The Value Gap
The PVs are installed, the tea is finished, and the engineer moves on to the next job. As they drive away, the customer opens the OEM’s app, and the retailer sends an onboarding email. In that quiet, unheralded moment, the customer relationship has shifted. To many, this chain of events is familiar and, over time, has shaped where value is captured and, crucially, where it is lost. Installation becomes a one-off transaction, while the returns from operating and optimising the asset are directed elsewhere.
Installers are also on the frontline when things go wrong. When systems underperform, they’re the first to be called. But without access to monitoring infrastructure or performance data, a site visit is required to diagnose issues that could have been resolved remotely.
Meanwhile, the market is rapidly evolving. Flexibility services, demand response, and VPP participation are generating new revenue streams; however, without the means to access, manage, and monetise these services, these opportunities remain out of reach for installers. The market structure is shifting too. Retailers are integrating asset installation with service platforms. OEMs are strengthening their ecosystems through select partners, and larger installers are investing beyond the point of installation. The result is a growing mismatch. Most installers still optimise for upfront revenue, while the rest of the market focuses on value generated over the course of the customer relationship.
Why Flexibility Markets Matter Now
The same shift is also creating new opportunities. The grid is increasingly paying for services that, until recently, were not part of the residential energy landscape. Frequency response, demand response, and virtual power plant participation are generating incremental revenue that can amount to hundreds of pounds per customer annually. As a result, the assets being installed today are no longer just standalone systems; they have the potential to participate in the wider energy network. However, without a means to connect to that network, this value remains unrealised.
Installers still have real advantages: trusted relationships, local presence, and practical insight. But these won’t last forever. Retailers are scaling flexibility propositions, and OEMs are embedding market participation directly into their platforms. Access to flexibility markets requires control, connectivity, and settlement capabilities, and the fastest path to revenue is usually through platform integration, not building it yourself.
From Installer to Service Provider
Participation in these markets depends not just on access, but also on positioning. Moving beyond a purely transactional model, installers can establish ongoing relationships built on monitoring, maintenance, and optimisation of asset performance. In this model, known as Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS), the customer remains yours, and the underlying platform operates quietly in the background, generating ongoing revenues.
In practice, this model is enabled through platform orchestration. Connecting devices across multiple manufacturers – batteries, EV chargers and solar inverters – and automating control to maximise savings against the customer’s tariff while continuously monitoring system performance. This removes the need to navigate multiple OEM portals or interpret data manually, allowing installers to scale their customer base without a corresponding increase in operational costs.
Remote monitoring identifies problems before they become service callouts, with visits shifting from reactive to proactive. For example, contacting an end-customer to address a drop in battery efficiency, rather than responding to a complaint three weeks later. For customers, this translates into clearer visibility of system performance and greater confidence that assets are being actively managed. For service providers, this means fewer unplanned callouts, stronger customer retention, and a more credible, data-backed foundation for both new and existing relationships.
The objective is not to replace retailers, but to avoid being displaced by them as the market evolves. White-label platforms make this possible, allowing energy service providers to offer similar capabilities without relinquishing the customer relationship to those higher up the chain. The installer retains the service role, while the underlying platform supports capabilities that would be difficult to replicate independently.
In doing so, the commercial equation balances. For installers, value extends beyond the point of installation and builds over time through ongoing customer relationships. Thus, the installer role is redefined from one of operational necessity to a driver of long-term value creation.
The Business Case
At its core, the shift from installer to energy service provider is from one-off transactions to ongoing relationships. As the customer base grows, the revenue compounds, unaffected by installation capacity.
Margins follow a similar pattern. Installation income remains under pressure and depends on continuous project acquisition, whereas service revenues build on existing relationships and scale with relatively low incremental cost. The result is a transition towards more predictable, recurring income.
The risk case matters too. Keep the service relationship, and you reduce exposure to being displaced as retailers and OEMs expand their platforms, preserving independence and control.
Making the Shift
The transition to this model should be gradual. First comes installations, where service enrolment comprises part of the initial offer, while existing work continues uninterrupted. Now, as an EaaS provider, the focus shifts, centring on consistent service delivery: responding to alerts, planning maintenance, and continuing clear communication with customers, while the enabling platform remains external. Adoption progresses in defined phases, over weeks, months, and years, with commercial value and revenue building over time.
These market evolutions are already in motion, and timing is now the critical factor. As retailers and OEMs expand their platforms to keep up with market changes, early adopters quickly establish defensible positions. Those who wait face increasing dependence on externally defined ecosystems with the risk of playing a peripheral role within value chains shaped by others.
Looking Ahead
The energy transition is redefining where value lies within the sector. Asset installation remains the essential first step, but it is no longer the primary source of long-term return. Service platforms, grid participation, and ongoing customer relationships – the Energy-as-a-Service provider model – now frame competitive positioning.
For today’s installers, the advantage lies in established trust and local presence. However, these are not permanent protections as the market evolves, but they do create a window of opportunity to participate in wider energy flexibility and orchestration.
The transition is already underway. Those who establish service propositions early will play a pivotal role in shaping local market structures; those who wait are more likely to operate within frameworks defined by industry leaders.
The opportunity exists, and the commercial case is clear. The choice now is whether to remain a spectator to this transition, or to be a defining player.