We have been trying to get proper support from GivEnergy and we are just fed up,
I a company called Gener8solar to install 13.5Kwh system and it has been nothing but problem’s, the electrician has been to our property 4 time in the last six weeks a round trip of 400miles because GivEnergy keep saying try this and try that and not once has GivEnergy come out to the site to verify anything, they have now admitted that it might be a problem with the batter, still I have not been contacted to arrange a visit,I want the battery removed and replaced with a new , I’m at the point of getting it all removed. Any and all help welcome
Can you give any more details about the issues you are having. I too had a 13.5kWh system installed about a month ago, annd looking at the actual capacity is well below that stated. Apparently there is new software in testing which they hope will mitigate the issue. This software / firmware fix is supposed to be released in the next couple of weeks. I’m holding off until they have had a chance to evaluate the " fix " but frankly I’m disappointed, especially as with the cost of the kit and its promotion as an " All in One " solution I was expecting a solid and reliable product from day one. If it is more than software / firmware and something more systemic, ( and Givenergy should know the answer to this by now ) then they should take immediate steps to rectify the problem with a replacement scheme for all those affected. If they don’t do this then they risk severe reputational damage, after all who would trust a company that abandons the customers who adopt their flagship product?
I appreciate that this doesn’t help either of you to resolve your AIO issues but, as the title of the post highlighted a lack of support from GivEnergy, I thought I should add balance to that aspect by saying that my experience has been that they give good support.
I have a 5kW hybrid gen3 inverter with 3 x 9.5kW gen2 batteries, recently installed.
I recently noticed that there was an imbalance between the batteries and spoke to GE. They checked the performance from their end and recommended a software update that included a fix for the issue.
I tried to run the update but it fell over every time so I reported it to GE again and they sent out an engineer this week (circa 7 days between reporting the update failure and the site visit).
The engineer installed the update locally then ran the dump and recharge cycle to balance the batteries overnight to make sure that at least part of the recharge spanned our cheap rate period.
In short; I understand that some folk have struggled to get support but I think that it’s more that it’s a patchy response and that good support is often given but that folk are generally less inspired to post about good support on a forum.
My general feel when choosing to go with GE was that their systems are being rolled out very quickly to meet a burgeoning demand and that they’re stretched by the challenge of doing it.
I understood that there would likely be teething problems and did consider a Tesla system but ultimately chose GE because they’re UK based, they offer a more flexible product, they align better with the energy providers than rivals (see the symbiosis in the GE & Octopus relationship as example) and you get more for your money with GE than with others.
Would I be happy if I had issues and GE didn’t respond for an extended period? No I bloody well wouldn’t and I’d be vocal about it on forums but in the real world context of expecting teething issues and with the notion that GE would ultimately provide a fix.
And would my issues and consequent disappointment be typical of GE users? Well I don’t have the benefit of a satisfaction survey but I did look at posts of complaint about all manufacturers of the forums and they were not unique to GE so I think not.
I appreciate that these forums are a great asset to us all and specifically that folk posting about their problems is very helpful to those looking to select a system provider, thank you, (I read plenty of similar posts about various manufacturers before choosing) but I think it important to recognise that all providers have support issues at times and that GE can also provide a good support service.
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Agree completely Bob, and my reasons for choosing Givenergy largely align with yours.
All I’m asking is reassurance from Givenergy that the AIO problems will be sorted out, or if it proves to be that updating the firmare isn’t enough and some of the hardware needs replacing ( BMS boards for example ) then it will be done in a timely manner.
Hi Kevin, as I mentioned, I’d be on here (and elsewhere) asking the same questions that you are if I were suffering the issues that you are.
I had my installation commissioned on the 6th of November but didn’t manage to get the batteries balanced until 20th December - I had promises made to me that it would have been completed earlier but it didn’t happen.
What took the sting out of it for me was the knowledge that GE’s field engineers were working late into the evenings from home to run the battery dumps in their own time and the first time it didn’t happen was because someone’s little child was ill.
Both they and us are victims of their success leaving them short staffed in a market that lacks appropriate staff.
I know that it’s clunky as hell at the moment, but do believe that they have good folk on board and that they’ll get there in due course.
I hope your issues get fixed very soon, followed by many years of uninterrupted smooth service but I recon we’ll all have to ride out a few bumps in the road for a while longer.
Thank’s for the reply Bob,
Before having my system installed I emailed with a couple of queries which were answered within the hour, with sufficient technical information that my understanding of the system “clicked” ( I have a fairly technical background pre retirement )
I’ve been keeping track of the amount of charge taken overnight to bring the battery up to 100% from whatever charge level it was at the start of the 02:00 off peak window. This was enough for me to assume a usable real life capacity of about 10kWh as things stand. On two occasions last week the battery drew in the region of 12kWh on its overnight charge so I’m optimistic that things will get sorted.
Meanwhile I’ve just tansferred to the Octopus Agile tariff which lets me top up the battery for very little.
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