Emma sent us two referrals on account of the outcome.

“I think I’ve made a terrible mistake,” the voice said. It was Emma from Bracknell and she sounded absolutely gutted.

Three months earlier, Emma had been so excited about going solar. She’d done her research, got three quotes and went with what seemed like the obvious choice, the middle-priced option from a company with decent reviews.

The installation went smoothly. The panels looked great on her roof. Everything seemed perfect.

Until her first electricity bill arrived.

“The system’s barely generating what they promised during autumn,” she told me. “And now they’re saying it’s because of ‘unforeseen shading issues’ that apparently aren’t covered by their warranty.”

But here’s the thing and this is where it gets interesting, there was something specific that every single one of Emma’s three original installers had missed. Something so obvious that when I tell you what it was, you’ll probably check your own quote immediately.

Before I reveal what that was, let me ask you something: when the solar companies visited your property, did any of them use a drone or get up on your roof to properly assess your roof and the surrounding environment?

I’m not talking about a quick look from ground level. I mean actually getting a proper aerial view of your roof and everything around it that could affect your system’s performance.

Because here’s what Emma discovered (and what cost her £400 in lost savings in just three months):

The well established apple tree in her neighbour’s garden, the one that looked so far away from ground level, was casting shadows across her south-facing panels for several hours every morning during autumn when the sun sits lower in the sky.

Not one of the three companies had spotted it.

They’d all used satellite imagery and made assumptions. Quick quotes, fast turnaround, job done.

But our electrical engineers? They turn up with a drone, sometimes they’ll scale the roof. They launch it and fly it low over your entire roof so they get a really good picture of your roof and the environment around it. But they’re there on site doing this, not relying on old satellite images.

Then they walk around and do a visual assessment. There are certain rules according to the MCS about shading but we’ve improved upon what the MCS requires. They’ll make a note of an apple tree or whatever it might be, for example –  that one maybe needs to be kept to a certain height otherwise it’s going to cause some shading.

Everything might be okay at the moment but they actually write this down and put it on the survey. Therefore when that becomes a contract and we install the solar, that’s all recorded as a reminder for people to keep an eye on particular trees, vegetation etc so that they’re not affected by it.

Emma’s story gets worse before it gets better though.

When she called her original installer about the shading issue, they basically shrugged and said “not our problem.” The system was installed correctly they argued. The shading was “unforeseeable.”

Except it wasn’t.

Any proper drone survey and shading assessment tool would have caught it immediately.

That’s when Emma called us. Not for a new system, she was stuck with what she had. But she wanted to know if there was anything that could be done.

Here’s where the story takes an interesting turn…

We sent one of our electrical engineers round to assess the situation. Within 20 minutes he’d identified three specific modifications that could dramatically improve the system’s performance even with the shading issue.

But there was one particular solution, something to do with the inverter configuration, that most installers would never even consider. It’s a bit technical but it’s brilliant.

The result? Emma’s system now generates 85% of the original promised output despite the shading. She’s saving over £130 per month and she’ll have recouped that lost £400 within the next three months.

But here’s what really gets me about Emma’s story…

This whole situation could have been avoided with one simple piece of equipment that apparently none of her original installers bothered to bring.

And I bet it’s the same equipment that your current quotes haven’t used either.

Before I tell you what that equipment was, I’m curious, how many of your solar quotes included a proper drone survey of your roof and surrounding area?

Because if the answer is “none” or “I’m not sure” then you might be about to make the same £400 mistake that Emma did.

Ready to avoid Emma’s expensive lesson? Get a proper drone assessment/survey from qualified electrical engineers who actually care about getting it right.