Sustain - Solar, Heat Pumps & HomePlans Reviews 

I used my council’s Solar Together scheme which Sustain won for the area, however my experience has not mirrored the ‘fantastic’ 5-star reviews here. Are Solar Together customers given a lower level of service?

Firstly, let me say that everyone I spoke to or met was polite and friendly, I just think they are too stretched as it has taken over 6 months from initial payment to receiving the post-installation documentation. The DNO responded quickly however the whole process took 9 months from instigation to export.

Also, these are the niggles that made it a 4-star experience, more attention to detail and better communication would have helped.
- I had to chase multiple times between September and November to get the correct quote.
- the design changed in planning with no one explaining why
- the newer planned design had to change again on install day as it didn’t fit on the roof
- I was never told that the G99 had been approved, or for how much, prior to receiving the final documentation weeks after the install completed
- the promised phone back from scaffolders never happened
- the end caps are missing from the solar rails
- huge screws and large yellow cable ties fell or were discarded during install and were just left blocking the guttering, no tidy up
- wasn’t told where the DC cut off was and had to google how to restart the inverter
- electrician did not have a full understanding of how to configure schedules on the Fox cloud app
- 2 weeks after the install I had to chase for the MCS and DNO paperwork, receiving the MCS cert a week later
- about 4 weeks after the install finally received DNO approval letter, however had to query the limit approved as it looked to be 4kW not 5kW.

Timeline:
- July 2024: joined the Council’s Solar Together scheme
- August: a 12-panel ‘personal recommendation’ was sent to me, with the option to pay £150 for an in-person site survey.
- 10 September 2024: payment made. Later the site survey reduced the panels to 10 and solar water heating was discussed, but without an existing immersion heater, dismissed.
- October: a full quote was received with a different panel layout to the site survey and listed the water iBoost which couldn’t be used.
- November: after chasing I received a new proposal now with no iBoost. The 25% deposit was paid.
- December – DNO G99 paperwork to apply for consent to install was submitted, but not seen by me.
- January: presumably after DNO approval, dates were arranged for scaffolding, delivery, roof install and electrical works for Feb.
- February: the planned scaffolding date was pushed back from Thu to Fri
- Fri 14 – Solar panel delivery, but the scaffolding pushed back again to the weekend with roof install scheduled for Monday.
- Sat 15 - Scaffolders turned up and very quickly put up the scaffold. Were polite and efficient.
- Mon 17 – Jamie and the guys from JME Solar turned up to fit the panels. 1 panel had to be rotated landscape and moved as they would not fit as planned.
- Tue 18 – Sam and team from SJF Electrical Installations delivered and installed the batteries and inverter
- 7 March: DNO notification logged
- 13 March: SSE connection approval email sent
- 17 March 2025: 4 weeks after the install I received the DNO email from Sustain. Export application made to Octopus.
- 29 March: Octopus Export goes live, export meter reading photographed and sent.

Had Solar panels and batteries installed by Sustain. Very easy process from start to finish. Always polite and quick to respond when I had questions. Excellent job. All delivered and installed on time with no issues. Would recommend. Thank you

I had a solar panel system installed by Sustain Limited. I was very pleased with the equipment and information supplied. Dan Smith, Maddie Draper & Sam Couch from the office were very helpful and everyone that attended my home was professional and courtesy especially Peter & Rio who carried out the final commissioning of the system.

Installation carried out over the agreed days and all went to plan. Good communication from Sustain from start to finish. Everyone involved in the installation was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. The teams got on with the work efficiently and left everything neat and tidy. After completing the electrics Will explained how the various components in the overall system that I’d ordered interacted and he also helped me set up the App, explaining everything very clearly, which was a great help to someone who is not tech savvy. The house has some external insulated render which is vulnerable to damage. Everyone acknowledged this and operated in a way that ensured no damage occurred. I certainly recommend Sustain and in particular the teams involved in my installation. Thank you and well done.

Rio and Pete have done an excellent job today - the house layout is far from ideal for Solar panels but they managed it very well. A very professional job!

Solar panel install. The team were excellent from the guys who put the panels on the roof to the electricians Pete and Rio also the delivery team. They all turned up when expected and quick and professional. They left the inside of the house clean and tidy.

Will and Don were brilliant in the way they went about the installation. Very polite non stop working and made sure repeatedly that I was happy with what was going on.
Would be very happy to recommend them to anyone.

I was very impressed with communication and customer service with Sustain. The work happened on schedule and all the contractors were courteous and professional. There was no trouble reaching them on the phone and any queries were quickly and professionally answered. This is a well run operation and we are delighted with our solar power system.

Well organised and well communicated throughout. Everything happened as planned. Final day of solar panel installation was electrics - Will and Dom were great and clearly very skilled. Worked very efficiently but took the time to explain everything to me as well as answer all the questions I had throughout. They were also very friendly and considerate of me and my toddler.

A professional team made up of James and Rio completed the electric setup as part of solar panel fitting. They were clear on tasks to be done, very organised, thorough and tidy. Once the setup was completed, they took their time to explain all the work that was done and answered all my questions. Fantastic job team and keep up the good work. Thank you.

Excellent service and great communication throughout. The installation team especially were very knowledgable and friendly. We highly recommend this company.

William and Dom just finished the connection of my solar panels to an inverter, the battery storage and the house electrics. Both were friendly, explained the process and gave me a quick walk through on the App - so I knew how to minitor the system. Pleasant experience - can recommend William and Dom fur any future customers :-)

All works carried out as planned. All fitters were rifessional and polite. Everything left neat and tidy.

Pete and Rio did a great job, we are vey happy with the system and guidance they gave us.

A very efficient service from start to finish. From me making the initial enquiry, to a surveyor inspecting our property, receiving the quotation, installing the scaffolding, installing the solar panels, connecting the electrics, all aspects were outstanding. I would thoroughly recommend Sustain.

Will and Dom have just finished the electrical part, and we are now running on solar power. They did the work quickly and efficiently and have left the place tidier than when they got here. All the scaffolding and deliveries and installation happened when they said it would.

From the first call through to the installation of our solar system the service has brilliant. Great communications and a very high level of professionalism. Would highly recommend.

Everything done within the stated time frame to a high standard including the tidy up at the end !
All the different trades were polite and courteous throughout the job .
I had the system explained to me and was given help with setting up the spp .

The electrical installation was by Sam and Charlie. They did a fantastic and very professional job

Installation done very well. The scaffolders let the side down with a late start but the installers and electricians did well to catch up and finish as planned. Installation looks neat and unobtrusive, nice guys doing the work. Would have been 5 star if the scsffolders had performed. Can't fault Sustain at all.