The survey is a check, not a pitch
Your roof is measured and priced before anyone visits. When the surveyor arrives, the only job is to confirm our numbers.
- First light
- 06:41
- Roof · pitch
- 35° S–SW
- System size
- 14 × 445 W · 6.2 kWp
- Saving
- ~£1,080/yr
- £460 off your bill · £620 exported
- Example roof · EX4
Independent energy consultancy · Nationwide
Sized from above. Matched by hand.
One postcode. We size the roof from the air, price the system, and introduce the installer who earns it.
Our estimate is free. If you proceed to survey, our partner installer invoices you directly; we receive a referral fee from them, never from you, and it never affects which installer we introduce.
We use these details only to send your estimate and arrange a survey. Privacy Policy
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Our own membership first, then what every installer we introduce must hold.
- Energy Consultants Association member
- MCS certified
- RECC member
- TrustMark registered
- NICEIC electrical
- Insurance-backed guarantee
- Price-checked against the market
- Highly rated on independent platforms
Consultancy, not a sales call
We don’t install. We choose who does.
Three quiet steps between your postcode and a signed-off system, and a fourth once it is generating. No door-knocking, no quote roulette, no installer marking their own homework.
01
1 postcode
Consult
That is all we need. We read the roof from above, size the array and price it against the market — before anyone visits.
How the estimate works 02
7 checks
Match
Every installer we introduce clears all seven of our checks on price, accreditation and reviews. One name, not a bidding war.
The seven checks 03
0 sales calls
Oversee
We stay on the job: quote checked line by line, paperwork chased, and sign-off chased until it’s done.
Sign-off and aftercare 04
kWh · later
Monitor · coming
Production monitoring, so you can watch what it generates, is planned for a later phase.
The appThe assembly · 01–05
Every part sized before anyone climbs a ladder.
Model 01 · semi-detached · 14 × 445 W · 6.2 kWp · £7,200–£8,900
Pitch, area and shading read from aerial imagery — before a survey is booked.
6.2 kWp drawn onto the example roof, about 5,400 kWh a year.
One inverter, sized to the string. Never oversold.
10 kWh for +£4,500, or none at all. We price both.
One gold run, panels to meter. The installer we chose signs it off.
Example estimate · EX4
Ten numbers, before anyone visits.
What we read from above tells us the array the roof can carry, what it should generate, what it costs installed and when it pays back. Part of the saving comes off your bill and part is paid to you for what you export, so we show the two apart. Add a battery and you’ll see which lines move. The survey checks the roof figures and the price; the saving depends on your tariff and how you use power.
£1,500a year
About 4,300 kWh a year, at 30p a unit on a £210 standing charge, with export paid at 16p. Tariffs and export rates vary by supplier.
System size6.2 kWp
Panels14 × 445 W
Roof area~28 m²
Energy output~5,400 kWh/yr
Sunshine~1,640 hrs/yr
Self-use of what the roof makes28%
Installed£7,200–£8,900
Payback~7 yrs
Saving~£1,080/yr£460off your bill£620exported
Batterynone
Example roof · EX4Every assumption
Payback
Year by year, the saving pays for the system.
What the example roof saves each year covers what it cost installed in about seven years without a battery, about ten with one, if tariffs and use stay as assumed. After that the saving keeps coming, less upkeep such as a replacement inverter.
Units you no longer buy
Power your roof makes while you’re using it, at the price you would have paid.
Units you’re paid for
What you don’t use goes to the grid, paid at your export rate.
What moves it
Paying for it How much of the roof’s power you use, and a battery. These figures assume 30p a unit and 16p for export; both vary by supplier.
Read from above
We measure the roof before we price it.
Aerial imagery gives us most of what a survey used to start with. We read it before anyone books a visit, so the visit checks our numbers instead of opening a sales conversation.
Survey day
The visit that checks our numbers.
A surveyor comes to confirm what we read from above and to see what the air can’t. They measure, check, photograph and explain. Then they leave.
What to have ready
- Access to the loft hatch
- A clear path to the fuse box and meter
- Any questions, however small
Survey · EX4Roof read from above ✓
Roof and loft
- Rafters and battens, sound for the rails
- The covering, where the fixings go
- A route through the loft for the cable
Electrics
- Room in the consumer unit for the solar circuit
- Earthing and the meter
- A wall for the inverter
Access
- Where the scaffold stands
- A spot for a battery, if you want one
Before they leave
- Photos for the installer, so nobody asks twice
- Anything that could move the price, explained
Signed on the day: nothing.
Battery storage
Battery, or not. We price both.
Panels make most at midday. Most homes use most in the evening. A battery moves one to the other, and whether that pays depends on when you are home, what you pay per unit and what you are paid for export.
What your roof makes What your home uses Stored at midday Used after dark
- What your roof makes
- What your home uses
- Stored at midday
- Used after dark
Usually worth it when…
- your evening use is high
- you’re out most of the day
- you’re on a time-of-use tariff
- an electric car charges overnight
Often not when…
- someone is home through the day
- the array is small for the house
- your export rate is already strong
On the example estimate, 10 kWh adds £4,500 to the price and about £150 a year to the saving, so on its own it would take about 30 years to repay. We show the payback both ways, and the choice stays yours.
See both on your estimateThe kit
Chosen for your roof, not the other way round.
The panel that suits your roof, not the one with the biggest number on the box.
14 × 445 WOn the example estimate · EX4
- 01Output per square metreMatters most on a small or crowded roof.
- 02All-black or framedMatters on a front elevation.
- 03Coping with part-shadeMatters under a chimney.
For exampleAIKO · LONGi · JA Solar
One inverter where the roof is simple, more control where it isn’t.
6.2 kWpThe array it is sized to
- 01One string inverterWhere the roof is simple.
- 02Optimisers or micro-invertersWhere it has shade or several faces.
- 03Sized to the arrayNever oversold.
For exampleSolarEdge · Enphase · Sunsynk · Fox ESS
Capacity matched to your evening use, not the biggest box on the list.
10 kWh+£4,500 on the estimate, or none at all
- 01Matched to your eveningsSized to what you use after dark.
- 02A place for it to liveGarage, utility room or an outside wall.
- 03Priced both waysWith and without, side by side.
For exampleTesla Powerwall · Sigenergy · Fox ESS · Sunsynk
Electric car · heat pump · hot water
Planning a car or a heat pump? Tell us first.
Either can use as much power as the rest of the house, and at different times of day. Knowing now changes the array we size, the inverter we choose and whether a battery earns its place.
Your roofWhat the array makes
- The house · firstWhatever is running takes the roof’s power first.
- BatteryStores what’s spare for the evening.
- Hot waterA diverter sends spare power to the immersion heater.
- The grid · what’s leftExported, and paid at your export rate.
- Electric carA charger that follows the sun tops up on spare power, or charges overnight on a cheaper rate.
- Heat pumpWorks hardest in winter, when the roof makes least, so we size for the house you’ll have, not the bill you had.
After the house, you choose the order.
The match
Best-priced, best-accredited, best-reviewed. Then one name.
We don’t pass your details to a list. Every enquiry narrows the same way, and only one installer comes through it.
Our estimate is free. If you proceed to survey, our partner installer invoices you directly; we receive a referral fee from them, never from you, and it never affects which installer we introduce.
We use these details only to send your estimate and arrange a survey. Privacy Policy
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After you say yes
From postcode to switch-on, we stay on it.
- 01
Estimate
Your roof sized and priced from above.
- 02
Survey
A surveyor confirms the roof and checks what the air can’t see.
- 03
Introduction
One installer, their quote already checked against the market.
- 04
Install
Grid approval first, if the system needs it. Then scaffold, array, inverter, and a battery if you chose one.
- 05
Sign-off
Certificates issued, the grid notified, your export payments applied for. We chase until each is done.
- 06 · coming
Monitor
Monitoring, planned for a later phase.
Warranties and aftercare
Covered in layers. Call us first.
A solar system carries more than one warranty. Each covers something different, and each comes with its own paperwork. We keep them together, and when something isn’t right, we’re the first call.
Insurance-backed guaranteeKeeps the workmanship warranty good if the installer stops trading.
Workmanship warrantyThe installer’s promise for the fixings, the wiring and the work itself.
Manufacturers' warrantiesThe panels, the inverter and the battery, each covered by the company that made it.
We know who fitted it, what they promised and who to chase. Contact us
The LuminAsset app
Follow the whole job from your phone.
See the roof we read from above, choose the route that suits you, then watch the work move: survey, approvals, documents, payments and installation, all in one place. The same job file we work from, written for the person who lives under the roof.
Coming soon to iOS and Android
EX4Your roof
6.2 kWpSystem size14 × 445 WPanels
Your route
Direct PurchasePower Purchase Agreement
Your job
Survey bookedSwitch-on
Situations we sort out
Partnered, not pitched.
One installer instead, their quote already set against what the same system costs elsewhere, line by line.
How one name is chosenWe price the system with one and without, side by side, and leave the decision with you.
Battery, both waysWe read its pitch, orientation, usable area and shading from above, before anyone climbs a ladder.
What we read from aboveEvery installer we introduce clears all seven of our checks, and we tell you how each one was checked.
The seven checksWe answer them before any installer is involved: export rates, the meter and what the grid is told.
Export payments, explainedWe hold the job file, so we know what was agreed and by when, and we chase the installer until the job moves again.
Aftercare and sign-offIndependent, by design
We never fit a panel, so we never need to sell you one.
Quotes read line by line
Every quote is set against what the same system costs elsewhere before it reaches you.
The bar doesn’t bend
A great price from an installer who misses one of the seven is still a no.
Battery, both ways
Priced with and without, side by side.
One introduction
Not your details passed to five sales teams.
Nationwide
The same seven checks, wherever the roof is in Great Britain.
About · coverage
Nationwide by design.
LuminAsset is an independent consultancy: we size the roof, price the job against the market and stay on it until sign-off. We work nationwide, and the same bar applies everywhere in Great Britain.
- Across Great Britain
- Example roof · EX4
One job file
One file for every roof.
We, your surveyor and your installer work from the same file: the roof we read from above, the survey notes and photos, the checked quote and the sign-off paperwork. Nobody asks you the same question twice.
EX4Semi-detached
- 01Roof, read from above
- 02Survey notes and photos
- 03Quote, checked line by line
- 04Introduction
- 05Certificates and sign-off
Roof, read from above
Pitch 35°S–SW14 × 445 W6.2 kWp
Shared with: consultant · surveyor · installer
HomeownersThe same job, followed in the LuminAsset app when it arrives.
Installers on the networkIntroductions arrive with the roof already read and the quote already checked.
InstallersInstaller anywhere in Great Britain? Clear all seven and we’ll put your name forward.
Apply to the networkPaying for it
Savings, mortgage or a loan. Put the numbers side by side.
Most homeowners pay for solar in one of three ways. Paying from savings gives the shortest payback, because nothing is added to the price.
Some add it to their mortgage, as a further advance or when they remortgage. The rate is often lower, but it’s spread over longer, so look at the total you’ll repay, not only the monthly figure.
Others take a loan, sometimes offered through the installer. It can be the simplest route, and it’s where the small print matters most: the rate, the term, any fee for paying early and what happens if you move.
Whichever you choose, put the monthly cost beside the monthly saving on your estimate before you sign anything. We don’t arrange or recommend finance, and none of this is financial advice.
Questions
Questions homeowners often ask.
Straight answers to what homeowners often ask. Anything else, ask Photon or arrange a survey.
Every question
Still wondering? Ask Photon 01Do you install the panels yourselves?
No. We’re an independent consultancy. We size and price your installation, then introduce the installer who clears our bar and prices your job best. They install; we stay on until it is signed off.
02How can you size my roof without visiting?
Aerial imagery shows the roof’s pitch, orientation, usable area and the shading around it. That is enough for an honest estimate. The survey then checks what the air can’t see.
What we read from above03Can the price change after the survey?
It can. The estimate is a range because the survey can find things the air can’t, such as rafters that need extra fixings or a consumer unit that needs work. If anything moves the price, you’ll know why before you sign.
What the survey checks04How do you choose the installer?
Every installer we introduce holds all seven requirements on our installer bar. From those who cover your postcode, we weigh their price for your roof, their accreditation and their recent reviews, and introduce one.
How one name is chosen05Will it work on a shaded or east–west roof?
Often, yes, just less than on a clear south-facing roof. Shade is where panel choice and optimisers earn their keep. If the numbers don’t work for your roof, your estimate will say so.
The kit we weigh06Do I need a battery?
Not always. We price every estimate with and without one. A battery is more likely to pay when most of your use falls after dark.
When a battery pays07Can I add a battery, charger or heat pump later?
Yes, and it’s worth telling us now. Planning for them can change the inverter we choose and leave room for what comes next.
Planning for what’s next08What if something goes wrong after the install?
Call us first. We keep the warranties together and know who fitted your system, so we can chase the right company.
Who covers what09Do you cover my area?
Yes. We work nationwide, and the same seven checks apply to every installer we introduce.
See where we work10Can I watch what my system generates?
Monitoring is coming soon. Once your system is on the roof, you’ll be able to see what it makes.
Words you’ll see on a quote
The jargon, in plain English.
Every term below turns up on estimates, surveys and quotes. If one isn’t here, ask Photon.
A
- Array
- The panels on your roof, taken together.
C
- Consumer unit
- Your fuse box, where the solar circuit needs its own place.
D
- DNO
- The distribution network operator: the company that runs your local grid, and is told about your system.
E
- Export rate
- What you’re paid for each unit your roof sends to the grid.
G
- Generation meter
- A meter that counts what your roof makes.
I
- Insurance-backed guarantee
- Insurance that keeps a workmanship warranty good if the installer stops trading.
- Inverter
- Turns the panels' direct current into the alternating current your home runs on.
K
- kWh
- A kilowatt-hour: the unit your bill counts, and the unit a roof’s yearly output is measured in.
- kWp
- Kilowatt peak: the size of an array, as its output in full sun.
M
- MCS
- The Microgeneration Certification Scheme, which certifies installers of small-scale renewables and the products they fit.
- Micro-inverter
- A small inverter behind each panel, so one shaded panel doesn’t hold back the rest.
N
- NICEIC
- A scheme that registers electrical contractors and checks their work.
O
- Optimiser
- A small box behind a panel that keeps it working at its best on a shared inverter.
P
- Payback
- The years it takes for the saving to cover what the system cost.
- Pitch
- The angle of your roof.
R
- RECC
- The Renewable Energy Consumer Code: the rules installers agree to follow when they sell to you.
S
- Self-use
- Power from your roof that you use at home instead of buying.
- String
- Panels wired together in series to one inverter input.
- Survey
- A visit to check the roof, loft and electrics before a price is final.
T
- Time-of-use tariff
- Prices that change through the day, usually cheapest overnight.
- TrustMark
- The government-endorsed quality scheme for trades working in your home.
No word matches. Ask us, and we’ll add it
Before you get a quote
Read these first.
Guide
Reading a solar quote, line by line
What each line should say, what’s often missing, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
Guide
Battery or no battery: reading your own bill
Where your units go by hour, and what that means for storage.
Guide
Slate, tile or flat: what your roof covering changes
How the rails are fixed, what the survey looks for, and why it moves the price.
Estimate or survey
Start with a postcode.
Our estimate is free. If you proceed to survey, our partner installer invoices you directly; we receive a referral fee from them, never from you, and it never affects which installer we introduce.
We use these details only to send your estimate and arrange a survey. Privacy Policy
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Or ring us free on 0800 593 0413