Solar PV and heat pump installers playbook · 14 jobs

AI for solar and heat pump installers: 14 jobs to hand to AI this week

Installing is the part you are good at. The paperwork around it is where many installers say they spend too much time (in Nesta's 2023 convenience-sample survey of heat pump installers, 56% said post-installation paperwork took too long): the DNO application, the chasing, the MCS documents, the handover pack, the proposal that has to explain a higher price. AI can turn your own figures, forms and notes into tidy drafts. It does not design a system, size a heat pump or array, say what is safe, choose between G98 and G99, or fill in a certificate, declaration or application for you. Those stay with the people who are qualified and responsible for them.

Job 1 of 14ChatGPTGemini

Gather everything the DNO application needs into one data sheet, then draft the cover email

A DNO application can stall on a missing cut-out rating, a device that is not in the database yet or a product code that does not match. Gathering the facts before you start saves a round of emails. AI can lay your own data out against the fields the form asks for and flag what is missing. You make every technical decision and submit the application yourself.

Time: About 30 minutes per jobCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. Open the DNO's current application guidance and form for the type of connection you have decided applies. You, or your designer, decide the route: G98 or G99 for solar or battery generation; connect and notify, or apply first, for a heat pump.
  2. List the data the form asks for and copy in your own values: equipment make and model as listed in the ENA register for that product (the type test register for solar and battery inverters, the LCT Register on ENA Connect Direct for heat pumps), rated capacity, export limit if any, cut-out rating as recorded or marked "not known", and your single-line diagram reference.
  3. Replace the customer name, address and MPAN with placeholders before pasting anything into an AI tool, and add them back yourself afterwards.
  4. Ask for a table in the form's order that marks any field you left blank as MISSING, and a short cover email for the DNO.
  5. Check every entry against the datasheets and your design, add the real customer details, and submit through the DNO's portal or the route it asks for.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I am a UK solar and heat pump installer. Organise the information below into a checklist and a short cover email for a DNO application. Do not decide whether the connection is G98 or G99, do not suggest equipment, ratings or settings, and do not fill in any gap.
Fields the form asks for (copied from the DNO form): [list].
My values: [field: value, using placeholders for customer name, address and MPAN].
Fields I do not have yet: [list].
Produce: (1) a table in the form's field order with the value I gave or MISSING; (2) a list of what I still need to find, with who could supply it (manufacturer, DNO, customer); (3) a 100-word cover email to the DNO that says what is attached and asks them to contact me if anything is missing. Plain English, no technical claims.

✓ Check before you send

  • Every value comes from your design, the datasheets or the DNO; nothing was filled in by the tool.
  • You, or your designer, chose the connection route by checking the rules, not the tool.
  • The cut-out rating is recorded as found or marked "not known"; nobody guessed it.
  • Customer details were swapped back in by you and you submitted it yourself.
  • The latest form version from the DNO or ENA was used.

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑
Job 2 of 14ChatGPTGemini

Set up a polite DNO chase sequence and a one-page tracker

Once the application is in, it waits, and the follow-ups mostly happen by email. A job stuck with no one chasing can hold up an installation date. AI can draft a short, courteous chase at each stage from your own dates and reference numbers, and turn your list of live applications into a tracker. You decide when to chase and what to say.

Time: About 30 minutes to set up, then 5 minutes per chaseCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. List your open DNO applications with the reference, date submitted, DNO, the date you first needed an answer and what was last said.
  2. Decide your own chase timings and who to contact. Look for the DNO's stated target times on its own pages and use those, not a guess.
  3. Paste the list into the prompt, with the customer names and addresses replaced by job references, and ask for a tracker and a first, second and third chase email.
  4. Add the real names and references yourself, and send each from your own email.
  5. Update the tracker when a reply arrives and note any DNO that is consistently slow, so you can allow for it when you quote install dates.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I am a UK solar and heat pump installer. Draft three short chase emails to a DNO about an application that has not been answered, and a tracker, using only the facts below. Do not threaten, do not quote any rule or time limit, and do not make technical claims.
For each open application, job reference only: [ref, date submitted, DNO, what they last said, date I need an answer].
Chase timings I have chosen: [for example first chase after X working days, second after Y].
Produce: (1) a first chase (60 words): polite, with the reference and submission date, asking for the current status and what is outstanding; (2) a second chase (80 words) that mentions the date I need an answer by and asks who I can speak to; (3) a third (80 words) asking for escalation to a named contact; (4) a tracker table with columns job ref, DNO, date submitted, last contact, next chase date, outcome.

✓ Check before you send

  • The DNO's own published target times, if you quote any, are copied from its pages.
  • Emails are polite and contain no complaint about named individuals.
  • Job references stand in for customer names in the tool.
  • The tracker shows the next chase date for every open job.
  • You send each chase and keep a copy.

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑
Job 5 of 14ChatGPTGemini

Follow up quotes that have gone quiet, and explain why your price is higher than another quote

In Nesta's survey of 345 heat pump installers (fieldwork in 2023, published 2024, a convenience sample that Nesta says may not be representative, and not covering solar), 45% believed customers drop out after a quote because costs across quotes are too high and a further 27% because they got a cheaper quote. That is installers' belief, not customer data, but it points at a real moment to follow up. A short, courteous follow-up that offers to go through the quote, and an honest explanation of what is in your price, can help. AI drafts it from your own facts and never attacks another firm.

Time: About 10 minutes per messageCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. List open quotes older than a week or two with a job reference, the date sent and the last contact. Use your own timing.
  2. For each, write down what your price includes that a simpler quote might not: the design work, the certification, aftercare. Only list what is true for your quote.
  3. Paste the facts into the prompt without names and ask for a short, friendly follow-up and an optional "why our price differs" paragraph.
  4. Check that nothing criticises another installer or states anything you cannot back up.
  5. Send it from your own email and note the date. One follow-up and one reminder is enough.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I am a UK solar and heat pump installer. Write a short follow-up to a customer who has not replied to my quote, using only the facts below. Do not criticise any other installer, do not pressure or use a deadline unless I give one, and do not make claims about savings.
Customer first name: [first name]. Quote sent on: [date]. What the quote covers: [one line].
What our price includes that the customer may want to compare: [list, only things that are true, for example design, certification, handover pack, aftercare].
What I can offer: [a call to go through the quote / a site revisit].
Contact: [name, phone].
Produce: (1) a 70-word follow-up; (2) a 90-word paragraph explaining what is included in our price and suggesting they compare like for like, without naming or comparing other firms.

✓ Check before you send

  • The "what is included" list is true for this quote and nothing more.
  • No other firm is criticised or named.
  • You have not offered a discount unless you decided to.
  • There is no claim about savings or payback.
  • Your follow-up complies with marketing rules for how you contact the customer (see UK notes).

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑

11 more jobs in the full solar pv and heat pump installers playbook

Here is what each one covers. Open any job to see what is inside.

The full playbook

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Questions solar pv and heat pump installers ask

Can AI design a system or size a heat pump or array?

No. Design, sizing, certification and anything you sign stay with you. These jobs turn your own survey notes, figures and forms into tidy drafts: DNO applications and chasers, handover packs, proposals and quote follow-ups.

Is it safe to put customer details into AI?

You don't need to. Use a job reference and placeholders such as [customer] or [address], and keep full names, addresses and phone numbers in your own records. Add them yourself when you send.

Does AI know the current DNO, MCS or grant rules?

Don't rely on it to. Use your DNO, your certification body and the GOV.UK pages linked in each job's UK notes as the source, give AI your own facts, and check every draft against them.

Privacy tip: don't paste customers' full names, addresses or other personal details into AI tools unless you need to and you've checked the tool's privacy settings.