Rural and Country Energy Solutions Reviews 

Having been very pleased with the Ecodan Ultraquiet air source heat pump installed by Rural & Country Energy Ltd in early 2020, we gave them an opportunity to quote for a battery system to save on our ever-inflating electricity bills. Not having posted a review of the ASHP installation at the time, it is worth mentioning that we were impressed with how the heck their team managed to manhandle without disaster the 97kg heat pump in the narrow space between our glass conservatory and the sloping rock face which is our back garden. The whole thing had to be held at shoulder height for several metres. That installation was to save on our previous expensive consumption of two 47kg bottles of Calor gas propane every ten days in winter to fuel our combi boiler for central heating and it proved to be a great success, although, with water circulating at a slightly lower temperature, we benefitted from upgrading some of our radiators from one to two panel and two to three panel.
Recently, Rural & Country Energy quoted for a Sunsynk hybrid inverter and three wall-mounted 5kW Sunsynk L5.1 batteries with safer and longer-life LiFePO4 technology rather than traditional Lithium-Ion. The new inverter has also replaced our eight year old inverter, so it can handle the output from our 12 solar panels as well as working bi-directionally with the battery system.
We had some initial frustrations with the project, with the company being overwhelmed with new orders, but there is a lot to be said with that adage that if you want a job doing, give it to someone who is busy, as they are used to working under pressure and getting the job done. From the outset, we felt that we were being well-informed and that their five years of experience in installing battery systems worked in our favour. Communications have been good at all levels and the friendly installation team worked hard at doing an efficient, neat and tidy job.
An outstanding and possibly unique feature of the Sunsynk inverter is the quality of the Sunsynk app, enabling us to see what is happening via a PC, tablet or smartphone and to fine-tune operational parameters. Utilisation of power from solar, batteries and the grid is continuously monitored and data is stored, so we can look back at historic graphs as well as viewing the current situation. We had our electricity supplier replace our credit meter with one which offers cheaper off-peak electricity at certain times of the day and we take advantage of that for battery charging then reducing the standard tariff consumption from the grid by discharging during those expensive periods. It currently looks as though the savings will pay for the capital outlay within three years.
For the future, we plan to get our domestic wiring re-configured, so that essential loads like lighting, computers, phones, TV, fridges and freezers can take advantage of the inverter’s UPS capability (uninterruptible power supply) to be able to run these loads off-grid during power cuts.

Having looked at various suppliers and received quotes I decided to go with rural and country for our solar panels installation.
My decision was not only based on cost but all of our questions were answered honestly and we got good advice from the friendly surveyor who came to our property to ascertained our needs and property suitability.
I will add they were the only ones to come to our property, all others wanted to do via email only.

There was no pressure or hard sell, we received a detailed report confirming all of the details a few days later by email and post.
It was a very fast turnaround from ordering to delivery, a neat and tidy job was done by everyone who attended our home, We have no hesitation in recommending rural to all who ask.

So pleased with the installation. Everyone involved was incredibly polite, engineers and customer service. Delivery was prompt and when there were delays getting batteries due to global shortage we were kept informed with regular updates. When we had an issue with the inverter after OVO installed a smart meter customer services replied to my email within 5mins! They are not the cheapest out there but I would definitely recommend for a stress free installation.

I had an Ecodan 11.2 kw pump installed about four weeks ago Feb2023. Rural and Country's installation went smoothly, delays by trafic jams, trips to buy unforeseen fittings rather than cobble together fix.

I responded to a drop leaflet, Sara their sales rep visited she listened, Sara is a graduate in building tech and qualified as an EPC surveyor. She produced a detailed proposal which covered all the points we raised during our discussions.
Another courtesy visit by her and Mike the boss because he was in the area. We were replacing a two year old oil fired boiler (still under warranty) and 1200 litre oil tank. They told us that we didn't necessarily have to fork out for a new cylinder as our would work with the ASHP because it was 295 litres. They were correct.

Check the SCOP so far through February using weather compensation giving a figure of 4.5 despite the highest outside temperatures being 7-8 degrees. Still learni g how to use the machine but it certainly competes with oil within a reasonable margin of error. My expectation is that as the outside temperature increases the SCOP will rise above 4.5
I would feel comfortable using them, not five stars because there's always some way of improving. For example still waiting for the outside power socket agreed as an extra - but that's no big deal it'll be done when next in the area.

It's hard to judge this type of company as it's a product that you normally only buy once, but on my experience here are my feelings.

It so nearly could have been 5 stars but was let down by it's poor communications, the appalling scaffolders, who I realise were sub-contractors and by the fact that the 'Smart switch' hasn't been wired correctly.

On the up side the solar panel installers were absolutely fabulous, neat, tidy and very polite. Also the electrician very affable and did a very neat install but he did struggle a bit to get it working, and as stated above hasn't wired the smart switch correctly.

My advice would be to get a detailed breakdown of every element being used in the system, as I had a 4KW Solar array but they have used a 3.6KW inverter as it is obviously cheaper than one with a larger capacity, which may work but will probably shorten it's working life.
Update:
So I'm 4 months in now and my suspicions have been confirmed. The system is being strangled at 3.6KW, and that's not what I bought. Also the crap immersion timer keeps playing up, this is really frustrating as if the system had been installed properly I wouldn't even need it.
In addition I received an email from HEIS about my guarantee and it is for a Heat Pump! My install was Solar PV, so I think that is worthless.
If I were you I would strongly consider your options before using this company.
The company doesn't respond to emails, so I'm reduced to leaving a poor review and maybe getting in touch with MCS and complaining.
Response to company reply:
You call my review unbalanced, well if you entered in to a dialogue rather than not replying to messages left via your web site then you wouldn't get poor reviews. My first review was 3 Star but you couldn't even be bothered to address that one. You sold me a 4kw system not a 3.6kw one. You should be up front with customers and tell them what you are supplying. I stand by my review and it is reinforced by your attitude to my review.

the First thing to say that the heat pumps and solar panels installed work fine. However, in other respects, I feel this company fall short. Firstly, at any one time, there were up to 6 operatives working at my property but there was no project management or proper customer care. In particular, no written instructions were left at the end of the installation, on how to run the system, it was left to the lead plumber just to talk us through it.
finally, I was assured that they would sort out any problems with the central heating system at installation. Instead, I was left with a radiator that didn't work and a leaking radiator valve in my bathroom. Admittedly, both these had given problems before but no doubt it was exacerbated by the newly pressurised system that was installed. I am having to get a different plumber in to sort out the problems as the contractor will not help.

Extremely disappointing service, repeated delays, currently in dispute with them regarding the changes in specification and their attempts to charge extra for very poor quality works that we advised of from the outset. I await their response and will update accordingly.

Solar and heat pump installed.
Solar was installed first, the roof guy was a machine, no messing around installing the panels. There were some challenges for the electrical guys but they sorted it all out. Had 4kw solar and 5kw battery.
Heat pump came shortly after and they did a grand job given the amount of work involved.
The equipment used is good quality and overall I am happy with the installs.
It took a while to get the installs after placing the initial order, but with a little patience it all came in time. Understandable with the current energy situation, they must be really busy.
I have ordered a second battery for my solar now.

In contrast to some of the other reviews on this site, we found the staff to be extremely helpful and the workmanship of Sam and Harry was top notch.
The whole installation took five days and the team of engineers, electricians and support staff was impressive.
A friend of mine recommended R @ C and I am so grateful he did.

The issues with the install of our air source heat pump system are myriad. It started with a faulty specification from numerous different aspects, followed by many many months of delays and failures. The final "completed" system was not operating properly and we have subsequently discovered that there are many different faults with the installation method. The charming salesman becomes abusive when things do not go to plan. Rural & Country's only focus is to get in payments, with no interest in resolving the multiple issues with their install.
If you value your time, look for another company to put in your system!

Before meeting one of Rural and County's system designers, my husband and I had carried out considerable research.
We found their system designer to be polite, factual and his attention to detail could not have been rivalled. He gave considerable time and answered numerous questions.
We paid our deposit via a BACS transfer. Unfortunately, the very next day, due to an unforeseen family crisis, we had to cancel. There is a 14 day cooling off period, so we knew our deposit could be returned.
Several days later our deposit was returned.
We believe we have been treated with the utmost respect throughout.

Beware beware beware. This is a company that has profit at heart. Customer service is appalling. I paid over 3 thousand pounds deposit and cant get it back. My house does not have the internal room for an air source heat pumps tank and pumps etc even after two surveys. As I cancelled my order later than 30 days, even though it's not feasible to install it they will not respond to recent email but have previously informed me they are keeping my deposit. Do not part with any money until you fully understand what the total solution entails and how much internal space is required.

Rural and country installed two air pumps to our property. They were extremely helpful when they did the initial survey. They guided us to exactly what we needed to upgrade our hot water and heating system for the future.
The skilled workforce were extremely efficient during the installation. They made sure that the system was working correctly and we were happy with their work. We will use them again when we install solar cells. Thank you so much for your help and support.