OWNERS of a stunning home that went up in flames have sued a solar power firm for more than £1.5m in damages.
Mark and Sarah Evans have filed a claim against award-winning Green Energy Electrical after their five-bedroom home in Tolleshunt Knights was destroyed.
Fire crews from Colchester, Mersea, Tiptree, Witham, Maldon and Chelmsford were called to the house fire in Park Lane, Tolleshunt Knights at around 1.30pm on April 18.
Firefighters were at the scene until about 7.30pm, dampening down the area after the fire spread into the insulation and wall cavities.
The cause of the fire at Evershot Hall was ruled to be “accidental” by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
No one was injured during the blaze, but the roof collapsed and the house was completely destroyed.
Solar firm Green Energy Electrical, which has been promoted by campaigner Greta Thunberg, is being sued by the homeowners who claim their solar panels were the cause of the fire.
The homeowners claim the fire began after a fault in one of the photovoltaic panels or from negligent installation.
The Telegraph reported the couple has accused the company of negligence and of breaching a contract.
Green Energy has rejected the couple's claim and dismissed their allegations as “speculative, inherently improbable, and not the most likely causes”.
In 2017, Mr and Mrs Evans reportedly paid £4,527 to Green Energy for a solar-heating system with 14 panels.
The couple told the Telegraph they cannot provide details of the specific fault that caused the blaze because “it was completely destroyed in the fire”.
Mr and Mrs Evans claim the solar panel system would have been generating “substantial amounts of electricity” around lunchtime.
The couple have accused Green Energy of supplying them with a solar panel system that was in a “defective and unsafe condition”.
They allege it was “not of satisfactory quality, did not work as described and was not fit for purpose”.
The firm has dismissed the couple's claims and instead allege the fire was probably caused by someone else's defective installation of electrical wiring in the roof, microcracking of panels caused during the installation, and physical damage to the panels.
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