Discuss the free solar panel company: A Shade Greener

M4ximillion

Mrsannoyed wrote: »

I've wanted solar panels for some time and when I heard about a Shade Greener I was very interested and had seen neighbouring homes have them installed.
I contacted them and a visit was arranged to discuss, during this visit I asked several questions only to be told by the representative any questions would be answered by the surveyor on his visit. When the surveyor came I asked him only to be told my questions would be answered by the home visitor mmmn!
I asked all 3 of these people if they had solar panels on their homes and all 3 answered no
I asked how often they carried out maintenance on the fixtures & fittings (not the panels) apparently they don't require any maintenance at all during the 25 years, I may be a bit thick being a woman and all but I don't want a panel to fall off because of any rusted or loose fittings - surely they'll need some sort of check during this time.
Another question was what would happen if I changed my mind in 10/15 years and wanted them removing
ASG I can't
Me what if I got someone to remove them
ASG you can't
Me but what if I did what would you do what would be the penalties
ASG I don't know
Another question was what happens if ASG go into liquidation
So there you have it I'm very keen to save the environment and harness solar power and the fact it saves me money is just great but 25 years is a long time how do I know saving money in the short term won't cost me dear in the long term.

Mmmmm! I had all those basic questions answered before i even had a survey, most of them are in FAQs. They are responsible for all the maintenance, its spelled out in the lease you sign. My contact there was Sarah Dyson, but now its Melissa Clark, you can ring her on 01226 352018 she'll answer all your questions. Also, if you had a survey you should of got a customer relations person and they are there to answer questions too.

taffy55

I received a postcard through the mail & today received a "door Salesman" from "a shade Greener" he was very polite gentleman who answered some of my questions as we all know that there is "nothing for free in this world".
I have agreed to a visit from the company to assess on 30th April 2012.

I was just wondering if anyone had any "up to date" visits from this company ?
and
Can anyone point me in the right direction to "any negatives" with this company in this forum.

stackhouse

Hi, I'm in Northampton and had a 3.78kw array installed on Monday. I am gutted that I could not afford to pay for own set up and it is a risk that no one will want to buy my house if we want to move. Hey ho, we went for it.

ASG? Very straightforward from beginning to end. My only gripe would be that I asked for references but had no response but I did not follow this up. Scaffolding is still up, I was told it would be for about a week after, no worries. I made some calls this am to ask some questions, they were very helpful.

I bought a Geo Solo Pv monitor- supposed to be very good, just need to learn what it means! Seems to fluctuate a lot at moment.

We obviously won't know how much it saves us until later. Hope that helps.

richardc1983

Just filled out an enquiry form... does anyone know if you get an energy monitor to see how much the system is generating?

Jedra

Had the free panels installed last week by ASG and it was a smooth and easy experience. About a month from initial visit to having the panels fitted.

@richardc1983 - No, you don't get anything to tell you what the panels are generating. You will need to buy a consumer monitor like the OWL.

We can't afford to fit solar panels ourselves and to be honest I wouldn't want the hassle of having to maintain them - I would also become paranoid whenever we had a large hailstorm!

I am not too bothered about the potential for the sale of my house - I am not so sure it would affect someone's decision either way.

So far I am happy - I work from home all day, so cannot fail to save money as far as I can see.

themacster

We had a free array from ASG installed in January - all very efficient, panels went on in around 3 hours, electrician was there most of day. They leave scaffold up for a week or so in case of any problems with the install.

You don't get an energy monitor - if you want one, you really need one like the Eco-Eye Smart PV as the ordinary ones just monitor your usage without telling you how much comes from the grid and how much from the panels.

We've not bothered with an energy monitor as our meter can run backwards - last months was less than the previous month, so zero electricity bill. Scottish Power must know we have solar as ASG will have informed them in order to get their FIT. Scottish Power also know what our readings are as I put them in monthly, so over to them if they want to sort that one out!

richardc1983

I applied but My roof isnt south facing enough but I can pay for them if I want from their sister company! Rediculous really!

zeupater

themacster wrote: »

... We've not bothered with an energy monitor as our meter can run backwards - last months was less than the previous month, so zero electricity bill. Scottish Power must know we have solar as ASG will have informed them in order to get their FIT. Scottish Power also know what our readings are as I put them in monthly, so over to them if they want to sort that one out!

Hi

As householder you're the one with the contract with SP to supply power and therefore it is your responsibility to inform them of a backward running meter. As the system allows for FiT partners to be chosen independently of power supply, it is likely that ASG have not registered your system with SP and they are therefore unaware of the meter reversing ... for ease of administration it would probably make sense for ASG to use a single FiT partner for all of their installations. You will find that it is very likely that at some time in the future SP will assess the amount of power which the backwards running meter has incorrectly accounted for and you will receive an estimated bill.

Informing SP of the reversing meter will likely place you in a better position to negotiate if/when the corrective bill arrives.

HTH
Z

Terrylw1

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

As householder you're the one with the contract with SP to supply power and therefore it is your responsibility to inform them of a backward running meter. As the system allows for FiT partners to be chosen independently of power supply, it is likely that ASG have not registered your system with SP and they are therefore unaware of the meter reversing ... for ease of administration it would probably make sense for ASG to use a single FiT partner for all of their installations. You will find that it is very likely that at some time in the future SP will assess the amount of power which the backwards running meter has incorrectly accounted for and you will receive an estimated bill.

Informing SP of the reversing meter will likely place you in a better position to negotiate if/when the corrective bill arrives.

HTH
Z

Posts 78 & 79 on this thread should throw some light on this.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2438055&page=4

When the site is readied, the distributor tells the supplier that its capable of microgeneration.

Its a compliance on the supplier to determine which of the 2 methods they wish to use to account for the energy and fit a backstop meter if required.

Personally, I think this is all a backwards process anyway...the backstop should be resolved as the site/metering is readied. Its an issue the industry has caused itself!

zeupater

Terrylw1 wrote: »

... When the site is readied, the distributor tells the supplier that its capable of microgeneration.

Its a compliance on the supplier to determine which of the 2 methods they wish to use to account for the energy and fit a backstop meter if required.

Personally, I think this is all a backwards process anyway...the backstop should be resolved as the site/metering is readied. Its an issue the industry has caused itself!

Hi

In reality though the supply contract terms & conditions still apply ....

Let's take the example of 'themacster''s contract with SP, which is likely to be this one .... (http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/PDF/SPGenTandCv1.pdf) ... the relevant section would be ....

13.8 Where

[FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]we [/FONT][/FONT]bill [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you[/FONT][/FONT], if information on the quantity of [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]Fuel [/FONT][/FONT]supplied by [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]us [/FONT][/FONT]is not available [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]we [/FONT][/FONT]may bill [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you [/FONT][/FONT]on the basis of estimated readings for [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]your [/FONT][/FONT]likely consumption. When that information is available, [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]we [/FONT][/FONT]will make the appropriate adjustment, if any, to [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]your [/FONT][/FONT]next bill. Where [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you [/FONT][/FONT]have any prepayment meter(s), if the amount [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you [/FONT][/FONT]pay to [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]us [/FONT][/FONT]by use of prepayment meter card(s) or key(s) is less than the charge for the consumption taken through the prepayment meter(s), [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you [/FONT][/FONT]will pay [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]us [/FONT][/FONT]the difference by [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]our [/FONT][/FONT]adjusting the prepayment meter(s) or requiring [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]you [/FONT][/FONT]to pay a lump sum to [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]us[/FONT][/FONT].

... so in the case of a reversing meter the 'information on the quantity of [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]Fuel [/FONT][/FONT]supplied' is not being measured and accounted for correctly, therefore the contract provides for them to bill 'on the basis of estimated readings for [FONT=Dialog,Dialog][FONT=Dialog,Dialog]your [/FONT][/FONT]likely consumption' and as there is no possibility of establishing accurate usage they simply wouldn't be able to 'make the appropriate adjustment' which would likely result in a dispute if the estimate was deemed to be unfair.

As the value of any dispute increases it will pass authority thresholds where resolution of the matter becomes more complex, therefore I'd personally rather chase the supplier to get the meter changed quickly whilst any estimated sum would be insignificant and therefore probably more likely to be written off immediately and without hassle.

HTH
Z