--- id: KB-CS-037 url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/use-cases-by-sector/self-consumption-and-small-installations idioma: en categoria: casos-por-sector subcategoria: renovables audiencia: usuario nivel: intermedio actualizado: 2026-08-13 tambienEn: [es] relacionados: [KB-CS-029, KB-CN-012] citadoPor: [KB-CS-040] --- # Self-consumption and small installations _The installation goes up in days and the documentation stays with the building for twenty years._ **Responde a:** self-consumption installation documentation · solar panel legalisation paperwork · photovoltaic installation certificate · what to keep from a solar installation A self-consumption installation is a short project with long consequences: it goes up in a few days, and the documentation it generates is needed every time the building is sold, a warranty is claimed, maintenance is contracted or the supply account holder changes. ## What remains once the installer leaves | Document | What it is for later | Who holds it if you do not ask | | --- | --- | --- | | Installation certificate | Evidences it was done and with what specification | The installer, and only them | | Registration paperwork | Justifies the installation to whoever asks | Split between installer and agent | | Equipment datasheets and warranties | Claiming when something fails under warranty | The installer, or the manufacturer | | Photos of the installation work | Seeing what lies behind what is no longer visible | Nobody, unless someone took them | > [!IMPORTANT] > The fourth row looks dispensable and is the most appreciated five years on. Once installed, much of the system stops being accessible: conduits, fixings, whatever sits behind a panel. **Half a dozen photos taken during the work are worth more than twice as many pages of technical specification** when something must be repaired or extended. ## What to require before paying the final invoice 1. **The certificate and registration paperwork, complete** — It is the only lever: once paid, the installer's priorities move on. 2. **Warranties with their start date** — Usually commissioning, not equipment purchase. 3. **The as-installed layout and the photos** — Ask explicitly: hardly any installer hands them over unprompted. 4. **And who maintains it and how often** — Even if you decide not to contract it: knowing what should be checked is already useful. > [!WARNING] > The detail that surfaces on sale or letting: **the installation is part of the building and its documentation transfers with it**. A buyer or their bank may ask for it, and not having it can complicate or delay the transaction for a reason nobody associates with panels fitted six years ago. It is the building-manual argument applied to something installed afterwards. ## During the installation's life **En corto** - Every inspection or intervention, into the same file. - Incidents with dates, which is what supports a warranty claim. - And any change of supply account holder. > [!NOTE] > Which procedures, certificates and notifications each installation requires depend on capacity, type and region, and they get updated. **Your installer or engineer confirms that**; this describes which documentation is worth gathering and keeping whatever procedure applies to you. **What if the previous owner installed it?** Ask for whatever exists at purchase: reconstructing it later is expensive and sometimes impossible. **Does the invoice count as evidence?** As expenditure yes; as evidence of the installation, no. **Is this needed for a small installation?** The volume of paper is smaller, but the problem at sale is identical. ## Ejemplos **A company sells a warehouse and the buyer asks for the solar documentation.** - On the next installation, requires certificate, registration and photos before the final payment → The documentation travels with the building and the deal is not held up by a years-old paper. **A solar installer delivers thirty systems a year and each legalisation file is built from scratch.** - Saves the complete process as a template - Requests what depends on the customer on day one - Checks what is missing per installation before filing → The thirty-first installation is processed in a fraction of the time the first took. **A customer document is missing and the filing stalls.** - Requests what depends on them when the contract is signed → The wait runs in parallel with the works. **The customer asks for the documentation years later for a grant.** - Keeps the complete file with its date → The request is met without reconstructing. **A component is replaced and the documentation stays the same.** - Updates the file with every change → The paper describes what is installed. **Installation photos stay on a phone.** - Uploads them to the file at the moment → The evidence outlives the handset. **Later maintenance does not know what was installed.** - Stores the file with the installation → Whoever maintains it finds what went in. **Each technician documents differently.** - Uses the same template for everyone → The files are comparable.