Rowan Energy – improving customer outcomes
David Duckworth, CEO, Rowan Energy, explains how the company’s customer reward scheme can overcome the challenge of long payback for homeowners, giving your business a competitive edge when it comes to winning business.
Rowan Energy is transforming the UK residential solar industry by merging advanced, low-powered (and therefore low-carbon) blockchain technology with solar energy, offering a unique solution that benefits both homeowners and solar installers.
While technology in the residential solar market has remained relatively stagnant for years, our Rowan SmartMiner is breaking new ground. It’s more than just a solar device – it’s a powerful tool that combines a blockchain validator with a smart meter, revolutionising how solar energy is monitored, managed, and monetised.
Reducing payback time
A key challenge in the solar market has been the long payback period for homeowners. Rowan Energy addresses this by offering an additional 10p per kWh for every unit of solar energy produced, earning homeowners up to £450 per year. This significantly reduces the payback time, and makes solar installations more attractive, creating a strong financial incentive that boosts demand for solar systems and gives installers a clear advantage when partnering with us. Since 2021, we have paid out more than half a million pounds in rewards, with customers continuously earning from their solar investments.
Rowan Energy currently monitors nearly 10 MW of solar across our network, showcasing the scalability and impact of our platform. Installers can differentiate themselves in a competitive market by offering Rowan Rewards Packages and fitting Rowan SmartMiners. The SmartMiner not only tracks energy production with precision but also validates transactions on the Rowan blockchain and mints real-time carbon offset certificates onsite. While these certificates contribute to reducing carbon footprints, homeowners directly benefit from the additional income generated through Rowan Rewards.
Rowan Energy gives installers a competitive edge, enabling them to offer a cutting-edge solution that reduces carbon footprints while increasing energy savings. By partnering with Rowan, installers can attract environmentally conscious customers, drive sales, and elevate their business in a rapidly evolving market.
HIES – Business support for renewable energy installers
Faisal Hussain is CEO of HIES, a Chartered Trading Standards Institute Consumer Code within the renewable sector whose vision is about transforming consumer protection to ensure consumers are dealt with professionally. Here Faisal explains the importance of this for installers.
Renewable energy installations, such as solar PV, appeal to homeowners because they can see an easy way to control their energy costs and contribute to a zero-carbon world. Solar PV technology is easier for a consumer to understand and is a tried and tested alternative to other energy gas-fuelled sources.
For renewable energy installers, there is only room for growth in this sector and opportunities for diversification (and profit) for companies who are looking to move into this sector. As part of its role as a Consumer Code, HIES offers a wide range of support for renewable energy installers to ensure high service levels and standards, to safeguard both installer and consumer. Our installer benefits help installers at every step, from setting up and registering a business in this sector, right through to an annual review.
1. Getting started
If you are just getting started in your renewable energy journey, we can help installers to set up and introduce you to relevant training providers and quality management systems. In addition, installers can benefit from a free Trustmark membership on becoming a HIES member, which is something consumers put trust in. In addition, we can help with information on platforms which will minimise internal processes, and introductions to manufacturers and distributors.
2. Marketing & digital
We appreciate that not all installers have the skills or resources to put marketing strategies and processes in place, but HIES can help with that too. It’s a key part of the process of attracting enquiries and leads and should be part of any business plan. Marketing support is available through HIES, along with help and advice on digital technologies.
3. Selling
We can provide sales training, information on Government schemes and grants, introduce you to finance brokers or lenders and much more. This ensures your team is in the best place to generate and close leads and attract business.
4. Installing
Once the foundations of the business are in place, your campaign is running, and leads are being generated, there is more support. We provide 24/7 access to the HIES online portal, making it easier to register your jobs, and can introduce you to sub-contractors as well as provide technical and product support.
5. Customer service & satisfaction
Neither buyer nor supplier wants to have call-backs for a faulty installation, for example, so HIES provides support on how to provide an effective service and how to measure and monitor customer satisfaction. If any complaints arise, we are here to listen in confidence, and can provide mediation to you and your customers to help settle any disputes that may arise.
6. Annual review
We can give your business an annual review, to help identify any issues that may cause problems going forward, and to help you keep on track. We can provide documentation assistance to help you comply with legislative requirements and advise on budgeting and cashflow.
EUPD Research – How to build a successful PV installation business
Saif Islam, Senior Consultant, EUPD Research, a leading market intelligence institute and consulting firm with a special focus on renewable energies, shares insights on building a successful PV installation business.
When talking about clean energy in general, and solar power in particular, people focus on the manufacturers, transforming our beautiful planet with their revolutionary technologies and innovative business models. However, there’s a tendency to forget the vital market intermediaries, the link between the industry and the consumers – the PV installers.
For 17 years now, EUPD Research has been surveying PV installers in terms of current key issues, procurement management and their brand landscape. The resulting report, the “PV InstallerMonitor | EES InstallerMonitor” is the essential guide for manufacturers and other players in the industry, to adapting their product and service portfolios, and to understand the needs and requirements of their customers. However, installers can also take the opportunity to learn from their peers, in order to expand their business and their customer base. The recent survey of PV installers in the UK shed further light on the current market demands, and today EUPD Research is happy to share some of these insights.
EUPD Research recently surveyed 103 British PV installation companies, some with large installation volumes and some with smaller capacities, pure solar installers but also electrical installers, roofers, and more. While the majority focusses on the residential segment (up to 15 kW installations), there is a significant trend towards small commercial and larger installations.
The challenges of diversification and proliferation
One of the key issues for PV installers has been the diversification of their portfolios. On the one hand, installers have been offering a broader range of technologies to their customers. As the significant increase of electricity prices in the UK warranted the inclusion of storage solutions, more and more installers now also offer electric mobility solutions (73 %); furthermore, around a third of all surveyed installers have already included heat pumps and smart home applications in their portfolio.
In addition, a lot of new component manufacturers have entered the market, so that installers can chose the perfect product for each installation. Long gone are the times where installers would offer a single module- or inverter brand exclusively. While in terms of modules the dominating Chinese manufacturers (such as JA Solar, Jinko Solar, LONGi Solar and more) are ever present in all European markets, the inverter manufacturer landscape in the UK is significantly different. In most of the markets EUPD Research covers, inverter brands such as SMA, Fronius and Huawei dominate, while in the UK manufacturers such as SolarEdge, Solis, Enphase and SolaX are among the most popular choices.
Last, but not least, when looking for new brands and products, British installers trust their wholesalers and distributors for reliable information (62 %). So when trying to increase your portfolio, reach out to your valued partners such as Segen, Midsummer Energy and more, or visit www.eupd-research.com and speak to our team of experienced market researchers, as we will be happy to provide you with relevant information.
Best of luck and keep up the good work.
Image credit: Dreamstime
