Solar Together - London

George Cook

Solar, the first month.
Before reviewing our solar installation, done on 31st January, I wanted to wait until a calendar month had elapsed before evaluating the south-east facing system. Our roof is not subject to any shading at any time of the day.
After the scaffolding was erected the panels and electrical system including batteries was installed the next morning, taking about 4 hours.
We opted for batteries (8.64kWh), 14 x 405kWh panels, a 5kWh hybrid inverter and an EV charger even though we do not own an electric car yet. Pigeon netting was also added as we noticed that next door have a problem with them under the panels.
The total cost was £11801 including scaffolding.
Omitting the EV charger and netting would have reduced the bill to just under £10K.

As can be seen from the graph, the projected power generation for February was 4.8kWh daily average.
The actual figure was 6.18kWh per day which is very encouraging especially as it was a wet month with little sun.

The projected consumption was about 11.5kWh per day and the actual figure was 8.7kWh so overall the contribution made by the solar panels was well over the projected figures.
Involving ourselves with the app has taught my wife and I how and when to use electrical equipment, for example, running the washing machine is best done in the day when the battery is charging and hence using free power rather than at night which risks the battery emptying before the day breaks and reverting to full price grid power. Similarly using the oven for batch cooking is best done in the day.
It is impossible to predict savings from one one alone but I am confident that they will amount to £1000 a year after SEG payments are taken into account.
£12K invested at 5% interest yields £600 pa and after tax at 40% is deducted the income would be £360.
Overall I am delighted with the solar installation and for those who do have cash it is a great investment.

Kevin Young

Hand off to installation contractor was smooth and efficient, and their initial survey and quotation process went equally smoothly. Price offered for what is quite and extensive setup was highly competitive. What didn't go so well was the actual installation. Sub-contractor who arrived for the installation seemed shocked at what needed to be done, and it was clear from the outset that it was not achievable within the single day allocated. This might have been okay if the same sub-contractor appeared the next day. Instead, it was someone new and unfamiliar with either the extent of the work required, or the status of what had been done. Long and short of it: the installation went into a third day, with yet further communication problems. Okay, we now have a system that works extremely well and is exactly what we wanted, but it was not an easy journey. Viewed from the customer perspective, the installer seemed to have a lot of internal communication problems - left hand/right hand issues. That said, once I was able to speak directly to the technical support and installation manager desks, the issues were resolved quickly and effectively.

David Rowland

Got a good deal on Solar panels and a battery through Solar Together. The installer Solar Bureau, were professional, helpful and efficient. There were a few minor issues/queries, but all were addressed in a prompt and friendly manner.

Tom Tucker

Relatively simple process. Good final quote that we were able to adjust (add two more panels) and simple installation that took less than 4 hours on the day. The communications could have been a bit better - everything worked but it would be good to get interim update that everything is going to plan etc. Also handover docs need to be explained prior to leaving the house. Still worth it though. Most recommended!

Philip Schofield

The system works extremely well. The installation was done professionally. Only issue is getting support after the installation. I want more batteries and would like more information about how the system operates but have not been able to get a response from Solar Together.

Malvernian C

We agreed to go with this scheme, because we thought it would be safer than going it alone. We believed that Solar Together (ST) would be there supporting and helping us when needed. Our experience has been that that is far from the case.

This seems to be a scheme set up for the benefit of suppliers/fitters rather than customers.

Our personal recommendation was around the price we expected, so we paid the £150 deposit and waited. After three weeks we emailed ST, but were just told to expect it within a few weeks! When we finally got the "proposal" (no physical visit as yet) the cost had increased by 50%, included elements we did not need and was very different from what's we had asked for. This was not even the final price, which may vary after the physical survey, prior to which we would have to put down another deposit of £1400+, so we cancelled.

It took over three weeks to get our deposit back - the supplier has to instruct ST (that took over a week with reminders), ST (HQ in Netherlands) have to instruct "Buckeroo" payments, (also in the Netherlands) who, in turn have to instruct Wordline payments (Paris).

Despite emailing and telephone ST to try to speed things up, we got no help, until, after much insistence a manager took up our case.

For ten weeks they sat on our deposit and did nothing. Hence my comment that the scheme is for the benefit of the supplier, not the customer.

POSTSCRIPT

When I last chatted with ST we discussed compensation, and Jasmine, said she would discuss it with management. In a follow-up email she stated: "we will not be offering you any monetary compensation as your deposit has now been returned and your experience doe not fall outside our terms and conditions of which I have attached a copy to this email." Basically their Ts&Cs cover long waits of the type I experienced, so they clearly think this is acceptable behaviour.

However, this morning I received a very nice bunch of flowers from ST. A nice gesture and much appreciated. I thought I should add this to be fair to ST.

andrew philip

Co-ordination, communications and keeping appointments extremely poor. Quality of equipment installed very good, very pleased. Roof fitting of panels could be better - no joy in trying to correct panel alignment, Solar Together not interested at all to even look to check whether OK. Had one issue with Pylontech batteries discharging too much, seems to now be OK but no advice on what caused issue or if it has been resolved to prevent re-occurrence in future.

William Steward

We arranged our solar panels through Solar Together and were very impressed with the quick and efficient system they had set up. We received a lot of useful information and an estimate of cost. When we asked to proceed with the installation we were contacted by the installation company very quickly and had a survey and final quotation which was very close to the estimate. Once we accepted that, we had the panels installed within weeks and are delighted with the results - generating useful amounts of electricity even in mid-winter. Overall a very good service which was easy and very efficient.