A loft full of boxes and a car on the drive
The team arrives at eight. The drive has two cars on it, so the van is parked down the road. The loft hatch is above a wardrobe. The garage wall where the inverter and battery are going has a freezer and shelving in front of it. The homeowner is working from home and did not know about the power being off. Nobody has the wifi password for the inverter.
The first hour and a half is spent on things the homeowner would happily have done the day before.
Why homeowners are not ready
- Preparation was mentioned at the survey, weeks ago.
- The information is in a long document they did not read.
- Nobody asked them to confirm.
- Install day details, such as power-off time, are not explained.
- The install team has no idea until they arrive.
What an unprepared home costs
Paid time spent moving boxes and waiting. Installs that overrun into a second day. Homeowners embarrassed and annoyed. And sometimes a job that cannot finish because something that was needed was not available.
A checklist the homeowner confirms
- A few days before install, the homeowner receives a link to a short checklist for their job, drawn from the survey: loft access clear, inverter and battery location clear, parking for the van, consumer unit accessible, wifi details for the monitoring.
- Each item is explained simply, with a photo from their own survey showing what is meant.
- The homeowner ticks each item, and can upload a photo to confirm.
- Install-day information is included: roughly when the power will be off, what the team will need access to, how long it usually takes.
- Items not confirmed by the day before are flagged to the office and the install lead, who can call.
- The install lead sees the confirmed checklist on their phone before arrival.
A typical checklist
| Item | Why the team needs it |
|---|---|
| Loft hatch and loft clear | Cable routes and roof access |
| Inverter and battery wall clear | Mounting and cabling |
| Parking for the van | Unloading panels and tools |
| Consumer unit accessible | Electrical connection |
| Wifi details | Setting up monitoring |
Illustrative. Your own checklist is built from what your teams need.
Teams starting work on arrival
Homeowners know what to do and when. Install leads know before arriving whether anything is outstanding. Mornings start with work, not clearing. And homeowners feel prepared rather than caught out.
Using the survey to make it personal
Generic preparation lists are easy to ignore because they describe a house that is not yours. Showing the homeowner their own loft hatch, their own garage wall and their own drive, taken from the survey photos, with a note of what needs to be clear, makes the request concrete. People are much more likely to act on 'please clear this wall' next to a photo of their freezer than on 'ensure access to the installation area'.
The checklist also gives the install lead a quiet start. If everything is ticked, the team knows they can begin on arrival. If something is not, the office has already called and knows what to expect.
For battery jobs and flat roofs, where access matters more, the checklist can ask for photos back, so the team sees the space before they arrive.
Do install mornings start slowly?
- Teams arrive to blocked lofts or walls.
- Parking is a problem on install day.
- Nobody has the wifi details for monitoring setup.
- Homeowners are surprised by the power being off.