Case Studies

Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, Penclawdd

Bought 2 PV systems, 1 solar water heating system & a 23Kwh Electrical Energy Storage System (EESS)

Mr. And Mrs., Hughes were over the moon with the 2 solar PV installations and a solar hot water fitted by our team here back in 2011, and so when they realised the terrific benefits that having a battery upgrade to their existing solar system would provide them, including greater energy independence, maximising savings on their utility bills and anl opportunity for making serious money selling power back to the grid, we were naturally their first choice to call.

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Mr. And Mrs. Thomas, Sketty

Bought 2 PV systems, 1 solar water heating system & a 23Kwh Electrical Energy Storage System (EESS)

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were retiring and looking to invest their money in improving their home, but weren’t sure whether to do the loft conversion with Vellux windows first or to get solar panels. In the end, they decided it made the most sense for Ecotekk to do both at the same time, and as soon as possible.  You can read their story here..

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Nigel, Bryncoch

Bought 7.5KWP PV system + 10Kwh battery

Nigel was fed up with his ever increasing energy bills and throwing good money after bad each month, and that potentially getting solar panels and batteries installed would make him substantially better off each. He´d spoken to several different companies, though, and was really unimpressed with what they had to say and offer, and was close to giving up when Ecotekk knocked on his door.

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  • Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, Penclawdd
  • Mr. And Mrs. Thomas, Sketty
  • Nigel, Bryncoch

Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, Penclawdd

Bought 2 PV systems, 1 solar water heating system & a 23Kwh Electrical Energy Storage System (EESS).

Mr. And Mrs. Hughes had  Solar PV and Solar Hot Water installed in their home in 2010 by Ecotekk CEO Ross Walters´previous company, Green Energy Solutions, and have been benefiting from free electricity and hot-water, as well as substantial feed-in-tariff payments, ever since.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had spoken to around ten solar installers before choosing Green Energy Solutions, which they opted for due to their unrivalled expertise and reputation for really delivering for customers in terms of system design and performance, meticulous and efficient installation work, and comprehensive support and aftercare.

“It was just obvious Ross knew his stuff better than all the others, and unlike anyone else owe spoke to, it was obvious he really cared that the system we chose was the right one for our needs. Plus, their prices were the best.”

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes were so impressed that within a few weeks of completion, they had the Ross back to design a system for the property next door (that they let to a family member), which led to the installation of a third micro-generation system, and so they have been reaping very large financial benefits now for quite some time.

In fact, it is estimated that Mr. & Mrs. Hughes have by now realised financial benefits of around 80,000 pounds. 

Fourteen years on, and Mr. And Mrs. Hughes decided the time was right to make the leap from their combustion engine Mercedes to the latest electric 4X4, as well as getting their electricity supply upgraded, and an EV-charging unit installed, and were considering also adding a battery bank to their existing solar PV array, so they could use more of the solar energy produced within the home and to potentially charge the new electric vehicle, as well as to provide a back up to the grid supply in the the event of a blackout, which given the presence of vital and potentially life-saving medical devices within the home, was deemed especially important. 

Mr. And Mrs. Hughes decided to install a state of the art, 23 kWh Fox energy cube, and at the same time, to upgrade their old Power One Aurora inverter  -a fantastic but of kit back in the day, but incompatible with an ESS- to a new second generation Fox Hybrid inverter, which is much more efficient than installing an AC coupled system, and capable of charging a battery and powering the home at the same, as well as proving back up power in the event of grid failure, something which was particularly important given the need for running vital medical equipment. Ecotekk also fitted a bi-directional meter, so that the customers wouldn’t lose out on any of their FIT payments.

“With our high electricity use, requirement for no disruption in supply, and a new EV coming, it made sense to go for a 20kwh battery system. Plus the offer they made us was literally too good to refuse.”

The new energy storage system comes with a 12-year guarantee and is estimated to save the customer an additional one thousand pounds annually. It will be good for well upwards of 6000 charging/discharging cycles, and should experience only the minimum of degradation over time, providing cheap, reliable electricity for years and years to come. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes said:

“We are so pleased with our new system. It looks absolutely fantastic. The workers were so neat and efficient. I really do think they’ve future-proofed our home, energy-wise.

We´re really glad we chose Ecotekk. They really know their stuff and care about getting it right. You can really trust Ecotekk to always do a first-class job.”

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas, Sketty

5kWp Solar PV + 10Kwh battery + 2 Velux windows

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas in Sketty had been were approaching retirement and weighina up a range of improvements to their home which they were looking to invest in, and to get even closer to their ideal home that they´d always dreamed of. Altogether, they were considering getting an attic conversion including some new Velux windows -which was favoured more by Mrs. Thomas- and possibly also solar panels and a battery system, which was what Mr. Thomas was more keen on. He had heard that some people were saving serious money with solar panels, and recognising that energy prices were trending remorselessly upward and likely to increase even more steeply still in future, he thought it would make a lot of sense of sense to get s solar system installed and not have to spend his retirement worrying about energy costs, and so when Ecotekk knocked his door during the summertime, he was very keen to find out what we could do for them.

When we called out for a discussion a few days later, Mr. And Mrs. Thomas explained the various projects they were considering and how they were planning on financing the work, how they were looking to do the windows first and then possibly the solar panels at some later date, with Mrs. Thomas at first a little bit skeptical of how much a solar PV system would be likely to really benefit them. They were also both concerned that the finished job looked aesthetically pleasing -they only had to glance down the road see examples of terrible solar panel roof-work, with houses in the street fitted with solar panels that just looked chucked on any old how -some with unfathomable designs, others combining modules in portrait and landscape configurations, not to mention jobs where the panels even seemed to be protruding above the roof line. So they were pleased to learn that Ecotekk were the only fully accredited firm out there capable of undertaking both the Velux windows installation and also fitting the Solar PV and batteries, and they wouldn’t have to get two separate firms in to undertake each aspect of the work, with all the time, hassle, and problems with co-ordination that would entail.

When we showed them the performance calculations for a quick, initial design, they both agreed that financially speaking, it was a ´no-brainer´, as they put it, and that doing the solar panels at the same time as the windows made the most sense, firstly because everyday the solar panels aren’t installed is a days worth of savings they could literally never get back, and secondly to save on the access costs by only putting scaffolding up once. 

In fact the solar PV kit would not only pay for itself in next to no time, it would also cover the cost of installing 2 brand new Velux windows, with money left over for other projects. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were also pleased to hear that Ecotekk were the only Solar PV installers in Wales offering finance, as it gave them the option of retaining their cash lump sum in an ISA and using the savings from their electricity bills to offset the repayment on the loan.

After our initial consultation, we went away to design a system for Mr. And Mrs. Thomas that looked incredible, that incorporated the 2 new Velux windows that they wanted as part of the attic conversion, but one that also rationalized the lay-out for both the windows and panels, in order to provide the maximum possible power generation whilst still allowing for very large new windows to allow sufficient light and ventilation for a comfortable loft room. 

We sent them Mr. and Mrs. Thomas the design for them to have a look over and to give us their feedback, saying we can always re-design the system according to what, if anything, they think could be improved. Mr. Thomas called a couple of days later to say that he wanted to go ahead with us, but that his wife just wanted to speak to the company that had fitted her friends’ solar panels to give them a quote first. They were able to speak to a representative of that firm a few days later, and that meeting not only strengthened their inclination to go with Ecotekk, it made it as much of a no-brainer as the decision whether to get solar panels in the first place.

The other company they spoke to had been involved in Solar nearly as long as Ross and the Ecotekk team had, but it really became clear to them that solar system design is a different skillset entirely and that Ecotekk staff were vastly more accomplished in this regards, and just knew their stuff so much better. It was also reassuring to know Ecotekk was able to do both the windows as well as the solar panels and battery system, if they had chosen the other firm, they’d have to found an entirely new window installer, and 99% of window and door firms won’t even fit Velux windows anyway. The other firm also wanted more money for inferior kit, came up with a design that was unsatisfactory, and theydidn´t offer anything like as strong in the way of guarantees and aftercare; and neither could they finance the job if they wished to spread out the payments. In the end, the visit from the other installer actually made their decision to choose Ecotekk that much easier.

ProposalDan
image-037

When we went around to see them again to complete the order, Mr. and Mrs., Thomas opted to change the design we suggested and instead went with a different configuration incorporating 3 rows of 3 panels in landscape, with the 2  Velux windows between the rows. We booked in a provisional installation date for 5-6 weeks to allow for the windows to be manufactured to specification, and made all the necessary arrangements for the job to go smoothly. In due course, a few weeks later, our scaffolders came to put up the scaffolding, and the following day the window team came to fit the new Velux windows. We lost a couple of days to days to the weather, with gale force winds and driving rain stopping play for the day on more than one occasion, but the job was still  finished in just over a week in spite of the conditions, and looks absolutely incredible now its finished -a million times better than any of the other solar jobs you can see nearby. We were even able to accommodate a last minute request for an additional 2 modules -over and above what we were scheduled to install and which had to be delivered to the property a day later- and which gave the customer an additional 910W for a total of 5.05Kwp on the roof.

Mr and Mrs. Thomas´ system, in an average year, weather-wise, will generate them 4200kwh of electricity, a saving of well over £1300 pounds just in the first year, but a few years from now could mean savings over and above £2000 annually. The state of the art Fox ESS battery system is compact, slim-line and mounts smartly upon the wall, is IP66 rated for outdoor use, and comes with an integrated heater for maximum performance in cold weather; it could effectively double the amount of solar energy they use themselves at their property (their PV self-consumption), and stores a total of 10.5Kwh of charge, which could either be used within the home at a later period or sold back to the grid. At the same time as saving the Thomas’s a small fortune each year, the system will also mean the family’s carbon footprint will be reduced by over a ton annually -making the family holiday abroad each year feel completely guilt free (in fact the computer modelling indicated the carbon offset over just the first 20 years of the systems lifetime would be the equivalent of no less than 22 long haul flights). 

Thats the real beauty with solar -no technology ever made it so easy to do the right thing. In fact, people who go out and buy a solar system from Ecotekk, immediately make themselves better off, all whilst doing something good and setting a positive example for their own children and other parents to follow. There really is no way of looking at int that doesn’t make sense. Mr. And Mrs. Thomas wanted to use some of the money the solar freed up to get some lovely new windows -but whatever home improvements any prospective buyer may wish to undertake in the future  -or even if they’d simply like two have another holiday each but no real way to afford it- the key insight is that if you do the windows first (or garden, or kitchen, or whatever), those other jobs will never pay for themselves or for the solar panels. But if you do the solar panels first, in time they will pay for all the other jobs you do afterwards. That’s true wisdom.

Nigel, Bryncoch

Nigel was fed up with wasting thousand of pounds each year in perpetuity, paying a small fortune to the utility provider that felt just like chucking the money down the drain. He’d been aware of the potential benefits that a solar installation could bring him, but had also heard of people who had gotten a system being profoundly unhappy with their results for one reason or another. From his research online and through conversations with people who’d already had solar put in, he was concerned to find out that many people had a system fitted which did not perform remotely as well as they’d been led to believe, while many more had something break down, and the company responsible either took an inordinately long time to rectify the fault, or in some cases had gone bust and couldn’t be gotten hold of at all.

He found out that many customers had paid exorbitant charges for work, and many instances of downright shoddy workmanship, particularly from the companies  offering free solar installations on the ECO4 scheme, but by no means limited to them. He was also deeply concerned about the quality of advice he would get from a firms representative, and perhaps most of all he was worried about the level of aftercare and support he would get because he kept reading stories in online forums about solar customers who’d had very bad experiences in this regard. In short, Nigel wanted the terrific benefit that he knew solar would, in theory, bring him, but was worried about risking handing over ten thousand plus pounds to a bunch of crooks or cowboys, and ending up being left high and dry with a lot of expensive equipment functioning sub-optimally, or not at all.

Nigel spoke to several companies and had been visited by about 5 when Ecotekk knocked his door, and told us that he had been looking into getting solar but was close to giving up. He’d spoken to a large national utility company, a firm from Swansea that mainly did EV charging, plus a local firm other than Ecotekk that hadn’t been going very long. 

We explained that sadly, renewable energy is just like any other in that there are excellent firms operating in the sector, as well as no small number of sharks and cowboys and all the well meaning but just plain incompetent ones in between. We understood that it was a minefield, but that he was lucky, not because we´d do him an incredible deal (although we did that for him also), but because we really know what we´re doing, and that more than anything else -and certainly more than any one else- we really care and will look after him. 

Nigel asked us about our expertise and was pleased to find out that Ross, who ran the company and had come to do the system design for him, had been working in the industry at a senior level since 2009 and had done hundreds if not thousands of system designs, as well as making it his business to have the the most comprehensive knowledge possible in relation to the kit they were selling.

“I asked him what panels they did, and he said they offered the widest range on the market, but would recommend what was best for me after he’d assessed what I needed and conducted a survey of the roof space. I was really pleased to hear this because the other companies all were pushing just one particular brand of panel, inverter, or battery and I wasn’t at all convinced they really had my best interests at heart so much as simply wanting to maximize their own profits!”

“I asked Ross so many questions but he was completely happy to answer everything. His answers made so much more sense than any of the other companies that came out. The other companies I´d spoke to, well they were either just an electrician that had done a solar course and checked a few panels in somewhere, or a rep from a large corporation, who was looking to push this panel or that inverter,  and who might have been a bit more professional, but were even more limited in terms of what they knew about solar. Ït was reassuring that I was dealing with real expert who focussed on system design and making sure the customer got the system that was right for them, rather than the installer.¨

Nigel decided that having free solar panels on the Eco4 scheme was great for people who had no other alternative -if they didn´t have the cash to buy their own system from true professionals like Ecotekk, and who were unable to get finance for whatever reason, but that in his case, he thought it made more sense to get the premium quality equipment from the real experts than some budget kit, checked in as cheaply and as profitably as possible, from a company who obviously didn´t really care about the customer and who apparently didn´t care either about bad reviews, knowing that people desperate to bring their bills down but with no other alternative available to them. Nigel had a beautiful home and he was rightly concerned that tradesmen ruching carelessly to fit his system as system as fast as possible with little or no concern for quality of workmanship; He also knew that it wasn’t possible to get a battery installed on the Eco4 scheme, and that the battery produced about half of the financial benefits entailed with getting solar were gained by synergising the solar PV with the electrical energy storage system (EESS).

So Nigel gave us his order for a 7.5kwp system with gorgeous, slim-line pure black Canadian solar modules, and an 11.5kwh Fox battery with Fox energy cube battery, which fitted neatly in his garage next to the 6kw inverter, and we took care of the rest.

ProposalDan
image-037

Six weeks later, the Ecotekk fitting team arrived to begin the installation work. Four installers turned up bright and early, and worked constantly until the light started to fail around 6pm. The work was substantially done within a single day, with all the roof work done and the battery in place, so just 2 electricians including the head PV engineer had to return the next day to complete some minor work as well as undertake all the testing and commissioning necessary before the formal handover.

One year on, and Nigel is even more delighted than ever in getting solar installed, and even more glad still, that he chose Ecotekk. “I was close to giving up” he said. It’s so difficult to find a company that you can trust. But you really can trust Ecotekk”. He told us that he’d   “heard so many stories about people spending lots of money on solar panels that didn´t work properly, and when customers tried getting hold of the installers for support, they were nowhere to be found. Ross said to me that his phone was always on for one his customers, and that if I ever had any concerns, that I should call him any time. And he was true to his word -they´re always available when you need to speak to someone”.

Nigel’s new system saved him around £2000 in its first year. “It’s been doing around 80 units (kilo watt hours) a day, on a nice day, and saves me a couple of hundred pound every month.”

Nigel´s advice to anyone else out there considering getting solar panels installed: “The savings are incredible. Getting solar really is a no brainer. It’s just finding the right company thats the real headache. Im glad I spoke to Ross when I did, and glad that I chose Ecotekk. They´re all incredibly knowledgeable and professional, and they’re always available to speak to if you need them. “I would thoroughly recommend Ecotekk.” He says.

  • Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, Penclawdd
  • Mr. And Mrs. Thomas, Sketty
  • Nigel, Bryncoch

Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, Penclawdd

Bought 2 PV systems, 1 solar water heating system & a 23Kwh Electrical Energy Storage System (EESS).

Mr. And Mrs. Hughes had  Solar PV and Solar Hot Water installed in their home in 2010 by Ecotekk CEO Ross Walters´previous company, Green Energy Solutions, and have been benefiting from free electricity and hot-water, as well as substantial feed-in-tariff payments, ever since.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had spoken to around ten solar installers before choosing Green Energy Solutions, which they opted for due to their unrivalled expertise and reputation for really delivering for customers in terms of system design and performance, meticulous and efficient installation work, and comprehensive support and aftercare.

“It was just obvious Ross knew his stuff better than all the others, and unlike anyone else owe spoke to, it was obvious he really cared that the system we chose was the right one for our needs. Plus, their prices were the best.”

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes were so impressed that within a few weeks of completion, they had the Ross back to design a system for the property next door (that they let to a family member), which led to the installation of a third micro-generation system, and so they have been reaping very large financial benefits now for quite some time.

In fact, it is estimated that Mr. & Mrs. Hughes have by now realised financial benefits of around 80,000 pounds. 

Fourteen years on, and Mr. And Mrs. Hughes decided the time was right to make the leap from their combustion engine Mercedes to the latest electric 4X4, as well as getting their electricity supply upgraded, and an EV-charging unit installed, and were considering also adding a battery bank to their existing solar PV array, so they could use more of the solar energy produced within the home and to potentially charge the new electric vehicle, as well as to provide a back up to the grid supply in the the event of a blackout, which given the presence of vital and potentially life-saving medical devices within the home, was deemed especially important. 

Mr. And Mrs. Hughes decided to install a state of the art, 23 kWh Fox energy cube, and at the same time, to upgrade their old Power One Aurora inverter  -a fantastic but of kit back in the day, but incompatible with an ESS- to a new second generation Fox Hybrid inverter, which is much more efficient than installing an AC coupled system, and capable of charging a battery and powering the home at the same, as well as proving back up power in the event of grid failure, something which was particularly important given the need for running vital medical equipment. Ecotekk also fitted a bi-directional meter, so that the customers wouldn’t lose out on any of their FIT payments.

“With our high electricity use, requirement for no disruption in supply, and a new EV coming, it made sense to go for a 20kwh battery system. Plus the offer they made us was literally too good to refuse.”

The new energy storage system comes with a 12-year guarantee and is estimated to save the customer an additional one thousand pounds annually. It will be good for well upwards of 6000 charging/discharging cycles, and should experience only the minimum of degradation over time, providing cheap, reliable electricity for years and years to come. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes said:

“We are so pleased with our new system. It looks absolutely fantastic. The workers were so neat and efficient. I really do think they’ve future-proofed our home, energy-wise.

We´re really glad we chose Ecotekk. They really know their stuff and care about getting it right. You can really trust Ecotekk to always do a first-class job.”

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas, Sketty

5kWp Solar PV + 10Kwh battery + 2 Velux windows

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas in Sketty had been were approaching retirement and weighina up a range of improvements to their home which they were looking to invest in, and to get even closer to their ideal home that they´d always dreamed of. Altogether, they were considering getting an attic conversion including some new Velux windows -which was favoured more by Mrs. Thomas- and possibly also solar panels and a battery system, which was what Mr. Thomas was more keen on. He had heard that some people were saving serious money with solar panels, and recognising that energy prices were trending remorselessly upward and likely to increase even more steeply still in future, he thought it would make a lot of sense of sense to get s solar system installed and not have to spend his retirement worrying about energy costs, and so when Ecotekk knocked his door during the summertime, he was very keen to find out what we could do for them.

When we called out for a discussion a few days later, Mr. And Mrs. Thomas explained the various projects they were considering and how they were planning on financing the work, how they were looking to do the windows first and then possibly the solar panels at some later date, with Mrs. Thomas at first a little bit skeptical of how much a solar PV system would be likely to really benefit them. They were also both concerned that the finished job looked aesthetically pleasing -they only had to glance down the road see examples of terrible solar panel roof-work, with houses in the street fitted with solar panels that just looked chucked on any old how -some with unfathomable designs, others combining modules in portrait and landscape configurations, not to mention jobs where the panels even seemed to be protruding above the roof line. So they were pleased to learn that Ecotekk were the only fully accredited firm out there capable of undertaking both the Velux windows installation and also fitting the Solar PV and batteries, and they wouldn’t have to get two separate firms in to undertake each aspect of the work, with all the time, hassle, and problems with co-ordination that would entail.

When we showed them the performance calculations for a quick, initial design, they both agreed that financially speaking, it was a ´no-brainer´, as they put it, and that doing the solar panels at the same time as the windows made the most sense, firstly because everyday the solar panels aren’t installed is a days worth of savings they could literally never get back, and secondly to save on the access costs by only putting scaffolding up once. 

In fact the solar PV kit would not only pay for itself in next to no time, it would also cover the cost of installing 2 brand new Velux windows, with money left over for other projects. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were also pleased to hear that Ecotekk were the only Solar PV installers in Wales offering finance, as it gave them the option of retaining their cash lump sum in an ISA and using the savings from their electricity bills to offset the repayment on the loan.

After our initial consultation, we went away to design a system for Mr. And Mrs. Thomas that looked incredible, that incorporated the 2 new Velux windows that they wanted as part of the attic conversion, but one that also rationalized the lay-out for both the windows and panels, in order to provide the maximum possible power generation whilst still allowing for very large new windows to allow sufficient light and ventilation for a comfortable loft room. 

We sent them Mr. and Mrs. Thomas the design for them to have a look over and to give us their feedback, saying we can always re-design the system according to what, if anything, they think could be improved. Mr. Thomas called a couple of days later to say that he wanted to go ahead with us, but that his wife just wanted to speak to the company that had fitted her friends’ solar panels to give them a quote first. They were able to speak to a representative of that firm a few days later, and that meeting not only strengthened their inclination to go with Ecotekk, it made it as much of a no-brainer as the decision whether to get solar panels in the first place.

The other company they spoke to had been involved in Solar nearly as long as Ross and the Ecotekk team had, but it really became clear to them that solar system design is a different skillset entirely and that Ecotekk staff were vastly more accomplished in this regards, and just knew their stuff so much better. It was also reassuring to know Ecotekk was able to do both the windows as well as the solar panels and battery system, if they had chosen the other firm, they’d have to found an entirely new window installer, and 99% of window and door firms won’t even fit Velux windows anyway. The other firm also wanted more money for inferior kit, came up with a design that was unsatisfactory, and theydidn´t offer anything like as strong in the way of guarantees and aftercare; and neither could they finance the job if they wished to spread out the payments. In the end, the visit from the other installer actually made their decision to choose Ecotekk that much easier.

ProposalDan
image-037

When we went around to see them again to complete the order, Mr. and Mrs., Thomas opted to change the design we suggested and instead went with a different configuration incorporating 3 rows of 3 panels in landscape, with the 2  Velux windows between the rows. We booked in a provisional installation date for 5-6 weeks to allow for the windows to be manufactured to specification, and made all the necessary arrangements for the job to go smoothly. In due course, a few weeks later, our scaffolders came to put up the scaffolding, and the following day the window team came to fit the new Velux windows. We lost a couple of days to days to the weather, with gale force winds and driving rain stopping play for the day on more than one occasion, but the job was still  finished in just over a week in spite of the conditions, and looks absolutely incredible now its finished -a million times better than any of the other solar jobs you can see nearby. We were even able to accommodate a last minute request for an additional 2 modules -over and above what we were scheduled to install and which had to be delivered to the property a day later- and which gave the customer an additional 910W for a total of 5.05Kwp on the roof.

Mr and Mrs. Thomas´ system, in an average year, weather-wise, will generate them 4200kwh of electricity, a saving of well over £1300 pounds just in the first year, but a few years from now could mean savings over and above £2000 annually. The state of the art Fox ESS battery system is compact, slim-line and mounts smartly upon the wall, is IP66 rated for outdoor use, and comes with an integrated heater for maximum performance in cold weather; it could effectively double the amount of solar energy they use themselves at their property (their PV self-consumption), and stores a total of 10.5Kwh of charge, which could either be used within the home at a later period or sold back to the grid. At the same time as saving the Thomas’s a small fortune each year, the system will also mean the family’s carbon footprint will be reduced by over a ton annually -making the family holiday abroad each year feel completely guilt free (in fact the computer modelling indicated the carbon offset over just the first 20 years of the systems lifetime would be the equivalent of no less than 22 long haul flights). 

Thats the real beauty with solar -no technology ever made it so easy to do the right thing. In fact, people who go out and buy a solar system from Ecotekk, immediately make themselves better off, all whilst doing something good and setting a positive example for their own children and other parents to follow. There really is no way of looking at int that doesn’t make sense. Mr. And Mrs. Thomas wanted to use some of the money the solar freed up to get some lovely new windows -but whatever home improvements any prospective buyer may wish to undertake in the future  -or even if they’d simply like two have another holiday each but no real way to afford it- the key insight is that if you do the windows first (or garden, or kitchen, or whatever), those other jobs will never pay for themselves or for the solar panels. But if you do the solar panels first, in time they will pay for all the other jobs you do afterwards. That’s true wisdom.

Nigel, Bryncoch

Nigel was fed up with wasting thousand of pounds each year in perpetuity, paying a small fortune to the utility provider that felt just like chucking the money down the drain. He’d been aware of the potential benefits that a solar installation could bring him, but had also heard of people who had gotten a system being profoundly unhappy with their results for one reason or another. From his research online and through conversations with people who’d already had solar put in, he was concerned to find out that many people had a system fitted which did not perform remotely as well as they’d been led to believe, while many more had something break down, and the company responsible either took an inordinately long time to rectify the fault, or in some cases had gone bust and couldn’t be gotten hold of at all.

He found out that many customers had paid exorbitant charges for work, and many instances of downright shoddy workmanship, particularly from the companies  offering free solar installations on the ECO4 scheme, but by no means limited to them. He was also deeply concerned about the quality of advice he would get from a firms representative, and perhaps most of all he was worried about the level of aftercare and support he would get because he kept reading stories in online forums about solar customers who’d had very bad experiences in this regard. In short, Nigel wanted the terrific benefit that he knew solar would, in theory, bring him, but was worried about risking handing over ten thousand plus pounds to a bunch of crooks or cowboys, and ending up being left high and dry with a lot of expensive equipment functioning sub-optimally, or not at all.

Nigel spoke to several companies and had been visited by about 5 when Ecotekk knocked his door, and told us that he had been looking into getting solar but was close to giving up. He’d spoken to a large national utility company, a firm from Swansea that mainly did EV charging, plus a local firm other than Ecotekk that hadn’t been going very long. 

We explained that sadly, renewable energy is just like any other in that there are excellent firms operating in the sector, as well as no small number of sharks and cowboys and all the well meaning but just plain incompetent ones in between. We understood that it was a minefield, but that he was lucky, not because we´d do him an incredible deal (although we did that for him also), but because we really know what we´re doing, and that more than anything else -and certainly more than any one else- we really care and will look after him. 

Nigel asked us about our expertise and was pleased to find out that Ross, who ran the company and had come to do the system design for him, had been working in the industry at a senior level since 2009 and had done hundreds if not thousands of system designs, as well as making it his business to have the the most comprehensive knowledge possible in relation to the kit they were selling.

“I asked him what panels they did, and he said they offered the widest range on the market, but would recommend what was best for me after he’d assessed what I needed and conducted a survey of the roof space. I was really pleased to hear this because the other companies all were pushing just one particular brand of panel, inverter, or battery and I wasn’t at all convinced they really had my best interests at heart so much as simply wanting to maximize their own profits!”

“I asked Ross so many questions but he was completely happy to answer everything. His answers made so much more sense than any of the other companies that came out. The other companies I´d spoke to, well they were either just an electrician that had done a solar course and checked a few panels in somewhere, or a rep from a large corporation, who was looking to push this panel or that inverter,  and who might have been a bit more professional, but were even more limited in terms of what they knew about solar. Ït was reassuring that I was dealing with real expert who focussed on system design and making sure the customer got the system that was right for them, rather than the installer.¨

Nigel decided that having free solar panels on the Eco4 scheme was great for people who had no other alternative -if they didn´t have the cash to buy their own system from true professionals like Ecotekk, and who were unable to get finance for whatever reason, but that in his case, he thought it made more sense to get the premium quality equipment from the real experts than some budget kit, checked in as cheaply and as profitably as possible, from a company who obviously didn´t really care about the customer and who apparently didn´t care either about bad reviews, knowing that people desperate to bring their bills down but with no other alternative available to them. Nigel had a beautiful home and he was rightly concerned that tradesmen ruching carelessly to fit his system as system as fast as possible with little or no concern for quality of workmanship; He also knew that it wasn’t possible to get a battery installed on the Eco4 scheme, and that the battery produced about half of the financial benefits entailed with getting solar were gained by synergising the solar PV with the electrical energy storage system (EESS).

So Nigel gave us his order for a 7.5kwp system with gorgeous, slim-line pure black Canadian solar modules, and an 11.5kwh Fox battery with Fox energy cube battery, which fitted neatly in his garage next to the 6kw inverter, and we took care of the rest.

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Six weeks later, the Ecotekk fitting team arrived to begin the installation work. Four installers turned up bright and early, and worked constantly until the light started to fail around 6pm. The work was substantially done within a single day, with all the roof work done and the battery in place, so just 2 electricians including the head PV engineer had to return the next day to complete some minor work as well as undertake all the testing and commissioning necessary before the formal handover.

One year on, and Nigel is even more delighted than ever in getting solar installed, and even more glad still, that he chose Ecotekk. “I was close to giving up” he said. It’s so difficult to find a company that you can trust. But you really can trust Ecotekk”. He told us that he’d   “heard so many stories about people spending lots of money on solar panels that didn´t work properly, and when customers tried getting hold of the installers for support, they were nowhere to be found. Ross said to me that his phone was always on for one his customers, and that if I ever had any concerns, that I should call him any time. And he was true to his word -they´re always available when you need to speak to someone”.

Nigel’s new system saved him around £2000 in its first year. “It’s been doing around 80 units (kilo watt hours) a day, on a nice day, and saves me a couple of hundred pound every month.”

Nigel´s advice to anyone else out there considering getting solar panels installed: “The savings are incredible. Getting solar really is a no brainer. It’s just finding the right company thats the real headache. Im glad I spoke to Ross when I did, and glad that I chose Ecotekk. They´re all incredibly knowledgeable and professional, and they’re always available to speak to if you need them. “I would thoroughly recommend Ecotekk.” He says.

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