Home Solar · Cornwall & West Devon
No fancy leaflets. No fluff. Just the proper job, done right — honest numbers for your home from a Truro based Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor.
Independent advice
Most households meet solar through a doorstep call or a glossy leaflet with a headline saving on the front and very little detail behind it. We work the other way round. We look at what your home actually uses, what your roof can actually take, and what the numbers actually say — then tell you honestly whether solar is worth doing, and what size system is right if it is.
That advice comes from a Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor and Level 5 Retrofit Coordinator, not a sales team. We assess and model energy performance for Cornish homes every week — from modern estates to solid wall cottages and listed buildings — so we know where solar pays for itself, where a battery matters more than extra panels, and where the money is better spent on insulation first.
Solar · Battery storage · EV chargers · Heat pumps — supplied and installed across Cornwall and West Devon, with the whole job coordinated by one local team.
Cash, from£3,500
Buy the system outright and keep every pound it saves. The simplest route, and the cheapest over the life of the system.
Finance, low depositSpread it
Put down a small deposit and spread the balance over fixed monthly payments, so the savings start while you pay.
Subscription£0 upfront
No deposit and no upfront cost. You pay a monthly subscription and start using your own generation straight away.
Every price depends on your roof, the number of panels and whether you add battery storage, so the figures above are starting points rather than a one size fits all quote. We survey your home and put the real numbers in writing — including what you would spend doing nothing — before you commit to anything. Domestic solar and battery installations currently qualify for 0% VAT until 31 March 2027. Finance and subscription plans are provided by third party funders and are subject to status, eligibility and survey.
What we fit
Roof mounted panels sized around your actual consumption, with shading, orientation and roof condition checked before anything is specified.
Store what you generate in the day and use it in the evening — or charge cheaply overnight on a low rate tariff. Sized to your usage, not upsold.
Home charge points installed alongside solar so the car runs on your own generation wherever possible, with smart scheduling to the cheapest hours.
Air source heat pumps assessed properly — fabric first, heat loss calculated, and honest advice on whether your home is ready for one yet.
Rural & traditional
Solid stone walls, slate roofs, outbuildings and long cable runs — rural Cornish property is where generic solar quotes come unstuck. We start with the building rather than the panel count: roof structure, covering and fixings assessed before anything is specified, and heritage constraints identified before you spend money on a design that will never get consent.
Where the house roof faces the wrong way or sits under a tree line, a barn or workshop roof is often the better home for the array. And because rural households frequently run oil or LPG heating, a private water supply and an EV, we size generation and storage around that whole picture rather than a standard three bedroom template.
Level 3 qualified for older and traditional buildings — the same qualification behind every heritage EPC we produce.
Coastal & town
Cornish coastal property brings its own problems: salt laden air, serious wind loading, narrow streets with nowhere to park a van, and conservation area rules covering most of our harbour towns. We plan the access and the scaffold before the install date, specify mounts and fixings for exposure rather than for a sheltered inland roof, and keep the disruption to your neighbours to a minimum.
Weather is not an excuse either. Work is programmed around what the forecast will realistically allow, and you get told honestly if a day needs moving — rather than being left waiting on a scaffold that has been up for a month.
Covering Cornwall and West Devon from our Truro base — call 01872 494 288 or email Hello@TCSW.co.uk.
Your numbers
What you will really spend if you do nothing. We take your current usage and standing charges and project them forward, so you can see the cost of standing still next to the cost of acting.
The panel count that pushes your bills towards zero — based on your roof, its orientation and shading, and what your household actually uses through the day.
Batteries are where most quotes go wrong. We size storage around your evening demand and tariff, so you are not paying for capacity that never gets used.
Month by month and over the long term, including what you save on imported units and what you earn back for the electricity you export.
Clear, honest pricing with no sales pitch: the installed cost, the payment routes open to you, and the payback period for each — in writing.
If your roof, your usage or your building make solar a poor investment, we will say so and point you at the improvements that pay back faster instead.
How it works
Call or email the Truro office and talk it through with Charles. No script, no pressure, and no appointment setter in the middle.
Recent bills, roof, orientation, shading and how your household uses power — assessed on site and modelled properly.
System size, generation, savings, payback and every payment route side by side, so you can compare it against any other quote you hold.
Installation coordinated by our own team, handover with monitoring set up, and your EPC updated afterwards if you want the improvement on record.
Meet your assessor
With over twelve years delivering professional property services across Cornwall and West Devon, Charles gives straight talking, expert advice without the sales pitch. He is a Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor and Level 5 Retrofit Coordinator, which means the person advising you on solar is the same person qualified to assess how your home performs.
Charles and the Truro team also deliver EPCs, landlord compliance, property management and property maintenance — so if solar turns out to be one part of a bigger job, you are not starting again with a new set of contractors.
Accredited
TrustMark registered, ABBE qualified and Energy Trust certified — the same standards we work to on every EPC and compliance job across the Westcountry.
Solar questions, answered
Straight answers from a Truro based Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor covering Cornwall and West Devon.
Cornwall gets more annual sunshine than almost anywhere else in the UK, so generation here is at the higher end of the national range. That said, it is your consumption — not the county — that decides whether solar pays. We model your usage and your roof and show you the payback in writing before you spend anything.
Cash options start from around £3,500, with the final figure depending on panel count, roof access and whether you add battery storage. Low deposit finance and a £0 upfront subscription are also available, both subject to status and survey. Domestic solar and battery installations currently attract 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.
Not always. A battery earns its keep when you use most of your electricity in the evening, or when you want to charge cheaply overnight on a low rate tariff. If you are at home during the day and use what you generate as you generate it, the money is often better spent on panels. We will tell you which applies to your home.
Yes — solar PV improves the SAP rating a domestic EPC is built on, which matters if you are a landlord working towards EPC Band C under MEES. As accredited assessors we can lodge an updated EPC once the system is installed and commissioned, so the improvement is on record.
Solar on most homes falls under permitted development, but listed buildings, conservation areas and some coastal or AONB locations have additional constraints. We are Level 3 qualified for older and traditional buildings and will tell you early whether consent is needed, or whether a different measure makes more sense for your property.
Yes. The Smart Export Guarantee requires larger suppliers to pay for surplus electricity you export to the grid, and rates vary between suppliers. We include a realistic export figure in your projection rather than the best case number used to make a quote look better.
Most domestic installations are completed within a day or two once scaffolding is up, with battery and EV charger work adding to that depending on the electrical setup. You will have a clear programme, in writing, before any work starts.
Call Charles and the Truro team on 01872 494 288, or send us your details and we will come back with honest numbers for your home — free, and with no obligation.
