Opinion

Pollards Patter

Well another quarter goes by and the ever-evolving world of renewables continues to provide challenges from all sides. How consumers are supposed to find their way through the maze of conflicting arguments and statements made from all manner of sources really beats me.

We are all influenced by external forces. Opinions are increasingly led by what we see on the TV or online and, very often, what we glean from our friends and relations. These are ‘trusted’ sources of information; the trouble is that we really don’t know how reliable our information is. Let’s face it; everyone has an axe to grind and sometimes we hear what we want to hear.

This is why the influence of installers can be extremely powerful. You are the experts working in a market of inexpert buyers. You carry the weight of authority gained by training and experience backed up by accreditation. You can make, or break, propositions by exercising your authority. But you require the trust that markets will provide the commercial opportunities for you to trade profitably and to justify the costs associated with training and accreditation.

We know that trust is hard earned and can be easily lost. False dawns have littered the past with many forecasts of uptake lying shattered on the rocks of failed expectations. Will the domestic RHI provide the stimulus to make a difference? We think so but much more importantly, do you? What I can say for sure is that if there is consumer demand then someone will satisfy it profitably, we’d like it to be you!