Energy Saving Group

Hime

My other half was visited by two men from this company who told him that they were tasked by the gov to help get homes more energy efficient. Alarm bells went off (I hate that I can be so judgemental) when they did not leave cards with names on them, only an appointment card. The following day a woman rang asking for my husband as they needed his 'details' before the appointment. I did not comply, and today, the appointed day, they rang to postpone. The web site says they help home owners, landlords etc get grants and to find the best products available. I am thinking, why bring in a middle man when there are lots of accredited companies who can do loft and wall insulation and they can be contacted directly? Has anyone any experience with them or heard of them at all?
Thanks.

OldGreyFox

That will be www.energysavinggroup.co.uk who are always advertising for canvassers/door knockers.

You would be far better off using the Energy Saving Trust to see what is available http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Easy-ways-to-stop-wasting-energy/Energy-saving-grants-and-offers/Grants-and-Discounts-Database

Underscore

Energysavinggroup

sent doorknockers round to my area and are offering me (apparently) the top deal on that website (the £500 one).

Do they insist that you sign all the energy saved and resulting monies over to them?

Any feedback appreciated. According to the website recommended I'm not eligible for a grant.

Cheers

Underscore

For anyone interested in this.....

Had the appointment today. Cost is £500 and the rest is funded by government grants, for which anyone is eligible. Cost includes 25 year warranty. Any surplus you generate over and above what you use, you are paid 3p per KwH by the energy companies (fixed rate), it doesn't go to the installers - they make their money from the £500 up front fee and the grant.

It seems the fairest deal on the market to me at the moment, I guess things are changing fast in this area. Any feedback (especially negative) I'd appreciate it as I have 7 days cooling off period anyway.

Cardew

Firms like A Shader Greener fit a system for free - albeit you don't get the 3p/kWh.

Personally I think it is a dreadful deal! Even the free deal IMO is very poor for customers, but to pay £500 for the system is a joke.

Even if you export 1,500kWh a year - that is £45 a year. £500 invested long term can earn £20 a year interest.

samtheman1k

Can you not apply for the grant directly and save the £500?

macman

And what happens when you sell the property? Is there a minimum term? Does the purchaser have to accept the existing contract, or do they come and rip down the panels?
Who is responsible for any maintenance required (panels, inverter, cabling)?
Strikes me that you need to do a lot more than 7 days contemplation before agreeing this.
I get 16p a kWh on my total generation from Ecotricity, regardless of what I use. 3p per kWh is derisory-and that's just on actual export! On a 1.25kW system you'll only export maybe half of that or less. Maybe worth £25 a year.

davecullen

I agree that there are a lot of other questions to be answered, but in relation to the economics, isn't the point that for a nominal (compared to the true cost) fee you get the use of the panels, maintained, for s 20 year period with no significant capital outlay, then reduce the cost of electricity by the amount generated for own use, then get a little extra back for the feed in tariff?

To get the full FIT, you would needto spend many thousands of pounds up-front, thuse resulting in opportunity cost on the capital, or having to take out a loan and use the FIT to pay back the loan.

Swings and roundabouts to me.

Cardew

davecullen wrote: »

I agree that there are a lot of other questions to be answered, but in relation to the economics, isn't the point that for a nominal (compared to the true cost) fee you get the use of the panels, maintained, for s 20 year period with no significant capital outlay, then reduce the cost of electricity by the amount generated for own use, then get a little extra back for the feed in tariff?

To get the full FIT, you would needto spend many thousands of pounds up-front, thuse resulting in opportunity cost on the capital, or having to take out a loan and use the FIT to pay back the loan.

Swings and roundabouts to me.

However why pay £500 when firms fit the system for free!

frenzic

I never buy from the doorstep but they knocked at the weekend and were very convincing, and it seemed a good offer so I let them make an appointment. The card was a bit Mickey Mouse, I have to say.
In the meantime, I checked them out a bit. Their web-site is less than impressive - there are spelling mistakes all over the home page.
The guy has just been - in his own car, with a printed shirt and a laminated card that he admitted his son could have knocked up.
He told me that for £500, they would install a system that would cut my energy bills by nearly half, even though my roof faces East. (I mention this because British Gas turned me down a couple of weeks ago for their rent a roof scheme because it has to face South, and when I checked with Npower, they said the same thing). He said it wouldn't be quite as efficient but it would still work.
I would have to sign over the FiT for 25 years but the supplier would maintain it for that long and after that, I would get that as well. When I asked what would happen if the supplier went out of business he said it would be companies like British Gas or NPower, who are unlikely to go bust.
He couldn't leave me any brochures as they have only just started offering this service but he wrote out a load of figures and left me a foolscap sheet.
He even showed me a load of cheques from customers he's managed to sign up during the week, one of them he said was a high-powered policeman and another a money expert.
I didn't give him any money and he didn't pressurise me, but when he'd gone, I phoned British Gas and Npower, both of whom said they didn't deal with them. The guy at BG even went so far as to phone the number on the website and ask, and they confirmed to him that they didn't use them for any work.

macman

Sounds like a complete cowboy set up. An east facing roof will not give sufficient output much after mid-day (south-east to south-west is the necessary alignment needed).
And the energy saving claim is laughable. A correctly aligned system might save 40% of your electricity bill, but, assuming you heat by another method (gas or oil CH), that is nowhere near half of your total energy bill. What capacity was the system they would propose to fit? If they can't tell you this then they really don't know what they are talking about.
But if you want to waste £500 that's entirely your privilege...