sometimes direct to online forms where people are asked to hand over their personal details in order to “check eligibility”, however this could leave people exposed to fraud.
The i Paper has previously reported on how these tactics have been used by firms claiming to be part of Government green schemes.
‘My home was ruined’
Poor regulation of the solar industry has also resulted in a minority of firms carrying out shoddy installs, leaving some people with serious damage to their home.
Jeff Jeremiah had solar installed on his home in west Wales in 2024 under the Government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4 scheme.
Jeff Jeremiah had solar installed on his home in 2024. ‘Everything they touched in the house was ruined,’ he saysThe panels caused damage to his roof, which resulted in water leaking in. During one storm Jeremiah and his wife had to stay up all night filling buckets with the water leaking into their home.
“From day one until the last day, everything they touched in the house was ruined,” Jeremiah said.
The panels have been fixed and Jeremiah is now happy with the money he is saving on his bills, but he was left out of pocket for damage to his property, including replacing his carpet and sofa.
In more extreme cases, installations by cowboy firms can lead to serious safety problems. For example, in August last year a fire broke out at a property in Essex after a solar panel battery system caught alight.
Chris Hewett, chief executive of the trade association Solar Energy UK, said “the vast majority of the solar and battery sector operates legitimately and with high standards”.
“But sadly, as with any part of the economy, there are those who operate outside the systems designed to ensure consumer safety and protection,” he said.
Water leaked into Jeremiah’s home through his ceiling following a solar installPush to regulate industry
The Government is tightening the regulation of solar and other green energy companies in efforts to avoid the pitfalls of previous green energy schemes.
Most recently, the ECO4 programme, which was launched in 2022, has left tens of thousands of people dealing with the consequences of shoddy insulation, heat pump and solar upgrades.
Consumers are generally advised to ensure their solar installer is certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation scheme, as this gives them greater protection if things go wrong.
While some MCS-certified installers have been associated with poor workmanship, the scheme is now being tightened so companies known for poor installs will face more inspections.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy and Net Zero said: “We are fixing a broken system that we inherited and have introduced comprehensive reforms through the Warm Homes Plan.
“As part of this, we are establishing the Warm Homes Agency to transform people’s experience of home upgrades – including initial advice to ensure consumers have access to quality installations.”
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