Any experiences of Ecoglow for Solar PV installations?

itm2

I'm shopping around for a company to install a solar PV installation on our roof. We've had a decent quote from Fresh Solar, a national outlet who have good ratings on Trustpilot. We've had a better quote from Ecoglow (ecoglow.uk.com) who seem to be a smaller local outfit, and are not on TrustPilot - although they have 112 mainly excellent reviews on trustatrader.com.

I was wondering if anyone had any experiences of this company to share, particularly in relation to solar PV installation?

Screwdriva

As a rule of thumb, I do not recommend any company that does not have an attached Trustpilot account as I always wonder what they have against transparency. Have you checked if both installers are MCS for Solar and for batteries? Not looking very promising on EcoGlow's Google Reviews either. Do you know how long either of them have been trading?

If you can share your general location, the quote received, annual consumption and perhaps an image of your roof, some of may be able to help guide you on what to expect from a well reputed installer.

itm2

Fresh are MCS, not sure about EcoGlow. Will look into their trading histories.

I'm in West London. 6700kWh annual consumption. The quotes were £9,300-9,500 for 14 x 500W panels, Fox ESS inverter, and 11.5kWh battery. This is the proposed layout for the roof (left side is SW-facing).

Oh and we'll need planning permission as we're in a conservation area (although not in a period property).

Screwdriva

A few thoughts:

1. With 6700 kWh per year, you'll benefit from a larger battery. I'd suggest 13.5kW usable capacity at a minimum.
2. I would veer as far away from Fox as possible and any installer who offers it. The reviews are terrible!
3. Typically, solar installations in conservation areas can receive clearance from the respective council via a written enquiry with a small fee (vs. a full planning application). Have you attempted this?

Martyn1981

You've probably already done this, and hence know about the planning rules, but have you double checked that PP is required in your area? "Typically", and there's the problem word, PV is PD in consevation areas, but may come with some stricter conditions to avoid PP.

Probably giving false hope, but thought it worth mentioning just in case.

itm2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936122#Comment_81936122

Thanks for the feedback. I need to do some more modelling to work out the sweet spot for my battery size, given the added cost and the limited lifespan of batteries.

Most, if not all of the terrible reviews that I've seen of Fox are about their app or their support. As Fox are not customer-facing, I'm guessing that reflects on the installers rather than Fox themselves. In total there are 41 reviews on TrustPilot, so it probably isn't a good guide. Fox owners on the Solar UK Reddit seem pretty happy with the equipment. I also know a couple of people who have Fox ESS systems - one installed last year and the other 10 years ago - and both are very happy with it.

I'm also planning to control and monitor it mainly from Home Assistant (for which there is good support), so any shortcomings in the app would be less of an issue for me.

I did email Richmond Council planning dept a couple of years ago, asking whether I would need planning permission. Their reply was:

"Yes, it would. The installation of solar panels on the front roof slope will be considered contrary to conditions A.2(a) and (b)."

..and from legislation.gov.uk:

These conditions require that solar equipment is, so far as practicable, sited to minimize its effect on the external appearance of the building  (A.2(a)) and the amenity of the area  (A.2(b))

I have submitted documents to Richmond Council's pre-application advice service to further explore this.

Screwdriva

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936578#Comment_81936578

There will always be mix of success vs. horror stories but Google and Trustpilot reviews do a good job highlighting which way the ratio is trending.

My view is it isn't worth the risk when a larger & more capable 13.5kW Tesla PW3 based system paired to 14 X 515W bifacial panels costs ~£11.5K. Fox can't hold a candle to the PW3 on performance and ownership experience

As long as you are proceeding with your eyes wide open, wish you the best of luck!