Heat pumps, solar panels, deposits and cancellation rights

Heat pumps, solar panels and battery systems are expensive purchases. They are often sold after a home visit, survey, phone call, online quote or follow-up sales appointment.

That matters because cancellation rights depend on how the contract was made.

If a contract is made at a distance or away from the trader’s business premises, the starting point is usually a 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Some installers may tell consumers that they cannot cancel because the system has been designed for their home. For the types of products covered by this site, that should not be accepted at face value.

The key point

A home-energy system designed for your property is not automatically outside cancellation rights.

Solar panels, batteries, inverters, heat pumps, cylinders, EV chargers, controls and similar products are normally manufactured products. They may be selected, sized and configured for a particular home, but that does not turn them into non-prefabricated goods.

A design is not the same as a non-prefabricated good.

A roof layout, heat-loss calculation, battery sizing exercise, radiator assessment or system design may be specific to your home. But the panels, inverter, battery, heat pump and controls are still normally prefabricated products.

Distance and off-premises contracts

The 14-day cancellation right usually applies to distance contracts and off-premises contracts.

Examples can include:

a contract agreed online
a contract agreed by phone
a contract agreed by email
a contract signed in your home
a contract signed after a salesperson or surveyor visited your home
a contract concluded at the trader’s premises immediately after you were personally approached away from those premises

The last point is important.

A contract is not automatically on-premises just because you later sign it at the installer’s office or showroom. If the sale followed directly from a personal approach, home visit or survey away from the trader’s premises, it may still be treated as off-premises.

On the other hand, if you independently walk into a showroom or office and agree the contract there, that is more likely to be an on-premises contract. Ordinary on-premises contracts do not usually carry the same automatic 14-day cancellation right.

The “designed to your specifications” argument

Some installers may say:

“You cannot cancel because the system has been designed to your specifications.”

For home-energy systems, that argument is weak if it is based only on the fact that the installer surveyed the home or designed a package.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations include an exception for goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised. The underlying Consumer Rights Directive describes goods made to the consumer’s specifications as non-prefabricated goods made on the basis of an individual choice or decision by the consumer.

That word matters: non-prefabricated.

A standard manufactured solar panel does not stop being prefabricated because the installer chose where to place it on your roof.

A battery does not stop being prefabricated because the installer selected a capacity for your home.

A heat pump does not stop being prefabricated because the installer carried out a heat-loss calculation.

An inverter, cylinder, controller or EV charger does not stop being prefabricated because it was included in a system design.

The trader should not remove cancellation rights simply by calling the system bespoke.

What the installer should be able to explain

If an installer says you have no cancellation rights, ask them:

Are you saying I have no statutory cancellation rights?
Is this a distance contract, an off-premises contract or an on-premises contract?
Which exact cancellation exception are you relying on?
Which goods are you saying are made to my specifications or clearly personalised?
Are the panels, battery, inverter, heat pump, cylinder or controls standard manufactured products?
Has installation work started?
Did I expressly ask you to start work during the cancellation period?
Did you tell me clearly what I would have to pay if I cancelled after work started?

Do not accept a vague answer such as “it is bespoke” or “it was designed for your house”.

Deposits and cancellation

A deposit does not automatically remove cancellation rights.

If you cancel a distance or off-premises contract within the cancellation period, the trader should not simply keep your deposit because they do not like the cancellation.

There may be a separate issue if you expressly asked the trader to start work during the cancellation period. In that situation, the trader may be able to charge for work properly carried out before cancellation, but only where the legal requirements have been met.

The trader should be able to explain what work was done, when it was done, what you agreed to, and why the amount retained is justified.

A large upfront deposit should be treated with caution, especially if the installer is also claiming that you have no right to cancel.

When does the cancellation period start?

For many service contracts, the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract is entered into.

For sales contracts involving goods, the period is often linked to delivery of the goods.

Home-energy installation contracts can involve both goods and services, so the details matter. The safest practical approach is to act quickly, cancel clearly in writing, and keep evidence.

If work starts within the cancellation period

An installer may ask you to agree that work can start before the 14-day cancellation period has ended.

That does not mean they can ignore the cancellation rules.

Before work starts during the cancellation period, the trader should make clear what you are agreeing to and what the consequences are if you cancel later.

For example, there may be a difference between:

survey work
design work
ordering standard equipment
delivery of goods
scaffolding
installation work
commissioning the system

If you cancel, the trader should not blur all of these together. Ask for a breakdown.

Practical cancellation wording

If you want to cancel, send a clear written message. For example:

“I am cancelling my contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Please confirm cancellation, stop any further work or ordering, and refund any sums due.”

Send it by email if possible. Keep a copy. If you use a web form, take screenshots. If you send a letter, use a tracked method.

Warning signs

Be cautious if an installer says:

“You have no cooling-off period because it is bespoke.”
“The system was designed for your home, so you cannot cancel.”
“We have ordered the equipment, so your deposit is gone.”
“You signed at our office, so cancellation rights do not apply.”
“The survey means the contract has already started.”
“The grant rules mean you cannot cancel.”
“You agreed verbally, so we can keep the money.”

Some of those statements may be true in a particular case, but none should be accepted without explanation.

The bottom line

For the home-energy products covered by this site, a system being designed, sized or configured for your property should not be treated as enough to remove cancellation rights.

If the contract was made at a distance or off-premises, the starting point is usually a 14-day cancellation right.

A trader who chooses to sell through home visits, phone calls, online quotes or follow-up distance sales should carry the legal risk of that sales model.

They should not be allowed to turn standard manufactured products into “bespoke goods” simply because they designed a system around your home.

For personal advice on your contract, use Citizens Advice or local Trading Standards. See also our consumer rights page and the Heat Pump Quote Reality Checker if you need to test running-cost figures on paperwork.

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