Stay Clear of the CES Solar Shop
During an Eco4 installation I was contacted by Josh Hernandez from CES Solar Shop offering an option to purchase batteries at a discounted price as they were currently installing Solar Panels as part of the grant. As we had been thinking of buying batteries we decided to accept their offer and subsequently bought 2 5.8 batteries. As a result they increased the number of panels from 16 to 20 and installed a 5kw inverter. We thought that the service was good and were happy with how things seemed to be going. Josh Hernandez was very pleasant and appeared keen to move things along in a positive way.
I was to fill in the G99 application for DNO approval to export 5kw instead of the pre approved export of 3.68kw, and they would submit on my behalf. I was told that this is a formality and once I received the approval they would remotely update my inverter.
After several weeks of not hearing anything I contacted another person named Josh Ruck from the CES Solar team to ask if there were any updates. After several emails of being told that he would ask colleagues etc but still not being told anything I decided to contact SP Energies myself. They told me that they had received the application from CES and had refused it based on the current infrastructure not being suitable to export 5kw. They had made CES aware of this and said that there would be a fee of approximately £3000 to upgrade the system. When they received no reply they had sent another email asking how CES wanted to proceed. When they received no reply again they had closed the application.
I contacted Josh Ruck in the solar department, Josh Hernandez seemed to have disappeared! I informed him of what I had been told and he phoned SP Energies and spoke to Adam. He informed Adam that the fee would be paid, but no information by who etc. no further information has been provided to date. This remains unresolved and I can no longer get in touch with anyone. The batteries I purchased were installed outside and I was told that this would be okay, would not affect their ability to charge. However, I’ve soon realised that this is untrue. If batteries go below a certain temperature it affects their ability to charge fully. My batteries are only charging to approximately 30% in this cold weather. I should have been made aware of this and advised how to get the best possible solution. There’s a lot more to my experience with this company but I think my review is long enough as it is. But one thing is for sure I would not recommend them to anyone. They are very eager and contactable in the beginning, but once you encounter a problem they disappear. I’m left with no DNO approval, I can’t submit another application myself as it has to be done by an installer. SP Energy have advised me to go to another company and explain my situation and ask them to submit on my behalf. They also informed me that they have had several issues similar to ours with installations carried out by CES. So stay clear, there are plenty of reputable companies out there to choose from!








