ECH Group Ltd  Avis 

I am ready to purchase a large solar PV system with battery and other add ons. Initially got a quote, in fact sent multiple times. As they do not take phone calls all communications was by email. Agreed what I wanted and the owner of the company Carl suggested a site visit. He set up the day and time and to be sure I even emailed a second confirmation the day before as I had a feeling he would not turn up. Sure enough no response to the email and no visit. Sad as I was wanting to place my order with them. It seems up until end of 2021 they were getting good reviews but now mostly negative. I suspect they are unable to cope. How can one ever be sure the installation would happen and what happens if you have a problem. I personally cannot take that risk. They need to rethink their business model to regain trust.

ECH failed to fulfil my order twice and only communicated this by email on the day of installation and three working days before installation, respectively. The first time was because the panels were damaged and I was only notified - by email - when I queried where the installers were on the day of installation. A second date was set for two months later with Carl assuring me that they wouldn't have the same problem again.

The second time they emailed to say that the panels had not arrived and asked if I would be happy with a replacement. They emailed on Friday morning with installation the following Wednesday and then called at 12.00pm asking me to decide if I was agreeable to an alternative panel - with slightly lower power output, efficiency, worse degradation and a much lower warranty period, but at the same price - wanting a decision by 12.45pm as the chosen panel was not in stock.

We spent some time initially agreeing a panel with Carl, who recommended and sold us the one we chose, waited patiently, paid a deposit and endured poor communication - with ECH only communicating key messages by email and not picking up the telephone - only for them not to install the panels they had proposed on two occasions and state it was supplier issues without taking any accountability for the fact that the contract for works was with them and they are the ones that have failed to fulfil it. I can only imagine that after care or resolving any issues would be a poor, protracted and unsatisfactory experience also. I cannot recommend ECH based on this poor experience.

Leading up to the install we had loads of clear email comms with Phil who ensured we knew exactly what was happening. Really happy with install. We asked to speak to Carl and he called us at an agreed time to go through the detail before we made such a large purchase.
The guys who did the install were outstanding. Everything was easy and tidy. Even when a part was needed the fab electrician drove 2.5hrs back to Gosport and came the next day to complete it. Very impressive. So far all working really well. The price is excellent for what you receive.

Originally contacted ECH mid 2021 for a quote, revised quote in 2022 and agreed to the Contract Of Works in June 2022 and paid the requested 25% deposit.
Less than 24 hrs before work was scheduled they emailed to say there was a parts shortage so we have unilaterally cancelled your contract. No revised dates just cancelled in total.
Eventually they confirmed that the cost of parts had increased and they had misquoted for the installation.
They accepted they were in breach of contract .
The solar panels duly arrived as originally planned the following day.
I have received back my deposit, still have the solar panels on my drive and have wasted approx six months planning . Plus now subject to a three month wait for another supplier.
In summary l feel badly let down by ECH who have been cavalier with a total lack of basic customer care.

Having carried out lots of research and looked at many companies, we settled on ECH Group for the installation of our solar panels and battery. Price was very competitive and reviews convinced us this was the right company for us. Process from quote to installation was issue-free, professional and efficient. We needed a couple of small fixes (new MCB and dongle) which were completed in four weeks (we withheld final payment until system was complete). We are extremely happy with our system and, given the recent blisteringly hot weather, we are pretty much self-sufficient electrically speaking! Reason for four stars is that we waited 25 days for final paperwork which we were promised in 10 days. Quoting, surveys, installation all very efficient but admin needs to catch-up!

Really pleased with solar panels, ECH did a great job. Our house is 1,700sqft we have a 13kw air source heat pump and now 14 solar panels with a c10kwh battery, nothing special insulation wise, just cavity, now mostly off grid, infarct we export c. 10kwh a day. For anyone with climate awareness, a south facing roof and the financial means for solar panels I recommend! financially fab and feel virtuous for decarbonising the grid, nothing better. Took two days for install and ECH were a great choice of partner!

Great installation quick times and a very professional install in my opinion. If there’s one thing I could suggest to ECH is once booking is made maybe a phone call to actually speak to somebody rather than emails. I understand that times are hard for batteries and solar and there only a limited time in the day, but not once did I speak verbally with Carl if was all done in email. Apart from this I highly recommend ECH.

System has broken 3 times since installation. It's currently been in a non working state for 3 weeks because ECH have failed to send someone to fix it.

ECH installed a small array on my roof, and I can't recommend them highly enough. The system works very well, and importantly they've also been super responsive with any follow up problems: this weekend an unrelated issue caused a switch to trip, and their online support was very quick and got the problem fixed first time. I think they are excellent.

I have found ECH to be a very responsive, efficient and effective company. An issue with the battery, one month after my solar panels were installed, was dealt with most efficiently. I had a call to explain the problem (ECH were not at fault) and how it had been resolved. I have found all the staff to be approachable, polite and certainly skilled at their jobs.

July 2022 update: Friendly pre-sales and installation but they have a documented (see other reviews) pattern of abdicating responsibility for supporting faulty installations.
The reviews here tell a clear story: lots of five star ratings when things work (as mine would have been), but lots of one star ratings when there are problems. There's also an alarming number of references to legal action in both directions (that alone should be a red flag) and some very spiky responses to reviews.

They jumped on my negative review a month ago within two hours of my posting it and asked Trustpilot to remove it. I jumped through various hoops to verify my account and Trustpilot accepted my evidence and reinstated the review.

Despite acting quickly and somewhat cynically to attempt to remove the review, the (originally very responsive) management team have continued to ignore all attempts to contact them for the last six months, hiding behind unresponsive and ultimately powerless customer support.

As for my customer experience: it's eleven months since installation. The GivEnergy batteries have not worked properly since then (seven weeks in total offline, and the rest of the time running erratically at only 80% capacity due to an acknowledged fault). ECH are ignoring (not refusing, but blatantly ignoring) my requests for a refund. I've been incredibly patient over the last year but this is a fault which has been present since installation and they've comprehensively failed to address it.

As stated above, the management and complaints department don't reply to my emails at all and tech support, when they eventually reply (it can take weeks of chasing), tell me that they're waiting on the manufacturer and can't do anything else. That's not how consumer rights work and they should know that.

Save yourself the trouble -- pick a different installer.

Previous (June) review was as follows:

My solar installation was completed in August last year and from the start I've been have problems with the GivEnergy battery system. For a month it didn't work at all and even after that it's had calibration and capacity problems. ECH take weeks of chasing to reply to my messages and the eventual responses are holding responses telling me they'll contact the manufacturer.

They don't answer the phone (a voice recording says they're too busy), they don't respond to the support tickets, they don't respond to emails to individual addresses and even an email to the formal complaints address received no reply beyond nudging the support staff to update the ticket apologising for the delay.

There's a lot more to say here but in short, the various negative reviews all ring true: they seem a nice bunch but are hopeless at support if things go wrong after the installation.

ECH recently installed 12 solar panels and a battery storage system to compliment this. Our overall experience from initial enquiry to a finished and operational system has been extremely positive. Polite and helpful office staff backed up by an installation team who did their job quickly and efficiently to a very high standard. We would not hesitate to recommend ECH to anyone who is thinking of having solar or battery storage installed. Thank you Carl and the rest of the team.

This review has now been edited to reflect new developments.

echgroup didn't bother answering my calls or my emails and let a support ticket going for months and months.

our roof started leaking at the first rain after the panels installations, having no luck getting someone from EHL fixing the damage caused I've know contacted a roofer which quoted me 17 grands to fix the roof which was clearly broken by the installation of the solar panels (felt damaged, broken tiles, water leaking in)

Absolutely avoid

Great company to deal with, quickly sorted our requirements and provided a good range of options to help us select the most appropriate system to meet our needs. First class fitting and set up, providing us with a great product that has already shown savings on our electricity bill.

A very positive experience from beginning to end. Carl, the main contact, has been very quick to respond to all questions and came up with a very good and economic proposed system including 14 panels and a 10kwh dual battery system.

The install went smoothly overall. Nick, the electrician, did a very neat job installing all the controls and the battery system in the garage. The roofing team did a neat job installing all the panels on one roof with minimal disruption.

We did have an initial problem with battery system not working as expected but this was fixed within a day by some remote configuration by the battery supplier.

I would highly recommend ECH as a solar installation company.

I have given a score of 1 because, I'm not able to provide a 0 score.

I did not have the opportunity to follow through with my purchase. Carl cancelled my order. His reason: I was rude in my email communication to him. Looking through my emails, I can see one particular email where he felt I was not being polite. In my defence, Carl was making many mistakes in his final quotes and emails and I was naturally frustrated with his attention to detail.

Trying to restore communication, I sent him 2 apology emails (which I'm not sure I really needed to do) and tried to call 3 times with no success. The disappointing part is that Carl was super helpful and friendly in the beginning but became overly sensitive and defensive when I asked a few direct questions..at no point did he apologise for sending me so many incorrect quotes….

Looking at some of the reviews, it seems other people have had similar experiences where Carl gets overwhelmed with communication and then is not able to take his emotions out of the conversation and respond in a professional way. So, it seems like I am lucky to have missed out on a potential bad aftercare experience..especially if something were to go wrong.

I have now found another supplier who was incredibly helpful and was able to manage all communications in a professional way.

Our experience with ECH has been very positive throughout, from our initial enquiries through to installation last Thursday. Carl gave us helpful and very balanced, objective advice to ensure we got a solar panel array which matched our particular needs. We provided photos of our roof indicating the sunshine pattern throughout the day and we also had a survey on site a week before installation which confirmed the layout required and enabled us to address any further questions. The installers Ryan and Lloyd did a great job on the day and were most helpful, polite and professional. As was Joe, the electrician. A phone call with David, at ECH, on the day ensured we were able to get bird mesh fitted as a last minute addition which will offer protection against nesting under the solar panels. Carl has made clear that he is happy to provide ongoing advice and support if and when needed.

All in all we have been very impressed and happy with our experience and it’s good to see the benefits of solar energy reducing our electricity costs straight away.

ECH have been fantastic, priced up a very fair deal and have been responsive to my many questions. Carl and David have helped me to navigate the many choices to make the right decision and I’m now well equipped to navigate this fuel crisis and saving 60% from my previous fuel cost resulting in a relatively cost neutral installation. There were also some last minute changes due to supply / availability of parts and Carl quickly adapted the order to keep the install on track. We didn’t have a survey which meant I wasn’t informed on where the panels went (and hope they’re positioned correctly to withstand a potential chalet conversion next door) and hope that the panels and battery continue to perform as they are so far. The electrician was very professional. Thankyou ECH, regards

I have had my install since October last year but never got round to putting a review. I’ve read a few of the negative comments and honestly surprised. Carl has been fantastic throughout the process. Aaron the installer is superb. They had an issue with battery supply which delayed the battery install but I could see that was happening to all suppliers. I would highly recommend and have done.

Just had a solar installation completed by ECH. Amazing experience from start to finish, from the initial order process, right through to the finishing touches. The engineers on site were professional and confident and completed the job to a high standard. Anyone that is contemplating a solar installation should look no further than ECH.