Solent Renewables

Solent Renewables is based in Southampton and serves the South Coast, including Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and the New Forest. The team has 17 years of electrical experience and over a decade of solar expertise. The company is certified by MCS and NAPIT, and is a Checkatrade-approved installer. It partners with Wickes, BOXT, E.ON and Heatable.

Darran Ford and Sonny Shepherd are Chief Executive Officers, Gina Ford is Chief People Officer, and Lewis Ford, Sam South and Jo Symonds are Solar Designers. Its main services are solar panel installation, battery storage installation, inverter upgrades and optimisation, and solar maintenance and repairs.

Knowledgeable guidance and a genuinely personal service recur across accounts of work by Sonny and the team, with customers describing themselves as looked after from the first enquiry through to completion. Several accounts note clear explanations and considered advice, particularly around battery storage, with one household noting an additional Fogstar unit integrated with an existing solar and export setup and commissioning carried out precisely. Several describe thorough consultations in which options were talked through against real requirements and budget, resulting in solutions felt to be right for the property rather than simply the largest available.

Punctuality and efficiency come up often, as does the tidiness of installations and the care taken with existing equipment. One customer records that a small rooftop array and a home battery-inverter arrangement, previously declined by other contractors, was finished with evident expertise, including the checking and certification elements. The design and planning of a full panel system for elderly relatives is also praised for speed and professionalism at every stage, while friendliness and professional conduct run throughout, leaving customers comfortable that they can ask questions and receive straight answers long after the final handshake.