Solar Panel Installers North England
Looking for solar panel installation for your home in the North of England?
The team at NimbleFins has researched North East and North West-based solar installation companies, for those wanting to hire a local installer rather than a large, national company. To be included in the list of best North of England solar panel installers, companies have to be based here and have excellent customer ratings (Trustpilot scores of at least 4.5 out of 5, or 4.6 in Yorkshire because there we so many installers, we could be pickier!).
We also list information about each regarding the geographic areas they cover, some of the solar panel, battery and inverter brands each installer works with, plus the year each was incorporated.
Of course you can also use a large company instead (like one of the national solar panel installers) but if you want a local northern company, we hope the list below is a useful resource to get your started in your search.
Northern-based Solar Panel Installers
| Solar Panel Installers North England | Area | Brands Include | Google Customer Rating | TrustScore | Year Incorporated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | |||||
| Solec Electrical Services Ltd | Middlesbrough | various | 4.8 | 2022 | |
| Underwood Electrical Ltd | Newcastle and surrounding areas | Jinko, GivEnergy, Tesla, Solis, PylonTech | 4.7 | 2008 | |
| Northern Renewable Centre | Based in Redcar; installs domestic solar within 1-1.5 hrs of Redcar | JA Solar, Longi, CanadianSolar, Sharp, Ulica Solar, Growatt, SolarEdge, GivEnergy, Solis, Fox ESS | 5 | 4.5 | 2022 |
| Solar Solutions NE | Based in Newcastle; installs in the North East and beyond | various | 4.5 | 2011 | |
| Springwellelectrical | Based in Hartlepool and serving Hartlepool, Teeside, Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough, Durham, Sunderland, Newcastle, Tyneside and more | Fox ESS, Solis, GivEnergy | 5 | 4.5 | 2022 |
| Blue Leaf Energy | Newcastle upon Tyne | Mitsubishi, Vaillant, SolaX, myenergi | 4.5 | 2021 | |
| North West | |||||
| Contact Solar | Based in Lancashire; installs nationally | Jinko, JA Solar, Sunsynk | 4.9 | 4.9 | 2014 |
| Heatable | Based in Chesire; installs nationwide | REA, Enphase inverters, Enphase, Alpha ESS, GivEnergy or Tesla batteries | 4.5 | 4.8 | 2013 |
| ESE Solar | Based in Liverpool with offices in Couny Durham and Exeter; national installations | Greenlinx, PylonTech, Tigo, Tesla, SolarEdge, LuxPower, Longi, myenergi | 4.1 | 4.8 | 2015 |
| Entire Renewables | Little Budworth, Tarporley, Cheshire | GivEnergy, SolarEdge, myenergi | 5 | 4.8 | 2016 |
| UPS Solar | Based in Preston, Lancashire; installs nationally | Sharp, Q Cell, JA Solar, Fox ESS | 4.7 | 4.8 | 2022 |
| Manchester Renewables Ltd | Based in Manchester; installs in Greater Manchester and the North West | various | 5 | 4.7 | 2022 |
| Radiance Renewable Energy Solutions | Workington | various | 4.6 | 2021 | |
| LMF Energy Services (esolar) | Based in Wirral; installs nationally | Trina Solar, Solis, Dyness | 4.4 | 4.5 | 2016 |
| DFS Solar (Dual Fuel Solutions) | Based in Bolton, Manchester | Fox ESS, SolaX, Alpha ESS, SolarEdge, JA Solar, GivEnergy, Growatt | 4.5 | 2013 | |
| Yorkshire | |||||
| PV People | Based in Wakefield; installs in Wakefield, Leeds, Huddersfield, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, York | JA Solar, Sunsynk, Jinko, Solis, PureDrive, GivEnergy, SolaX, Tesla, REC | 5 | 4.8 | 2023 |
| Heron Electrical | Based in Leeds; installs across Yorkshire | various | 5 | 4.8 | 2016 |
| UK Solar Experts | Based in Manchester | JA Solar, Jinko, SolaX, GivEnergy, Fox ESS | 4.9 | 4.8 | 2023 |
| Navitas Solar Installations Ltd | Based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire | various | 5 | 4.8 | 2009 |
| Solar Fast | Based in Castleford; will install anywhere in the UK | various | 4.8 | 4.7 | 2006 (parent Gas Fast) |
| Green Building Renewables | Based in York; installs in a wide area, including York and Doncaster to Daventry and Wellingborough | various | 4.7 | 2022 | |
| Switch Energy Network Ltd | Based in Leeds | various | 4.6 | 2019 | |
| Grid Neutral | Based in Sheffield; installs in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Humberside, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Lincolnshire | various | 5 | 4.6 | 2019 |
The companies listed above are based in the North and are MCS certified. This list can be a starting point for your research, but of course there may be other Northern solar panel installers more suited to your needs. The above list is meant to show local companies based in the North, but there are many other companies that are based elsewhere yet install across the North.
You can also check Google maps for other solar installers in your area, and you can even ask neighbors with solar panels about their installers. We've found neighbors to be a great source of information!
It's also worth mentioning a few other national installers that aren't in the list above but are based in the North: Egg (TrustScore 4.2) and Effective Home (TrustScore 4.3), which is one of the UK's larger solar panel installers. Are you not sure if you should go with a large, national or a smaller, local company? Below we discuss some of the pros and cons of each.
esolar
Of note in the above list, Esolar (an extension of the LMF Energy Services Group) was voted National Solar PV Contractor / Installer of the year 2023 at the Energy Efficiency Awards and voted North West Installer of the year 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
(The North East winner was Advanced Renewable Power Ltd, but they only do commercial installations not residential installations, so they do not feature in our list above.)
Should I use a local, Northern solar panel installer or a national installer?
When deciding which type of installer to use—smaller, local vs. larger, national—here are some factors to keep in mind:
Pros and cons of using a national company
A national company might be better at the following:
- Quick quote turnaround
- Offering discounts due to volume discounts
- Deep product knowledge (e.g. if they only work with a limited set of products)
A national company might be worse due to the following:
- Installation teams might be outsourced/contracted out
- Limited solar panel manufacturers only (e.g. some install only 1 or two types of panels)
- Quote and technical survey might be online or phone only (not on site)
One other point to keep in mind: most of the national installers have been in operation for many years, so it feels like they're more likely to still be in business for years to come. But some of the local installers are still quite young and we wonder if some of them may not last... Many will, of course, but just something to keep in mind.
Note: 'online' or 'phone'-only quotes and technical surveys can be good for efficiency—you can get a quote in literally minutes. But an onsite quote and technical survey can save you time in the long run and help ensure that the system you get is truly optimised for your situation. For example, in some cases it can be difficult for online or over-the-phone quotes to accurately estimate the number of panels that can actually fit on a roof—this may or may not be a factor for you. If your roof is small compared to your needs, then you need to maximise the panels on the roof.
Want to learn more? Read our related article about the best national solar panel installers.
Pros and cons of using a local Northern company
A local company might be better at the following:
- Installation teams might be more likely to be in-house (as opposed to contracted out)
- Knowing the 'sunniness' of your area
- Hand holding their customers
- Having your company nearby in case of problems
- On site quotes and surveys (vs remote)
- Sourcing specific equipment you desire (e.g. they may be more open to installing your choice of panels)
A local company might be worse due to the following:
- Quote turnaround might be slower
- If they do less volume, they may not be able to pass on bulk discounts to customers
Also, if you want some guidance on how to choose a solar panel installer, please read our thoughts here.