Meet Chris Sadler, Founder At Renewable Energy Company: Kimble Solar

Tell us about Kimble Solar

 

We founded Kimble Solar as Kimbletech back in 2011 and were originally focused on being a residential electrical company. The company was successful but as time went on, and I adopted a vegan diet and became more aware of the environment around me, we made the decision to pivot the business in 2022 to solely focus on renewables installing solar panels and other renewable energy technologies. 

We now operate across Buckinghamshire and the surrounding counties installing solar panels, solar batteries and EV charge points. In the past 12 months, we have helped 158 customers go green. On average, we’ve helped each customer reduce their CO2 emissions by 1.2 tonnes per year. 

If you average this across all customers and look at it across the year, the company helped avoid approximately 190 tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent of avoiding 442,000km of car journey emissions, planting 2,844 trees, and avoiding 3,950 long haul flights.

 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company? 

 

My sister, Rebecca, joined the company as Head of Operations after working as a vegan chef. She introduced me to a vegan diet and that’s when I really started looking at what’s happening to the planet and how we can all make a change. 

We wanted to do things differently. Coming from a mechanical engineering and electrician background, I was highly experienced and had the relevant technical skills needed to pivot to solar. I also had a great team working for me that put excellent customer service at the heart of the business. This has always been paramount to our success and something we refuse to compromise on.

 

 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 

Our pivoting to solar not only benefitted the planet and reduced a significant amount of carbon going into the atmosphere, but it also benefitted the business. Our annual revenue went from £300k to c. £4,500,000.

There was a huge push for solar in the early 2000s when grants were made available. Now, it’s a conscious decision for the homeowner and one which thankfully comes with foresight for the future. 

Not only will the client see a financial return on their investment, they’ll also help reduce their carbon emission, in most cases by 30 tonnes. 

Our team has also significantly increased with more installers, sales consultants and support staff, allowing us to cover a much larger area than we did 2 years ago.

But what has and always will remain is our dedication to being a family-run business with family values, excellent customer service, attention to detail, and quality of workmanship. No matter how big we get, how many branches we open and installs we do, our bottom line is our values. That’s what’s delivered us 103 5-star reviews and that’s what we always want to deliver. 

 

What can we hope to see from Kimble Solar in the future?

 

We’re looking to expand our reach further across the UK. Currently, we cover the whole of the Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties. We’re looking to move go largely national by the end of 2025.

All our installers are electrically trained, which means we only hire the best. Getting the team right is the most important part of our growth ambitions. 

We’re also keen to enter the commercial market, working with offices, farmers and manufacturers to install large scale solar installations which will significantly help to lower the country’s carbon footprint.