Several schemes come up repeatedly when you are choosing a solar installer. They do very different things, and only some of them say anything about the work on your roof. This page explains each one and how to check a claim yourself.
SolarFX is an Anker SOLIX X1 ambassador.
Accreditations and memberships
These are the schemes we work under. They do very different jobs — three certify technical competence, two govern how you are sold to, one is insurance and one is a trade body. A company holding several may still hold none of the ones that matter for your particular installation, which is why each card below says what it actually covers.
Product and installer certification
MCS Certified
The scheme that certifies both the products used and the competence of the company installing them. It is what makes an installation eligible for the Smart Export Guarantee, and it is the one accreditation that speaks directly to the work on your roof.
Electrical competent person scheme
NAPIT Registered
A government-authorised competent person scheme for electrical work. It covers Part P notification of the electrical side of an installation — consumer unit work, isolation, earthing and the connection itself.
Renewable Energy Consumer Code
RECC Member
A consumer code governing how renewable energy is sold: contracts, deposits, cancellation rights and the accuracy of any performance estimate you are given. It is about the sales process, not the workmanship.
CTSI-approved consumer code
Trading Standards Approved
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute approves consumer codes that meet its criteria. The badge indicates the code a company works under has been assessed, not that the company itself has been individually audited by Trading Standards.
Deposit and guarantee protection
IWA Approved Installer
Insurance-backed protection for deposits and workmanship guarantees, so that a guarantee survives the installer ceasing to trade. This is a form of insurance rather than a test of technical competence.
Trade association membership
National Solar Association
A trade body membership. Useful context on standing in the industry, but membership of a trade association is not an assessment of the work carried out on any individual installation.
Verification details still to be added
Certificate and membership numbers, the legal entity each is held by, and expiry dates are available on request for every scheme shown above. Where a certification is held by an approved installation partner rather than by Solar Fx, we will tell you which entity holds it and which parts of your installation it covers. It will not be presented as ours.
If you need to know what applies to your job right now, ask. We will put the current position in writing for your specific installation rather than pointing you at a logo. Call 0118 227 7444 or use the contact page.
Manufacturer approvals
Separate from accreditation. These are the manufacturers whose equipment we are set up to install and commission — which affects warranty registration and who you deal with if something needs attention later.
Anker SOLIX X1 ambassador
Anker SOLIX
We install the X1 hybrid storage range regularly and are an Anker SOLIX X1 ambassador. See the Anker SOLIX X1 page for how the system works and where it is the right answer.
Three of these certify technical competence, two are consumer codes governing how you are sold to, one is a broad quality scheme, one is a trade association and one is a form of insurance. They are not interchangeable, and a company holding several of them may still hold none of the ones that matter for your particular job.
Product and installer certification scheme
MCS — Microgeneration Certification Scheme
What it is
MCS certifies both small-scale renewable products and the companies that install them. A certified installer is assessed against the scheme’s installation standards, is audited, and must issue an MCS certificate for each installation, registered on the scheme’s database.
What it means for you
For a homeowner this is the most consequential certification of the eight on this page, because it is tied to money. An MCS certificate for the installation is normally what a Smart Export Guarantee licensee asks to see before it will pay you for exported electricity. It also underpins access to several government-backed schemes. If nobody certified is involved in your installation, exporting under the SEG becomes considerably harder.
What to ask to see
Ask which company will appear on the MCS certificate, and for its certificate number. Then search the number yourself. If the installer cannot say whose certificate the job will be registered under, that is the answer.
A consumer code, approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s Consumer Codes Approval Scheme, that sets rules for how member companies sell and install small-scale renewable energy systems to domestic customers.
What it means for you
It governs the sales process rather than the roof: what a company may claim about performance and savings, what a quotation must contain, cancellation rights, deposit protection and how contracts are written. RECC operates a complaints process and can require a member to put things right. If a company has quoted you a savings figure that seems to have come from nowhere, the code is the standard against which that is judged.
What to ask to see
Ask whether the company is a RECC member and under which name. Ask for the code’s consumer guidance in writing with your quotation — members are required to provide it.
A consumer code covering home energy and home improvement installations, also approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute scheme. Membership generally brings deposit protection and an insurance-backed guarantee arranged through the scheme.
What it means for you
The practical value is what happens if the installer ceases trading. Deposit protection covers money paid up front; an insurance-backed guarantee is intended to stand behind the workmanship guarantee if the company that issued it no longer exists. It also provides an independent route for disputes.
What to ask to see
Ask whether membership is HIES or RECC — they are alternatives, not a set — and ask to see the deposit protection and insurance-backed guarantee documents that will be issued for your job, not a general description of them.
A government-endorsed quality scheme covering work carried out in and around the home. Businesses are registered through a scheme provider, and are checked on technical competence, customer service and trading practices.
What it means for you
TrustMark registration is a requirement for some publicly funded energy efficiency work, and TrustMark-registered work is recorded on a data warehouse — which means there is a record of the installation independent of the installer. It is a broad quality mark rather than a technical qualification for solar specifically.
What to ask to see
Ask for the TrustMark licence number and which scheme provider registered the business, then check it on the public search rather than taking the logo at face value.
One of the largest certification bodies for electrical contractors in the UK. Registration involves assessment of the business, its technical staff, its test equipment and samples of its completed work, repeated periodically.
What it means for you
A solar installation is an electrical installation. Registration with an approved body means the contractor can self-certify notifiable electrical work under the Building Regulations and issue the certificate you will need when you sell the property. It also means someone independent has inspected samples of that contractor’s work.
What to ask to see
Ask who will issue the electrical installation certificate, under which registration number, and check that the number belongs to the company actually attending your property.
NAPIT — National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers
What it is
A government-approved competent person scheme operator for electrical work, and an alternative to NICEIC rather than an addition to it. Members are assessed on technical competence and on completed installations.
What it means for you
The same practical effect as NICEIC registration: notifiable electrical work can be self-certified, and the certificate issued is the document a conveyancer, surveyor or insurer will later ask to see. Which of the two bodies a contractor belongs to matters far less than the fact that it belongs to one of them.
What to ask to see
Ask for the NAPIT membership number and the name it is registered under, and verify it on the public search.
A trade association for electrical and engineering services businesses. Members are vetted on technical capability and financial standing on joining, and are reassessed.
What it means for you
Membership is an indicator of an established contracting business rather than a certification of any individual installation. It is not a substitute for registration with an electrical certification body, and it does not by itself allow anyone to self-certify work under the Building Regulations.
What to ask to see
Ask what the membership actually covers in your case, and separately ask which body will certify the electrical work. They are different questions.
Insurance-backed guarantee and deposit protection provider
IWA — Independent Warranty Association
What it is
A provider of insurance-backed guarantees and deposit protection for home improvement work, arranged through registered installers.
What it means for you
An insurance-backed guarantee is a policy that sits behind the installer’s own workmanship guarantee. If the installing company ceases to trade during the guarantee period, the policy is intended to cover remedial work that the installer would otherwise have carried out. Deposit protection covers money you pay before the work starts. Neither replaces the manufacturer warranties on the equipment, and both depend on the terms of the individual policy issued for your job.
What to ask to see
Ask to see the actual policy document issued in your name after installation, with the policy number, the period of cover and the exclusions. A statement that guarantees are “insurance backed” with no policy attached is not the same thing.
The verification route for this scheme has not yet been confirmed for publication on this site, so no link is given rather than an unverified one: [INFORMATION REQUIRED]
What a homeowner should ask to see
Ask these of any installer, including us. A company that is genuinely certified will answer them in a couple of minutes and will not mind being checked.
1Which legal entity is the certificate held by, and is that the same company named on my quotation and my invoice?
2What is the certificate or membership number, and may I have it in writing?
3When was it issued and when does it expire or come up for reassessment?
4Which company will appear on the MCS certificate for my installation?
5Who issues the electrical installation certificate, and under which registration number?
6If work is subcontracted, which certifications does the subcontractor hold, and which are relied on for my job?
7Which consumer code applies to my contract, and where is the deposit protection and insurance-backed guarantee documentation?
8If I search that number on the public register today, whose name comes back?
One further check costs nothing: search the company name at Companies House and confirm the registered entity on the quotation is the one making the promises. Solar FX is registered in England and Wales, company number 15818680, with its registered office at 1 Loves Close, Burghfield Common, Reading, RG7 3NE.
Common questions
Which accreditations does Solar Fx hold?
Nothing is displayed on this page as held, because certificate numbers, the legal entity holding each certificate, expiry dates and a verification source have not yet been confirmed for publication. Where a certification is held by an installation partner rather than by Solar Fx, that will be stated when it is published. In the meantime, ask us directly and we will tell you what applies to your specific installation, in writing.
Why is a displayed logo not enough on its own?
A logo is an image file. It can belong to a supplier, to a subcontractor, or to a membership that has since lapsed, and displaying it proves nothing about current certification. The remedy is always the same: ask for the certificate number and the name it is held under, then search the public register yourself. A register entry is evidence; an image is not.
Does it matter if the certification is held by an installation partner rather than the company I contract with?
It matters for some things and not others. For an MCS certificate and for electrical self-certification, what counts is that the certified entity is the one carrying out and certifying the work — so you need to know which company that is. For a consumer code covering the sales contract, what matters is the entity you are contracting with. Ask which company sits behind each, and get the answer in writing before you pay a deposit.
Do I need an MCS certificate to be paid for exported electricity?
Suppliers offering a Smart Export Guarantee tariff will normally ask for the MCS certificate for the installation as evidence that it was installed by a certified installer using certified products. If exporting matters to you, establish before you sign anything which company will register the certificate and that it will be issued in your name.
Related reading
Certification is one part of judging an installer. These pages cover the rest.
