Solar Style - Stockton-on-Tees

John D.

Having made several fruitless efforts to get someone to even give me a quote for installing solar panels, I was impressed when a friend gave me the contact details for Solar Style UK, and they came round within a week to do a survey. We agreed on a 4.2Kwh 10 panel configuration with 5.2Kwh batteries and the installation was scheduled for 2 weeks hence. As it happened the 5.2Kwh batteries were not available on the installation day, although I wasn't actually told this until the panels were actually installed and I asked where the batteries were! Nevertheless, I eventually agreed to go for a newer design, larger 8.2Kwh battery pack, at a higher cost. These were retrofitted a week or two later. The pigeon netting to stop the birds roosting under the panels was also fitted at a later date. The installation was done professionally and with minimum disruption. I have the Inverter and batteries installed in the loft. I then contacted Octopus to have a Smart meter installed. This was done a month or two later. In the meanwhile I applied for the MPAN to be able to export surplus power to the Grid. (All the information I needed was provided in the installation documents provided by Solar Style). Octopus were very helpful during the process. Once everything was in place for me to be paid for my electricity export, I asked to be put on the Eco 7 Tariff and configured the PV system, using the App, to charge the batteries from the Grid overnight at the cheaper rate (currently around 16p per unit.). Apart from when I use the shower, the house runs completely from the batteries for the rest of the day, the batteries rarely going below 45% charge before the next cheap period of charge. If it's sunny during the day, the panels keep the battery charged to 99% then export the rest to the Grid. Octopus pay between around 8p and 16p per unit on the Agile tariff depending on the time of day. The day rate for Eco 7 is currently around 42p per unit. My electric bill used to be between £100 and £160 per month, and when exports are included, is now running at around £30 per calendar month. I have gone back to using an immersion heater to heat the water (luckily I still have a cylinder) rather than the central heating, as it's far cheaper, even during an afternoon session, the immersion heater runs off the battery rather than the grid, and overnight it uses cheap grid power at the night rate. This obviously makes a saving on gas too. Overall, I'm delighted with the installation, and with the speedy service I received from Solar Style.

James S.

I was trying to correct my last review but sadly can not find it, I think it is only fair I give a full review including the good point

Tt is my view that this company should be avoided at all costs. The salesperson had poor knowledge about what needed to happen so the get the system installed informing me that all cables would be in the loft,

The surveyor explained properly and was clearly and accurately about what needed to be done and clearly knew his job, he was used to having to correct people.

The scaffolding team they used needs to be removed from the trade, broken tiles and broken flagstones due to throwing stuff about left tool and had no respect for peoples homes .

The install team did a basic job drilling from the wrong side of the walls causing broken bricks and decorative problems.
The safety paperwork left on the walls do not relate to the system installed as they had to change the system sold (they did put a better system in) it was set up and i was given an account and setup online. sadly I was not given the password to the inverter so when i changed my Wifi router this caused a small issue of it not connecting

The call Center are understanding if and when you can get hold of them but have to get a manager to call you back. The manager or director (depending on the day of the week his job changes) will promis you the world but clearly does not have the support team on the ground to do what he needs doing so it all just ends up as good intentions with no results. The best way to get hold of him is to get building control involved as returning his call is not his strong point. The electric test certificate sent out in the pack was not compleat only 2 pages sent and no signatures. This has now been corrected with a revisit and testing by another electrician , they have today been and finally finished putting the roof right.
It really is not worth all the hassle date the system was install was the 5/10/2018, the date final repair work was done 8th Jan 2019 Im still waiting for paperwork which is promised this month.

richard P.

Throughout the sales and installation process, which was very smooth I was reassured that Solarstyle would be "with me for the journey". They were friendly and pleasant to deal with. After installation I found that this was a false promise - the call for payment came before the waft of exhaust fumes had dissipated and despite several calls and emails I have had no effective response to the issues with my battery installation which as far as I can see leaves me charging them up at any rate and potentially exporting to the grid at a loss when I should be charging them at the cheapest rate and using this energy myself at peak times. Not good on a £5K investment

Felicity E.

An excellent product, at a very competitive price.
All the members of the team that we dealt with, were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.
The team came to fit our panels when they said they would, and were very tidy and professional in all aspects of the installation..
All the paperwork was delivered in a very easy to understand pack. We are very pleased with the saving on our electricity bill.
I would not hesitate to call this firm, if I had a problem with the system, as I am certain that they would address any issues I had quickly.
I would recommend this firm to fit solar panels.

Ian H.

Solar Style fitted a complete system for me in January including a couple of batteries. The installation team turned up when they were supposed to and were very professional and installed the system to my complete satisfaction, they were very friendly and cleaned up completely before they left. I was very happy with the company and their staff and I have been keeping a close eye on the power that they system is generating. My electricity bill has dropped and I'm feeding power back into the grid which I'm getting paid for, it's very addictive watching how much power I am generating every day. Great company, great service and they were very competitive on price.

Bill M.

I have no hi have no hesitation in recommending Solar Style Distributors Ltd. The service I received from both customer service and installers was excellent. The after sales service was also excellent. I am registered blind and their after sales service went the extra mile to help me out. The installers were civil, friendly and very competent, cleaning up after them and leaving everything clean and tidy as well as giving a good explanation of the system. The follow up from head office after installation was excellent making sure things were done right.

Alan M.

Having had a solar panel fitted to my home for some time I was prompted to add to the system by having a storage battery system because of the rise in domestic power costs.
The whole experience that I had with Solar Style was positive, from the site visit to discuss the proposed work, the installation team who carried out the work and the admin team who provided any documentation or information required by my Power Supply Company.
The installation team arrived on time and carried out the work in a non-intrusive manner, the completed work lasting just one day. They not only set up the system but also set up an i phone monitoring app for me.
As the battery installation was carried out mid-way through a FIT 3 month period and a new recording meter had to be fitted there was a little confusion when submitting my FIT readings for payment as such I would recommend that before the installation of a battery system is carried out on a previously installed solar power system that you ensure that a good clear photograph is taken showing the meter reading prior to the change. Would I recommend Solar Style to a prospective customer, based on my experience, yes.

Les W.

We had our Solar roof installed in June 2022. The whole process was very efficient. On day one the scaffolding went up. Day 2 saw the panels installed with the inverter and batteries We were actually generating power at the end of Day 2. On Day 3 the scaffolding was removed. Solar Style arranged for all the paperwork to connect the roof to the grid. We were already with Octopus who are very good for micro-generators like us to deal with. In April 2023 we received £45 from them for the electricity we supplied to the grid. May 2023 should be even higher. This is in addition to much lower electricity bills. The installation has performed faultlessly for nearly a year now. All in all, I am a very satisfied customer.