Reputable Solar Panel and Battery Installers UK

MinecraftBeerIPA

I am interested in getting solar panels but struggling to choose the best company. EON is the only "big" company I could find.
I have had quotes from contact solar and first4solar but not sure how reliable they will be if something goes wrong or if the company will be bust in ten years time
What are the most reputable solar panel installers?
Also does anyone have anything to say on GivEnergy vs LuxPower hybrid inverters?

EricMears

MinecraftBeerIPA said:

I am interested in getting solar panels but struggling to choose the best company. EON is the only "big" company I could find.
I have had quotes from contact solar and first4solar but not sure how reliable they will be if something goes wrong or if the company will be bust in ten years time
What are the most reputable solar panel installers?
Also does anyone have anything to say on GivEnergy vs LuxPower hybrid inverters?

I think most of us would share my amusement that you consider 'big'  to imply 'Reputable' !

QrizB

Whereabouts in the Uk are you? There could well be a MSE user local to you who can give a personal reommendation.

We can also give suggestions of who *not* to go with - there are plenty of threads on that!

Exiled_Tyke

1. Big definitely doesn't mean reputable. On a similar note I had a 'big' company try to sell me a heat pump boiler and they only backed off when I showed them that there numbers didn't stack up. 
2. Small and reputable does seem the way to go with solar and batteries. 
3. Batteries aren't yet financially viable although a good few of us here have taken the plunge for a variety of reasons. I take some comfort from the fact that pretty much all of my electricity is now from renewables. 
4. My original installer disappeared about a year after I bought my system and I later had a claim for a faulty bit of kit but I got it sorted via the manufacturer and I have since expanded my system using a different company.  There's been no downside to not using a big company. 
5. And 'yes', tell us where you are and there may well be some on here who can suggest who to check out and who to avoid. 

MinecraftBeerIPA

Exiled_Tyke said:

1. Big definitely doesn't mean reputable. On a similar note I had a 'big' company try to sell me a heat pump boiler and they only backed off when I showed them that there numbers didn't stack up. 
2. Small and reputable does seem the way to go with solar and batteries. 
3. Batteries aren't yet financially viable although a good few of us here have taken the plunge for a variety of reasons. I take some comfort from the fact that pretty much all of my electricity is now from renewables. 
4. My original installer disappeared about a year after I bought my system and I later had a claim for a faulty bit of kit but I got it sorted via the manufacturer and I have since expanded my system using a different company.  There's been no downside to not using a big company. 
5. And 'yes', tell us where you are and there may well be some on here who can suggest who to check out and who to avoid. 

Thanks for all the replies, I am in the High Wycombe area

Screwdriva

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help. 

Pro:
1) Only supplier in the GLA to provide top of the line panels (LG Bifacial) + Solar Edge optimizers and inverter, for a total system warranty of 25 years, included in the quote.
2) Very quick installation.

Con: 
1) Inflated their estimates on return on investment during the quote.
2) Had to remind them to use safety equipment during installation 

Regardless of who you go with, always pay partially by card for Section 75 protection AND pay a % of the final amount only after the system has been functioning for 7 days without issue.

If you're going with a battery, my recommendation would be for you purchase a Tesla power wall at a later stage, which would then enable you to get the 11p SEG tariff from Octopus, which is 2X higher than anything else out there.

QrizB

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help.

I went with the same firm, my installation was quick and painless (thread here) but I'm still trying to get the MCS paperwork out of them.

(They're a family firm and there was a bereavement which threw a spanner in the works at their end, but even so it's been two full months now and I'm still waiting despite chasing them every week or two.)

Grumpy_chap

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help. 

QrizB said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help.

I went with the same firm, my installation was quick and painless (thread here) but I'm still trying to get the MCS paperwork out of them.

I am currently sitting on a quote from that same company, given the opportunity based on positive reports within this forum.  Yet, the proposal is to not have a battery and simply run any excess generation to the grid by running my non-smart meter backwards so "saving" 100% of the electricity supply cost rather than the typical SEG rate.  I also don't understand how that would work as, in the summer, it is plausible that the nett consumption over a period could go negative.  I am still trying to establish the legality of the meter running backwards - it certainly does not seem morally correct.

[Deleted User]

Grumpy_chap said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help. 

QrizB said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help.

I went with the same firm, my installation was quick and painless (thread here) but I'm still trying to get the MCS paperwork out of them.

I am currently sitting on a quote from that same company, given the opportunity based on positive reports within this forum.  Yet, the proposal is to not have a battery and simply run any excess generation to the grid by running my non-smart meter backwards so "saving" 100% of the electricity supply cost rather than the typical SEG rate.  I also don't understand how that would work as, in the summer, it is plausible that the nett consumption over a period could go negative.  I am still trying to establish the legality of the meter running backwards - it certainly does not seem morally correct.

It is illegal and regarded as energy theft.

Grumpy_chap

Dolor said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help. 

QrizB said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help.

I went with the same firm, my installation was quick and painless (thread here) but I'm still trying to get the MCS paperwork out of them.

I am currently sitting on a quote from that same company, given the opportunity based on positive reports within this forum.  Yet, the proposal is to not have a battery and simply run any excess generation to the grid by running my non-smart meter backwards so "saving" 100% of the electricity supply cost rather than the typical SEG rate.  I also don't understand how that would work as, in the summer, it is plausible that the nett consumption over a period could go negative.  I am still trying to establish the legality of the meter running backwards - it certainly does not seem morally correct.

It is illegal and regarded as energy theft.

Thanks - that is what I thought.  It does call into question the "reputability" (is that a word?) of the provider who put "you will get 100% saving at the price you are paying. The best part this is legal."  I did not believe it could be so.

MinecraftBeerIPA

QrizB said:

Screwdriva said:

If you review my thread and would like an introduction to my installers, happy to help.

I went with the same firm, my installation was quick and painless (thread here) but I'm still trying to get the MCS paperwork out of them.

(They're a family firm and there was a bereavement which threw a spanner in the works at their end, but even so it's been two full months now and I'm still waiting despite chasing them every week or two.)

Had a look at your thread, would appreciate an introduction to them