Sunsave - London

Alex O.

EDIT: Following my initial review, I had a productive conversation with Sunsave's co-founder. They acknowledged the issues I experienced and demonstrated a commitment to improving their processes. While they couldn't address all concerns (e.g., the trunking), they offered to waive my first monthly payment of £134.45 as compensation. This gesture, along with their improved communication and willingness to listen, has somewhat restored my confidence in the company. While there's still room for improvement, I appreciate their efforts to make things right. The system itself continues to perform well, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the ongoing support.

Pros:

- Final system looks good after adjustments
- Friendly customer service staff when reachable
- Accredited by reputable organizations (Which, Loop, Octopus)
- The GivEnergy system is decent, though slightly buggy
- The financing option made the system accessible
- Appreciate the inclusion of GivEnergy smart plugs

Cons:

- Long lead time (approximately 3 months)
- Poor communication post-sales and during the installation process
- Unclear about the use of subcontractors
- Expensive pricing (close to £20k for 18x440w panels, 9.5kWh battery, 5kWh inverter)
- Significant workmanship issues requiring remediation
- Difficulty reaching customer service by phone
- Unfinished aspects (e.g., painting, trunking)
- Delays in export payments setup
- Unprofessional conduct by some contractors

I had high hopes for Sunsave given their accreditations, but the experience was mixed. The installation process was lengthy and communication often fell short. Last-minute schedule changes and unclear information about subcontractors added stress.

The scaffolding installation and dismantling process was particularly problematic. Dates changed multiple times, ostensibly to accommodate post-installation issues, but workers would arrive without notice, often staying for numerous days and blasting radio, causing disruption. Most alarmingly, there was an incident where a contractor was observed urinating on the property, which is completely unacceptable.

The initial installation had several workmanship issues. These included visible rail caps, inconsistent bird spike placement, and poor cable management. It took multiple follow-ups to get these addressed, with some still unresolved.

While the final system looks good, it required pushing for fixes like cutting down side rails and filling holes. The pricing seems high in retrospect, and I'm unclear about what the maintenance portion of the cost covers over 20 years.

Post-installation issues include being told to handle "minor DIY tasks" ourselves (not mentioned in the contract as far as I can see) and cables not being properly trunked as initially agreed. The Octopus Flux Intelligent process hasn't been smooth, and after a month, we're still not receiving export payments.

On the positive side, the staff were friendly and helpful when reachable. The GivEnergy system works well, albeit with minor bugs. Email communication has been okay, but not fantastic. I do appreciate the GivEnergy smart plugs they sent, even if the packaging was a bit messy.

The pricing model, while expensive, worked for us as it wasn't possible to add the initial value to our mortgage or get a separate loan. The included maintenance gives some peace of mind, but I'm not entirely confident it will be smooth sailing over the 20-year term.

Overall, while the end result is satisfactory, the journey felt amateurish for a company with such prestigious accreditations. As a startup, there's significant room for improvement in customer communication, installation quality, contractor conduct, and post-installation support.

Mark R.

I spent weeks researching as I was on the fence about solar. The finance option worked perfectly and actually worked out better off over the term than other companies did, trust me it was intense researching I did.

Peter, what a great guy, clearly explained everything in sept ensuring we understood before proceeding.
Carolina then taken over once the sale was completed and guided me from installing on of the scaffolding to the end process.
Sunsave is really professional and friendly team.
The contractors were all fantastic and did a superb job all round.
Now, we cannot stop monitoring the app to see how we are using our energy efficiency but you soon learn to adapt and be more efficient.

Again, thank you to everyone at Sunsave.
Money well spent.

Andrew W.

From start to finish Sunsave have been an absolute pleasure to deal with and I would highly recommend them to anyone thinking of getting solar.
My solar and battery installation was completed in January and approximately 1 month later I was all fully set up exporting back to the grid with Octopus. Everything was done on time, on budget and fitted to a very high standard.
I'd like to thank Camilla and Juliet for their help coming up with a great bespoke proposal whilst sticking to my budget. Pippa and Andrei for their help guiding me through the installation process and lastly Daniel and John who did all the electrical work. Also the roofer who's name I've forgotten (sorry).
The whole process exceeded my expectations and was an unexpected pleasant and painless experience.

Pamela T.

Great service and team. Always kept up to date with the process. Someone always responding quickly with responses to questions. Everything installed to plan and 2 panels that were scratched were changed quickly with no issues. Great service all round. Paid slightly more than lowest quote but that was because the person explained things at the right level of detail for me and gave me confidence he knew what he was talking about. Panels are in and I can see some generation even on the cloudiest days so looking forward to the sunshine!

Balvinder B. (.

Great service from start to finish. We had 9 solar panel units and storage battery. Customer support before and after was excellent. We were kept fully informed at all stages. Happy to recommend Sunsave.

Barbara P.

Superlative!
I can highly recommend this company. I had 3 different quotes and it was Sunsave who offered the best price-quality ratio.
Camilla was my initial contact. She was able to give clarity and answered my many questions with patience and professionalism. Mia then took over the next stage of operations, co-ordinating the dates for various workmen. Great communication regarding updates and any queries were always promptly replied to.
The installer Aiden and the electrician Luke both did a fabulous job.
Certificates were sent soon after the installation was complete.
A mention also to the scaffolding company PVF Scaffolding and Melissa who kept me informed regarding the construction and dismantling dates. It’s a big investment to make and I am very happy to have chosen Sunsave.

Date of experience: June 2023

Adam B.

Sunsave installed a 4kW solar system for me 7 months ago. I can't fault them really, good communication, competitive price and fast install. The system has worked really well, I think they use higher quality components that some of the local firms I had got quotes from.

JP C.

Initially dealing with Max. Quote was looking good, pictures shared of the property etc, then they just failed to reply.

Because of which blended up using a local company which were proactive in their encounter.