DFS Solar (Dual Fuel Solutions) Reviews 150

After researching many local and national companies we chose Dual Fuel Solutions because of the promptness, professionalism and experience of Alan Shield National Sales Manager to answering our many questions.
We had hoped for an installation with inset panels as we were getting our roof and windows replaced at the same time however after a roof survey and supply issues, they were unable to complete in the time frame we wanted. In the end we went for a roof fix 10 x all black panel 4kW system with a battery storage that could be expanded if required.
This wasn’t a straight-forward installation for the company as we had to get to get the installation completed while the roofing contractors scaffolding was in place. On installation day, the roof wasn’t in a position to have the panels fitted so only the electricals were completed. We enquired why it was not possible to have the batteries in the roof next to the inverter to be told that they needed to sit on a solid surface. After adding flooring to the roof, we asked for the batteries to be moved.
A second set of roofers arrived to fit the panels and after voicing some concerns about the lack of scaffolding reluctantly completed the job.
After voicing our concerns to Alan Shield and Dan (Managing Director), a different set of electricians arrived to move the batteries into the roof, and we thought would connect the system at the same time however they hadn’t been booked to do that. Again, voicing our concerns about the sub contractors, Anthony the installation manager arrived the next afternoon with another electrician to connect the system up.
All relevant paperwork and guarantees were forwarded to us by email once we had paid our final instalment by the admin team. All we are waiting for now is the MPAN number so we can sell our excess electricity back to the grid!
Despite the lack of co ordination and uncertainty of the installation process we are very happy with the end product. We would also recommend the company to anyone who wished a professional installation and would like to thank Alan Shield for his support throughout the process.

I had a really good experience with Dual Fuel. Good communication, great fitters and helpful friendly people on the end of the phone. Good price and hopefully a great system. I’d recommend them.

I got a great price and good service.
The phone is always answered very quickly and the team are very friendly.
It did take some time to get my panels and batteries but it was worth the wait.
The Electrician and installers were amazing.
I can’t fault the job.

Richard and the team of fitters at Dual Fuel could not have been more helpful from the initial quotation stage to the final installation. Nothing was too much trouble, and they hold your hand each step of the way.

I am extremely happy with the service I received from Dual Fuel Solutions.

I ordered 16 solar panels with batteries.

When the panels were installed, the engineers worked all day, on the roof and electrics. The finished product looks incredible.

It took them longer than expected and part of the reason was the engineer wanted to make sure the panels were flat on the roof.

I received the paperwork the day following payment and that meant I could apply for the export. Reading reviews for some other companies I am so pleased I selected Dual Fuel Solutions as the certification was all there.

It has taken months to get a date for the batteries to be installed, however I am aware of the shortage and I am comfortable with the wait.

In addition I am not being asked to pay more, nor is Duel Fuel trying to get out of the contract unlike other companies.

I highly recommend this company for it’s workmanship, professionalism and staff.

Phase 1 I can call the planning was great, good trustworthy estimate of what was a 'Best fit' for my house and location. No on-site survey needed as my photographs gave enough to base their accurate quote and timings. My initial scepticism was proved unnecessary as their installation for the roof panels and the Inverter, garage located, was spot on. Scaffolding is contracted out which installed day prior to fit (as planned in August 2022) took several weeks to be removed, not Dual Fuels fault but nonetheless became annoying! Phase 2 Battery not as smooth. The delay to the battery install was a predicted 'supply chain' issue experienced by most providers so no surprise and I was reassured a likely fit prior to Xmas 2022, I wasn't convinced and that milestone came and went. Dual Fuels were OK on communication but they did need some prompting. Eventually I tired of waiting for the ordered battery and changed my requirement to the Fox Cube. An issue was overcome and to be fair a recompense arrangement made the timing (February 2023) for battery install ideal to catch some sunshine which quickly proved the decision for a battery the correct one.

Having researched first and obtained 3 quotes my decision on Dual Fuels was the correct one, not just based on price but on a 'feel' for a the attitude via their employees and initial office contact, well done that person, first impressions count.
Overall I am happy to recommend Dual Fuels, their team are well informed, trustworthy (from the North of England) and acknowledge issues when they occur. Their installers are in-house and have done an excellent job.

Would I recommend them, GOD NO, not in one million years, they have been shockingly inept since day one.
We were contacted by them last MAY for them to give us a price and details for panels, in June we got them to start the process, then nothing, months passed and they NEVER kept in contact with us, we had to contact them at every stage.
They refused to do a site survey, instead relying on pictures... How they can effectively do this I have no idea.
Then we get to December 2022, and they say they can now do the panels, as though they are doing us a favour, rather than us paying a vast amount for it, so early January was set, we had the scaffolders, who disappeared without a goodbye or is everything ok, and the fitters came to do the panels.
ONLY FOR US TO FIND OUT THAT THEY CAN NOT BE BOTHERED TO BRING THE BATTERIES - This seems to be a common issue looking at feedback form others. The guys that came seemed to be fully aware of these issues as well, comments were made.
We expected, stupidly, that the batteries would be delivered within a day or two, but NO, we had to chase it up YET AGAIN, a day was set, Monday 20th Feb, we were here, we had to change our plans to be here for them, time passed, no one appeared, no one called, then at about 12:30 a call came to say that the fitter had called in sick, oh, had he, yeah right, you mean you sent him elsewhere, more on that later.
IF, and it is a massive IF, he had called in sick, surely that would have been BEFORE he would have started work, say, 8am, so why wait until it is too late to do anything else. SO a wasted day, they then said they would appear on the Wednesday, 23rd, so again, we had to change our plans, to fit in with them.
Then late afternoon on the 21st we got a call saying that they will be here tomorrow (22nd) not, can we come tomorrow, are you there, but we will be there tomorrow at 9am, I am glad I did not hold my breath. 9am came and went, as did 10am, then we got a call from the guy that is fitting them, who apparently went to get the panels from the guy that should have done them on the Monday, we were TOLD that the COMPANY had told him NOT TO COME TO US ON MONDAY AND GO TO HEMEL HEMPSTEAD INSTEAD - SERIOUSLY, you screw over a customer that badly.... we are then informed that we can not have the details of the app to run the system until we pay, so not only is the company inept they blackmail their customers as well.
Anyone that does business with these people are heading for grief, so avoid with all possible haste, and go elsewhere, as no one else can be this bad.......

*****UPDATE*****
IT DOES NOT WORK - the batteries are fitted, the tryed to get us to be called another day to get the app details and handover pack, but we called and got the app details, the guy on the other end was helpful, and got us the app loaded, and working, but it does not work, there is NOTHING SHOWING on ANY of the details, he logged in from his end and he got the exact same details, so said he would get the engineer that came today to call us - Oh yes, and a company that must be reasonably big, can not send the handover pack as the lady that does is not there, so, that's not our issue, you should have made arrangements for the pack to be sent on completion - I have no faith in any of this working properly, let alone the batteries filling with charge, or anything going back into the grid - if this is the case, then this will not stop here.

***further update****
NO ONE CALLED - but since this system has been installed our WIFI in the house has failed to work properly, so, not sure if this is a reason or not, but strange that the minute the thing was "commissioned" the rest of our WIFI plays up.

As I said NO ONE CALLED, but this morning, Wednesday, the APP is working, but we have no idea how it works, NO ONE showed us, NO ONE offered to give advice, nothing, so if you are not "computer or app literate" you will be just left to your own devices, it has been running less than 23 hours, but it says that we have an income TODAY of 9p so far, but an Accumulated figure of £71.13, UMMM - NO, I do not think so, it has only been working for just over 12 hours, so not sure how we could have generated that much, especially as the vast majority of those 12 hours was in the dark ?

Very well carried out instalation. Neat work. Clear explanation of system. Poor support from office when their van broke down, so we ended up taking them into local town to find a hotel (we can't get a taxi easily in the country). Van left blocking our drive for 3 days.

Design went well and install went relatively smoothly
- pleased with the outcome in terms of solar generation and battery storage.

We knew nothing about solar when we started this project.
From the very start Dual Fuel Solutions were attentive, patient and very thorough with the information and data.
Never kept us waiting.
Answered all questions promptly.
The installation was efficient, with attention to detail paid to the finished product.
The system works fantastically - we are delighted.
A very big thank you to Adam, Gary Mike and Connor for an amazing installation.
To Jake for his expertise and patience.
Sarah for sorting everything out.
Jordan and Bobbie - thank you.
We recommend this company highly. You are in safe hands.

I can’t speak more highly of this company. From first to last my liaison with its staff has been first class. From Maria to Jonathan and the profession friendly and prompt installation of the system, words fail me to describe how pleased I am. Even the price was right, and the ability to monitor the output of the panels is so helpful.
Thank you everyone at Dual Fuel Solutions

Starting from the fact that they have damaged my property in multiple occasions, and seeing the quality of the installation, I can only say that I regret choosing them.
I hate how my system turned out and I am ashamed of showing it to my friends and family because it looks like done by first-timers. I see these beautiful and professional installation on various forums and I look at mine and I feel like am an idiot, I don't even know where to start describing the defects I found.
They promised me a fast installation and told me they had the batteries in stock last April, ready for my installation in August (which was postponed multiple times), then it took 6 months to get them.
Trust me, there is surely better out there, keep looking.

Good - Fast - Cheap
Pick 2.

The whole process was professional from start to finish. Adapted an initial design scheme to meet our needs and price. The installation team were first class. They arrived late due to a major road incident but stayed until the job was finished. They probably didn't get home till midnight. Our panels are neatly fitted and the battery and inverter package is easily managed. Using Octopus Go we can charge up cheaply overnight to use during the day in winter and adapt that schedule as the sun shines more later in the summer. Even in February we can run our house and charge our car for about £1.50p per day! You need to work at it a bit to get the most out of any solar installation but Dual Fuel installers showed me how to install and use the app to manage the system, although the realtime feature lags considerably compared to a previous system that used Bluetooth not a web app. All in all I'd recommend this company to anyone considering a solar and battery system.

Professional sales team with all the answers I required. The operation team talking over the phone were polite informative and generally good people to deal with. Bobby in the office was very polite. Electrical installation team on site were fast and very tidy.

We had a 12 solar panels fitted with a 2x2.5 kWh battery and 3.7kwh battery inverter fitted. We also had a solar assisted heat pump (for our hot tap water - we have kept the gas boiler for the central heating) fitted through dual fuel solutions. All was very professionally done. The panel fitters were able to fit 2 additional panels on the fitting day which was excellent. It was horrible weather during the fitting so they earned their money. The installs happened on separate days. It has been 2 months since fitting and all is going well.

I was recommended Dual Fuel by a friend.
A speedy survey and quote was given by Maria who was always on hand to give updates as the DNO seemed to be dragging their feet.
The scaffolding was erected a few days before installation and the solar was efficiently fitted over two visits by Adam and Gary who were also very helpful in the operation of the system.
After the installation I had a few queries and head office were more than happy to explain a few functions I was struggling with.
A great product at an even better price.
Well done Dual Fuel.

****UPDATE****

Dual fuel sent Adam and Gary to my property to rectify the issues and they were great, they resolved the previously unsatisfactory works quickly and efficiently. The cables were clipped back properly and TIGO optimisers were installed on each panel. They also provided a minor works certificate which the previous electricians didn’t do.

Whilst I’m unable to check whether the optimisers work as it is very cloudy at the moment I’m hopefully that they will.

Communication with Daniel (one of the directors) was much better and I can only hope that my feedback will be taken on board by the rest of the team.

I have upgraded the rating to reflect this. Had everything gone as smoothly as the rectification works (subject to the panels all working) I would have given 4 stars.

*******

Communication between the team both internally and to customers is poor at best. A number of times it was left to me to follow-up / chase promised callbacks and each time I was speaking with a new team member I was required to repeat the issues I was having/ go through all the details again. This is not acceptable. Customers should not be left to chase install dates, arrival times, or information such as the handover pack, especially after full payment has been made.

The incorrect amount was registered with the HIES, again it was left to me to notice this, and ask for this to be resolved. I was informed that this would be resolved via email, however I received no updated documentation directly from HIES confirming this. Again it was left to me to chase for the updated documentation, which was never provided.

The quality of some of their work was obviously questionable. In particular, there are a number of aspects of the works which do not comply with the relevant regulations under BS7671:2018, including relatively simple things like clipping cables back, and ensuring suitable connections between cables. Furthermore, the circuit charts were not updated , and an inspection label was not provided, as is the requirement.

The installation team were present for around half a day, and did not need to run any cables due to an existing supply and data cable being present from the loft area to the consumer unit. Utilising these cables obviously saved some time and cost for Dual Fuel. However, the connection of the data cable is substandard, simply connecting the ends of the CT clamp cable with wago connectors to the existing data cable is not a suitable joint. A CAT6 connector block should have been purchased and utilised to ensure a stable connection. Furthermore, a number of the cables were not adequately fixed/ secured, such as the DC cables from one of the PV strings and the data cable from the CT clamp to the inverter.

Upon completing the installation, the electrician said somebody would be in touch in around 10 minutes to take the final payment and set up access to the FoxESS cloud. This did not occur. Therefore, as with most other contact, I had to contact them
approximately 2 hours after the installation was complete to request this information. Upon requesting payment, the team member I spoke to originally requested more than the due amount (due to the incorrect amount being registered with the HIES). Again this is an example of poor internal communication and record keeping, alongside the fact that it was now clear a request to update the deposit amount protected with the HIES scheme was not made.

I went up on the roof, and looked at the quality of the installation of the panels, it was clear that the panels were not handled carefully, as almost every panel had scratches on the frames. The removal of excess support bars as well, was done roughly, and what was left were rather dangerous sharp, and definitely, not straight, edges. Furthermore, I noticed that one of the PV strings (the one on the rear roof with 3 panels) was not working correctly. The FoxESS cloud shows voltage but no current.

I discussed this as soon as this issue was apparent with Jordan, Jake and other team members on Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 January to attempt to resolve the issue. It was agreed that there was definitely a fault and that somebody would visit the site on Tuesday 31 January in the morning. Nobody attended, and the visit was rearranged for Wednesday 1 February. This visit is unlikely to happen also due to a faulty vehicle. There appears to be no desire to resolve this issue and excuses keep being made.

I'm currently left with only half of the solar system working, and no resolution. I have attempted numerous times to get in touch with senior team members, however they do not return any calls.

I would avoid this company at all costs, they are quick to take your money and are extremely unprofessional/ unsympathetic to issues / problems identified after installation.

Really helpful team, initial planning really easy, slight feeling of disconnect whilst awaiting dno sign off but this is just one of those things. The guys who installed were really friendly and efficient. Would recommend!

Adam and his colleague were polite and swift, got on with the installation without disturbing us at all. They clearly knew what they were doing. Worked well into late evening, with Adam's colleague entertaining us with his singing (he does a mean rendition of Aha's " Take on me). All in all , DualFuel delivered what they promised. The installation was completed on time without any problems, all was done with minimal mess, the installers were very tidy and polite. Explained the whole system in a straight forward way. The solar panels work very well, and are the envy of our neighbours Would definitely recommend.

I found Steve Taylor was helpful, but after I paid my deposit I had to keep chasing them for updates. after the batteries in solar panels was installed. There was no after-care to explain how the system works