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Solar Together

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Registration for this round of Solar Together has closed

Do you want to save on your energy bill and generate your own clean electricity? Having your own solar panels can be a smart investment.

We’ve been working with the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership (HCCSP) to launch Solar Together across Hertfordshire. Solar Together is a solar group-buy scheme run by iChoosr in conjunction with local authorities.

If you live in North Herts, or run a business, organisation, or community group here, you can register your interest in solar panels.

How it works

The scheme aims to offer installation of solar panels (and battery storage if wanted) at a competitive price. It works by grouping together people from across the county who are interested in generating their own renewable energy, and then acting as an intermediary for them to increase their bargaining power.

It’s free to register your interest and you are under no obligation to proceed if the price and recommendation do not meet your expectations.

Solar Together pre-vets all their installers to ensure you’ll receive a high-quality service from a certified provider, and you will only receive a singular recommendation from an installer, so you won’t be inundated with numerous offers.

Each offer consists of a complete system, including a survey, installation, monitoring and warranties.

Benefits of Solar Together

  • Competitive prices - collective bargaining power to give below-market prices for individual customers
  • Hassle-free personal recommendation - you will receive a personal recommendation to make a decision on, which means no need to get multiple quotes or compare offers
  • Trusted installers and insurance-backed guarantees - pre-vetted installers, the opportunity to meet the winning installer, and offers with protected guarantees
  • Save money - with increased energy costs you can save money on your bills by generating your own renewable energy
  • Become greener - we want North Herts to be carbon neutral by 2040, but a significant portion of our district’s emissions currently come from domestic energy usage. Solar panels will allow you to generate your own renewable energy and reduce your impact on the environment so we can all live in a cleaner and greener district.

Registration

Registration has now closed. You cannot register your interest at this time.

For more information on the scheme go to the Solar Together website:

Solar Together

Your personal recommendation

If you registered your interest, you should have received a personal recommendation offer.

The deadline for accepting offers has now passed.

All installations are planned to be complete six months after the point of acceptance, though there may be some delays due to supply chain issues.

For more information, contact Solar Together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need planning permission?

Generally speaking, planning permission isn’t needed for the installation of solar panels (or internal battery storage) as they are considered a ‘permitted development’. There are a few caveats to this, but all Solar Together installers are MCS accredited and can design your system in line with these requirements. More information on permissions needed can be found on our planning web pages here.

The document Technical Guidance – Permitted Rights for householders is also available on GOV.UK.

Do I need any other permissions?

Listed buildings: If you live in a listed building, you will need to contact our planning department to apply for Listed Building Consent from the council.  You can find out more information about listed building consent from Historic England and on the Planning Portal: Listed building consent - Consent types - Planning Portal

Conservation areas: If you live within a Conservation Area the installation of solar panels may also benefit from ‘permitted development’ rights, however you are advised to get in contact with our planning department who can advise on the specific criteria relevant to the installation of solar panels in conservation areas. Contact information can be found here: Do I need planning permission? | North Herts Council (north-herts.gov.uk)

Letchworth Garden City: If you live in Letchworth, you will need to obtain the permission of the Letchworth Heritage Foundation before any external changes can be made to your property, and your solar panelling will need to comply with the Foundation’s design principles which can be found at the follow links:

To apply for permission, please use the Heritage Foundation’s Application Portal.

You can find more information and pre-application advice here: Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation

Restrictive Covenants: There may be additional permissions known as restrictive covenants on some properties, which require the owner to gain consent from the Covenantee in order to make any alterations or additions to the property. Restrictive covenants may have been added by the original developers, property management companies, or other parties, and are often found on ex-social housing properties. It is worth checking your Title Deeds to see if this is the case for you and from who you need to seek consent if so. 

Can I participate if I don’t own the building or if I live in a flat?

If you live in a flat, you need to be one of the owners of the roof (or the sole owner), or obtain written permission from the landlord and the other residents. Where the freehold is shared, you will require permission from all owners of the roof. You will also need to have your own consumer unit for your flat and it will be your responsibility to maintain the panels unless otherwise agreed with the landlord or building owners.

If you don’t own the home or building that you’d like to have solar installed on, you will need to obtain written permission from your landlord.

More information

Solar Together is the only solar scheme currently supported by North Herts Council. We have no involvement with other solar schemes which may be running in Hertfordshire.

For any other queries, please contact Solar Together:

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