Our story, purpose and values

Our Story

Midsummer began on a narrowboat in 2005. Our MD Andy lived off-grid and, as a former climate scientist, had experience with PV and battery systems in remote locations. The company grew steadily from these modest beginnings and was well placed to seize the opportunity that the feed-in tariff brought for the UK solar industry in 2010.

We rode the subsidy rollercoaster for the next 9 years, initially installing PV alongside distribution. Our background on the tools gives us our knowledgeable and customer-focused ethos, and also gave rise to our solar design software, Easy-PV.

We've continued to go from strength to strength post-subsidy, opening our Dublin subsidiary in 2019, and making our 6th warehouse move to a new distribution centre in Milton, Cambridgeshire. In 2021 we opened a larger additional warehouse, also in Cambridge and expanded into renewable heat, adding heat pumps to the range. In 2022, we opened a further 35,000 square foot distribution centre in Glasgow. 

It's our environmental ethos which has made Midsummer what it is today. It's shaped our identity, our culture and continues to shape our future. You can hear more about Andy below, and his carbon-positive self-build project - after 20 years off grid on a narrow boat, it was always going to be a special project!

Our purpose

To educate and enable as many people as possible to harness, store and intelligently use renewable energy.

Delivering tomorrow’s energy

The transition to clean energy is well underway with the world easing its dependency on fossil fuels. From the electrification of transport to intelligent home energy systems, clean energy will eventually touch all aspects of modern life.

But there's more to be done to deliver this which requires commitment beyond conventional business and policy. As a distributor of renewables, we are perfectly placed to support the transition to clean, sustainable energy and we are firmly committed to doing so.

 

Our values

Sustainability

Apart from being the driving force behind what we do as a company, sustainability is central to the culture at Midsummer and something that unites employees at every level of the organisation. We have built a team who care about making a difference at work and at home. Our packaging material is reused and recycled wherever possible; over 70% of the company cycle to work; and more than half the staff are vegetarian or vegan and make sustainable choices in their daily lives.

We’re keen to help others live more sustainably and have supported our local community in Reach, Cambridgeshire, to achieve their dream of powering their homes through renewable energy. You can read more about the Reach Community Solar Farm which the Midsummer Team helped supply and design here.

While we know that selling and installing renewable energy systems is a good thing for the planet, we also acknowledge that shipping these systems across the world carries its own carbon footprint. That's why we established our own Climate Fund last year: for every container that we bring in, we're setting aside £50 for our chosen charities each quarter. There's more information on our fund and its recipients on our Climate Fund page.

Innovation

We keep a keen eye on what’s next, and were among the first UK distributors to sell battery storage systems and EV chargers. Our design software is one of a kind, and undergoing constant improvement based on our customer’s feedback and industry changes. We’re working closely with companies to develop offerings in the Home Energy Management and Grid Services space. We work with some of the largest and most innovative global manufacturers who recognise the value in staying ahead of the game in a fast-paced industry.

We are well positioned to help our customers through the next phase of the growth of renewables, as transport and heating follow energy in decarbonising.

Integrity

We won’t sell anything we don’t believe in and we’ll always be honest and straightforward in how we do business. We believe business should be friendly and ensure we are helpful and efficient to deal with.

We have a fantastic team behind Midsummer that offer technical expertise across products, installation and software; ensure your orders are delivered on time; and if there are any issues, make sure that these are resolved efficiently.