Solar Together Worcestershire: how the council scheme works — and when a private installer is the better route

If you're researching solar for a home in Worcester or the wider county, you'll almost certainly have come across Solar Together — the group-buying scheme promoted by Worcestershire County Council. It sits at the top of the search results, and it prompts the question we hear most often from Worcestershire homeowners: is the council scheme the best way to buy solar, or should I go straight to an installer? The honest answer is that both routes are legitimate, and the right one depends on what you want from your system.

One naming point first: the scheme was previously called Solar Together and now runs as Switch Together Worcestershire. Most people still search under the old name, so we'll use both. At the time of writing, the 2026 round has closed to new registrations — check the current round status on the county council's website before you plan around it.

What is Solar Together (now Switch Together) Worcestershire?

It's a group-buying scheme. Worcestershire County Council partners with iChoosr, an independent company that runs group-buying auctions for councils across the UK. The idea is simple: pool a large group of interested households, invite pre-vetted installers to bid for the whole batch of work in a reverse auction, and let that competition push the price below what most people would pay buying alone.

The roles are worth understanding. The council promotes the scheme and lends it its endorsement. iChoosr manages registrations, the auction and installer vetting. The winning installer carries out your survey and installation. The council itself doesn't install anything and doesn't pick your contractor.

It's an established programme, too: the council reported that the 2024 round put just over 3,500 solar panels on roofs across the county, at an estimated saving of around 10% on market rates.

How the scheme works, step by step

• Register your interest. While a round is open, you sign up free on the scheme website with basic details about your property. Registering commits you to nothing.
• The reverse auction. Installers vetted by iChoosr bid against each other for the group's work. Because they're bidding for a large volume of installations at once, they can price more sharply than on one-off jobs.
• Your personal recommendation. After the auction you receive a tailored offer based on the details you registered — a proposed system at the auction price.
• The decision window. You have a set period to accept or decline, with no obligation. If you accept, you pay a deposit and the winning installer takes over your project from there.
• Installation. The allocated installer carries out a technical survey and completes the work. Installers on the scheme are MCS-certified.

The genuine advantages

• Group pricing. Volume bidding is a real mechanism, not marketing spin — the discount comes from installers winning months of work in a single auction.
• Vetting done for you. Installers are pre-approved before they're allowed to bid, which takes a lot of the homework off your plate.
• A council-endorsed process. Homeowners are rightly wary of cold calls and pressure selling; a scheme promoted by the county council is a reassuring place to start.
• No obligation until you accept. You can register, see your offer and simply walk away.

The trade-offs to weigh up

None of what follows is a criticism of the scheme — these are structural consequences of how group buying works, and the standardisation involved is exactly what creates the discount. But they matter when you're deciding which route suits your home.

• You don't choose the installer. The auction winner is allocated to you afterwards. They're vetted, but you can't pick a firm you already know, meet them before committing, or choose on the strength of local reviews and aftercare — and they won't necessarily be based near Worcestershire.
• You don't choose the hardware. The panels, inverter and battery in your offer are the winning bidder's standard package for that round. If you have specific equipment in mind — a Tesla Powerwall, say, or a Fox ESS battery sized around your usage — it may simply not be on the menu.
• You work to the auction's timetable. Rounds open and close, and once registration has closed you're waiting for the next round to be announced. A private installer can usually survey within days and install within weeks.
• Standardised design versus bespoke design. Group offers are generated from the details you registered and built around standard system templates. A survey-led design starts from your actual roof — orientation, shading, structure — and your actual usage, including plans such as an EV charger or heat pump that change what size of system makes sense.

Which route suits you?

When the scheme is a strong fit

• You have a straightforward, unshaded roof that suits a standard system design.
• You have no firm preference about hardware brands or who does the work.
• You're not in a hurry and are happy to wait for a round to be open.
• You want vetting handled for you within a council-endorsed process.

If that's you, registering when a round opens costs nothing and commits you to nothing — and the offer you receive is a useful benchmark even if you ultimately go elsewhere.

When a private installer is the better route

• You want specific equipment — a Tesla Powerwall, or a Fox ESS or Solax system — rather than whichever package won the auction.
• Your roof needs bespoke design: multiple orientations, shading, unusual construction, or sizing around an EV or heat pump.
• You want to choose your installer, check their accreditations and reviews, and know exactly who handles your aftercare.
• You want to move on your own timetable rather than wait for an auction cycle.
• You'd rather compare itemised quotes side by side than assess a single recommendation.

For a picture of what a bespoke installation looks like locally — typical costs, hardware options and how systems are sized for real homes — see our solar panels Worcester page.

Where Midland Solar fits in

A declaration of interest: Midland Solar is a private installer, not part of the auction, so read this as one installer's honest take. We're based in Tamworth and have been installing across the Midlands since 2009. We're MCS-certified, NAPIT registered and HIES members, and we design survey-first — an engineer assesses your roof and your usage before anyone recommends a system. We fit Fox ESS, Solax and Tesla Powerwall equipment, which is exactly the kind of brand-specific choice a group scheme can't promise.

Our advice is genuinely even-handed: if a Switch Together round is open and group buying appeals to you, register — it's free and there's no obligation. Then put your personal recommendation next to a bespoke quote and compare like for like: hardware, system size, warranty terms, aftercare and price. If you'd like that comparison point, book a free solar survey and we'll design around your home rather than a template — with no pressure attached to either route.