How to Price Green Energy Work as a UK Tradesperson

Pricing green energy work is one of the areas where tradespeople most commonly get it wrong — either leaving significant money on the table by undercharging, or losing jobs by quoting in a way that confuses customers about grants and net costs. Both mistakes are avoidable once you understand how the pricing and grant structure actually works.

This guide covers how to price heat pump installations, EV charger jobs, and solar PV work correctly — including how to handle the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in your quotes, VAT treatment, and how to protect your margins on complex multi-day installations.

Why Green Energy Pricing Is Different

Standard domestic trade work is relatively straightforward to price — materials plus labour plus margin. Green energy installations add several layers of complexity:

• Government grants change the customer's perceived cost — the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant means customers see a net price that's significantly lower than your gross quote. How you present this in your quote affects conversion rates substantially.
• VAT treatment varies — most qualifying renewable energy installations currently attract 0% VAT until March 2027. Applying the wrong VAT rate is a compliance error and can also affect how competitive your quote looks.
• Jobs are multi-stage and multi-day — you need to account for survey time, installation days, commissioning, and certification — not just the installation itself.
• Equipment costs are higher and more variable — a heat pump unit alone can cost £3,000–£8,000. Pricing materials correctly and protecting yourself against cost increases between quote and installation matters more on these jobs.
• Your certification has a cost — MCS certification, ongoing renewal, insurance uplifts, and additional training all represent business costs that need to be built into your pricing model.

How to Price an EV Charger Installation

EV charger installations are the most straightforward of the green energy jobs to price. A standard home installation — 7kW smart charger, single-phase supply, up to 10 metres of cabling, no major consumer unit work required — typically falls in the range of £750–£1,350 fully installed in 2026.

Breaking that down:

• Equipment — the charger unit itself costs £400–£800 depending on brand and specification. The Ohme Home Pro, Myenergi Zappi, and Easee One are the most commonly installed units.
• Labour — a standard installation takes 2–3 hours. At a reasonable day rate for an experienced electrician, the labour element is £300–£600.
• Materials — cabling, trunking, fixings — typically £30–£80.
• Extras — longer cable runs add cost. Consumer unit upgrades add £150–£450. Earth rod installation where required adds £100–£200.

On the grant side — the EV Chargepoint Grant gives renters and flat owners up to £350 off installation. You don't deduct this from your invoice like the BUS grant — the customer applies separately after installation. However, being OZEV-approved means customers can access this grant, which is a selling point worth mentioning in your quote.

VAT on EV charger installation is standard rate (20%) — there is no 0% relief on EV charger work, unlike heat pump and solar installations.

A Glasgow-based electrician who recently started doing EV charger work alongside his standard domestic jobs put it this way: "I charge £850 for a standard install including the charger. Takes me half a day. Once I got the C&G 2919 and OZEV approval, the enquiries came in on their own — people specifically search for OZEV-approved installers."

How to Price a Heat Pump Installation

Heat pump pricing is more complex because the jobs are larger, the equipment more expensive, and the grant structure affects how you present costs to the customer.

Gross vs net pricing

The most important concept in heat pump pricing is the difference between your gross quote and the customer's net cost after the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.

Your gross quote — what you charge for the full installation — typically falls in the range of £8,000–£15,000 for an air source heat pump in a typical UK home. The BUS grant of £7,500 is then deducted from this figure, giving the customer a net cost of £500–£7,500 depending on the job.

As an MCS-certified installer, you apply for the grant on the customer's behalf and deduct it from their invoice. You get paid the full gross amount — you claim the £7,500 from Ofgem after the installation is complete and pass it on as a discount. This means you need to have the cash flow to absorb the grant element between installation and Ofgem payment, which typically takes 4–6 weeks.

Always present both figures clearly in your quote — the gross price and the net price after grant. Customers fixate on the net cost, and a quote that only shows the gross figure looks far more expensive than competitors who are showing the post-grant price.

What to include in your heat pump quote

• Heat pump unit (specify model, output in kW, efficiency rating)
• Hot water cylinder if required
• All pipework, fittings, and materials
• Electrical supply upgrades if required
• Radiator upgrades if required — heat pumps operate at lower flow temperatures and some older radiators may need upsizing
• Controls and smart thermostat
• Commissioning and handover
• MCS installation certificate (included as standard)
• BUS grant application on customer's behalf
• Labour — broken down by day if multi-day installation

VAT on heat pump installations

Heat pump installations currently attract 0% VAT until March 2027. This applies to both the equipment and the installation labour where it's part of a single supply. Apply 0% VAT on your invoice — not 20%. Getting this wrong means either overcharging the customer or absorbing the VAT yourself, neither of which is acceptable.

Protecting yourself on materials costs

Heat pump equipment prices can fluctuate. On a £10,000+ job, a price increase between quote and installation can significantly dent your margin. Include a validity period on your quote — typically 30 days — and a materials escalation clause for anything beyond that. This is standard practice for larger installations and professional customers expect it.

How to Price Solar PV Installation

Solar PV pricing is driven primarily by system size — measured in kilowatt-peak (kWp) — and installation complexity. A standard domestic installation in 2026:

• 3–4kWp system (6–8 panels) — typically £5,000–£7,500 installed
• 4–6kWp system (8–12 panels) — typically £6,000–£9,500 installed
• With battery storage added — add £2,500–£5,000 depending on battery capacity

VAT on solar PV installation is 0% until March 2027 — same as heat pumps. Apply this correctly on your invoice.

There's no upfront grant for solar PV equivalent to the BUS heat pump grant — the financial incentive for customers is the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which pays them for electricity exported to the grid. Mention this in your quote as a long-term benefit but don't factor it into your pricing.

Don't Underprice Because the Customer Got a Grant

This is the most common pricing mistake in the green energy market. Some installers reduce their margin on heat pump jobs because the customer is receiving a £7,500 grant and they feel uncomfortable charging full price. This is a mistake.

The grant is government money funding the customer's transition to low-carbon heating. It has nothing to do with what your time, expertise, and certification are worth. You've invested in training, MCS certification, insurance, and specialist skills. Your margin should reflect that — not be compressed because the government is subsidising the customer's side of the transaction.

The tradespeople doing well in this market are pricing their work at full commercial rates and letting the grant do its job of making the net cost palatable to customers.

Using Software to Quote Green Energy Work Properly

Given the complexity of green energy quotes — multiple line items, grant deductions, 0% VAT, multi-stage jobs — doing this on a Word document or spreadsheet is inefficient and error-prone. Job management software with a proper quoting tool makes a significant difference.

Tradify lets you build detailed quotes with saved line items for your standard equipment and labour rates, apply the correct VAT treatment, include grant deduction line items, and convert accepted quotes directly to jobs and invoices. For a business doing regular heat pump or solar installations, this saves hours of admin per job and reduces the risk of quoting errors on high-value work.

Try Tradify Free — Quote Green Energy Jobs Properly From Day One

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The Bottom Line

Green energy pricing has a few specific rules that differ from standard trade work — 0% VAT on qualifying installations, BUS grant deductions handled through your invoice, and a more complex multi-line quote structure. Get these right from the start and you'll price confidently, convert more quotes, and protect your margins on higher-value work.

The key principles: present gross and net prices clearly on heat pump quotes, apply 0% VAT correctly, include a validity period on all quotes, and don't compress your margin because a grant is involved.

For more on the green energy opportunity, read our guides on how UK tradespeople can cash in on the green energy boom and how to become MCS certified. And for general pricing principles that apply across all trade work, our guide on how to price a job as a tradesperson covers the fundamentals.

Disclaimer: VAT rates, grant amounts, and eligibility criteria change regularly. Always verify current HMRC guidance and GOV.UK grant information before quoting.

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