Privacy Policy

Effective date: 19 October 2026

Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 (next review due by 19 October 2027)

This policy explains how Hybrid Energy Limited collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use our website, ask us for a quote, become a customer, or contact us. We have tried to keep it short and in plain English. If anything is unclear, just ask. Our contact details are in section 1.

We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

1. Who we are and how to contact us

Hybrid Energy Limited ("Hybrid Energy", "we", "us", "our") designs and installs Solar PV, Battery Storage and EV Charge Points for homes and businesses across Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

For the personal information described in this policy, we are the data controller. That means we decide how and why it is used.

• Company: Hybrid Energy Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 12414803
• Registered office: Martock Road, Keynsham, BS31 1XA
• VAT number: GB 416 4897 68
• MCS certification number: NIC600422 (certification body: NICEIC)
• NICEIC Approved Contractor number: 617491
• RECC membership number: 00072871
• Address: Unit C26, Lays Farm Trading Estate, Charlton Road, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2SE
• Phone: 0117 427 0206
• Email: info@hybridenergyltd.co.uk
• ICO registration number: ZB463156
• Person responsible for data protection: Matt Barter, Director

We are not required to appoint a formal Data Protection Officer. Please send any privacy question or request to the email address above, marked "Privacy".

2. The information we collect

What we hold depends on how you deal with us. It can include:

• Contact details: your name, home or business address, email address and phone number.
• Property details: roof size, pitch, orientation and shading, photos and drone or satellite images of your roof, details of your electricity meter, fuse board and supply, loft and access, and whether your home is listed or in a conservation area.
• Energy information: your electricity use and bills, tariff, the number of people in the home, and whether you have or plan to have an electric vehicle or heat pump.
• Quote and contract information: the systems you looked at, your quotations, performance and savings estimates, your contract, cancellation forms, and any design changes.
• Installation records: survey notes, designs, commissioning and test results, product serial numbers, MCS certificates, electrical certificates, network operator notifications and handover documents.
• Payment information: the amounts you have paid and when, and invoice and bank transfer details. We do not store full card details ourselves. Card payments are handled by a third-party card payment provider.
• System monitoring data: if you agree to it, generation, consumption and battery data from your inverter or monitoring app, so we can spot faults and help with aftercare.
• Finance information: if you apply for finance to pay for your system, the name of the lender and the status of your application (for example started, approved, declined or pending). We do not see or keep the full details you enter into the lender's application (see section 6).
• Communications: emails, letters, messages, notes of phone calls, and any complaint or warranty claim.
• Additional needs: if you tell us about a health condition, disability or other circumstances so that we can support you properly (see section 4).
• Website data: technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see section 9).

3. How we collect it

• Website forms: when you use our contact or "refer a friend" forms.
• Our online quote tool: when you use the quote tool at quote.hybridenergyltd.co.uk (see section 5).
• Email and phone: when you contact us, or we return your call.
• Surveys and installations: when we visit your property, take photos and measurements, and install and commission your system.
• From third parties: for example, a friend who refers you, a lender or the OpenSolar proposal platform telling us the status of a finance application you have made, your network operator (DNO) replying to an application, or a product manufacturer about a warranty claim.
• Public sources: for example, satellite and mapping imagery of your roof, and planning records.

4. Why we use your information and our lawful basis

The law says we must have a valid reason, called a "lawful basis", for each way we use personal information.

Legitimate interests means we use the information in ways you would reasonably expect, which help us run our business, where your rights do not outweigh our interests. You can ask us for details of any legitimate interests balancing we have carried out.

If you choose not to give us information we need, for example your address or roof details, we may not be able to quote for or install your system.

5. Our online quote tool (quote.hybridenergyltd.co.uk)

Our instant quote tool is provided by Simplified Energy, a specialist software provider, and runs on our own web address. When you use it, you may give us:

• your address and a pin on your roof, which the tool uses with satellite imagery to estimate panel layout and generation;
• information about your electricity use, bills and when you use power;
• your name, email address and phone number, for example to unlock or save prices;
• your choices of package, add-ons and finance options;
• if you choose to go ahead online, your acceptance of the quote, any digital signature, a survey or call booking, and any deposit payment where those steps are available in the tool.

Simplified Energy processes this information on our behalf as our data processor, under a written data processing agreement. Some data may be stored by Simplified Energy's own hosting and storage suppliers. Where any of that data is transferred outside the UK, we require appropriate safeguards.

The estimates the tool produces are automated calculations. A member of our design team checks every system before we confirm a final price, and no decision with legal or similarly significant effects about you is made by automated means alone.

If the quote tool includes a box to agree to marketing, ticking it is optional and will not affect your quote.

6. Who we share your information with

We never sell your personal information. We share it only where we need to, and only with:

• The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and our MCS certification body, NICEIC, to register your installation and issue your MCS certificate, and for audit. MCS explains how it uses data in its own privacy notice at mcscertified.com.
• Your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), normally National Grid Electricity Distribution in our area. We notify or apply to them under Engineering Recommendation G98 (notification after installation for smaller systems) or G99 (approval before installation for larger systems or where required). This includes your name, address, meter details and system details.
• The Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), run by Renewable Energy Assurance Limited. See section 7.
• Green Homes Dispute Resolution (GHDR), if you raise a dispute about us with them.
• Building regulations notifications: as a registered competent person, we notify certain electrical work to your local authority, through our competent person scheme provider, NICEIC.
• Insurance providers for deposit and advance payment protection and insurance-backed workmanship warranties: Independent Warranty Association (IWA) (www.iwa.biz), which provides deposit protection and insurance-backed workmanship guarantees. They may contact you directly to register your policy.
• Finance providers (lenders), only if you choose to apply for finance. Finance options in our proposals are offered by third-party lenders through the OpenSolar Finance Marketplace: Selina Finance and Propensio Finance for residential customers, and Smart Ease for commercial customers. Information you enter into a lender's finance application goes directly to that lender, not to us. The lender is a separate controller of that information and handles it under its own privacy notice, including any credit or identity checks, so please read that notice before you apply. We may receive updates on the status of your application (for example started, approved, declined or pending) from the lender or the OpenSolar platform. We may pass the lender your name, contact details and the price and details of your proposed system, so that the finance offer matches your quotation.
• OpenSolar, the design and proposal platform we use to prepare proposals and present finance options, which processes your information on our behalf under OpenSolar's terms (OpenSolar Pty Ltd acts as our processor for customer data stored on its platform). OpenSolar hosts data with cloud providers including Amazon Web Services; some processing may take place outside the UK (including Australia and the US), protected by the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent safeguards.
• Manufacturers and distributors, to register product warranties and handle warranty claims.
• Suppliers who help us deliver the work, such as scaffolding contractors or other specialist contractors where needed. Installations are normally carried out by our own trained in-house teams; where we use a subcontractor we remain responsible to you.
• Your energy supplier, if you ask us to help with a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) or export tariff application.
• Service providers who process data on our behalf, including our quote tool (Simplified Energy), website hosting (SiteGround), email and office software (Microsoft 365), and system monitoring platforms provided by inverter and equipment manufacturers. We also use third-party software for job management, invoicing and customer records, and we require each provider to handle your data securely.
• Review platforms: we may send you an invitation to review us on Trustpilot. If we do, we share only what is needed (typically your name, email address and a reference number).
• Professional advisers, such as our accountant, solicitor and insurers.
• Authorities and regulators, such as HMRC, Trading Standards, the police or courts, where the law requires it or to protect our legal rights.
• A buyer of our business, if the business is ever sold, so that it can continue to look after your installation and warranties.

When we use service providers, they may only use your information on our instructions and must keep it secure.

7. RECC: important information

We are a member of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), a consumer code approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. As a condition of membership:

• information about you may in certain circumstances be passed to the Code Administrator, Renewable Energy Assurance Limited, and its auditors, as part of its monitoring of our compliance with the Code; and
• the Code Administrator may contact you directly, for example to ask about your experience of us.

RECC may share information with other organisations in line with its Bye-Laws and data protection law. You can read RECC's own privacy policy at www.recc.org.uk/privacy.

RECC Use of Personal Data Notice

This notice is published by Renewable Energy Assurance Limited ("REAL"), a limited company registered in England (company number 05720606), whose registered office is 80 Strand, London, UK, WC2R 0DT. REAL administers the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC).

Why have you been given this Notice? If you have signed a contract with, or been visited by, a Code Member it is likely that that Member has made a record of some of your personal data. In monitoring Members, REAL may collect and use the personal data a Member holds about you. Code Members must give you this notice so you understand how REAL will use any of the personal data about you that it may collect from Members.

What information might REAL collect about you? Occasionally REAL may collect the following personal data about you from Members during monitoring and disciplinary processes: name, email address, phone number and postal address; information about any disputes or after-sale queries between you and a Member; details of quotes and services provided to you; and details of any contracts for the supply of goods and services agreed to by you.

Why might REAL collect your data? To comply with its obligations as administrator of a CTSI-approved Consumer Code, REAL must satisfy itself that Members comply with the Code and applicable law. As part of monitoring, REAL may request contracts, performance estimates, quotations or other documents provided to you, and analyse them for compliance. When REAL holds and uses your personal data in this way, it relies on legitimate interests (to monitor and enforce Members' compliance) or compliance with the law.

What does REAL do with your personal data? REAL stores it securely and will not share it except where required by law; to enforce its own legal rights; or where it must pass documentation to its external auditors and/or its Applications Panel, Non-Compliance Panel and Appeals Panel. REAL will not transfer your personal data outside the UK or EEA unless appropriate safeguards are in place.

How long will REAL hold your personal data? For a maximum of 10 years, then securely delete it unless otherwise required by law or you have made a written request to continue holding it.

Your rights include access to and correction of your data, and (under certain conditions) deletion, restriction, objection and data portability. Complaints: contact REAL at privacy@renewableenergyassurance.org.uk. If you are not happy with REAL's response, you can complain to the ICO (helpline 0303 123 1113; ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint; Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF). Further detail: www.recc.org.uk/privacy and www.renewableenergyassurance.org.uk/privacy. Feedback about a Member: www.recc.org.uk/feedback.

8. Marketing

We will only send you marketing emails or texts if you have agreed to it, or if you are a customer and the message is about similar products or services (for example, adding a battery to your solar system). Every message will include an easy way to unsubscribe. You can also tell us at any time by emailing info@hybridenergyltd.co.uk.

We do not make cold calls and we do not buy marketing lists. If that ever changed, we would update this policy and follow RECC and data protection requirements, including checking numbers against the Telephone Preference Service where required.

9. Cookies

Our website and quote tool use the cookies they need to work, which are always on. Any other cookies, including those set by third-party services on our pages, are only used if you agree. When you first visit our website, a cookie banner lets you choose Accept all or Reject non-essential, and you can change your choice at any time using the Manage cookie preferences link.

Our Contact page includes a booking calendar provided by Calendly and a map provided by Google Maps. These services set their own cookies and only load after you accept the relevant cookies. If you don't, you can still book on Calendly's website or open Google Maps using the links on that page. Calendly and Google use that information under their own policies: see Calendly's privacy notice and Google's privacy policy.

Our Refer a Friend form uses Google reCAPTCHA to check that it is being filled in by a person and not a spam bot. Because it protects the form, it loads without asking for cookie consent. It sends information about your device and how you use the page, including your IP address, to Google, and Google sets a cookie called _GRECAPTCHA. Google uses this information under its own Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

For full details, please see our Cookie Policy.

Some pages include content from other sites, such as embedded videos or Trustpilot reviews. Those providers may set their own cookies.

10. How long we keep your information

We keep information only for as long as we need it. Our standard periods are:

When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.

11. Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information. These include password-protected and access-controlled systems, encryption where available, and limiting access to people who need it. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and, where required, tell you.

12. Transfers outside the UK

We aim to keep your information in the UK. Some of our service providers may store or access data outside the UK. Where they do, we make sure the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations or appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum. In particular, OpenSolar may process data outside the UK (including Australia and the US) under the safeguards described above. Microsoft 365 and SiteGround may also process data in accordance with their own transfer mechanisms.

13. Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you and get a copy;
• Correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• Delete your information in some circumstances. We may need to keep some records, for example installation and warranty records that we are required to keep;
• Restrict how we use your information in some circumstances;
• Object to us using your information on the basis of legitimate interests, and always object to direct marketing;
• Data portability: receive information you gave us in a commonly used electronic format, or have it sent to another organisation, where this applies;
• Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it;
• Not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects. We do not make decisions like this.

To use any of these rights, email info@hybridenergyltd.co.uk or write to us at the address in section 1. We may need to check your identity. We will reply within one month. If your request is complex, this may be extended by up to two further months, and we will tell you why. There is usually no charge.

14. Complaints about how we use your information

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please tell us first so we can try to put it right. Email info@hybridenergyltd.co.uk with "Privacy complaint" in the subject line. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it without undue delay, keep you updated and tell you the outcome.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection:

• Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113
• Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

For complaints about our products, installation or service, rather than about your data, please see our Complaints Procedure at www.hybridenergyltd.co.uk/complaint-policy.

15. Links to other websites

Our website links to other sites, such as RECC, MCS, Trustpilot and manufacturers. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their own privacy policies.

16. Children

Our services are for adults. We do not knowingly collect information about children, except where incidental, for example in photos of a property or where you tell us about your household to estimate your energy use.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page with the date it was last updated. If we make a significant change that affects existing customers, we will let you know.