Elevation

Company cruising on older fame, now their work ethics suck.

I got in touch with elevation solar in January and have been in constant contact with them to make sure they were handling the project in a time sensitive manner as the NEM 3.0 sunset was quickly approaching. So far we are 6 months into the project and elevation solar hasn't even managed to calculate a system that would offset 100% of my electricity needs as allowed by my city (which in case you are reading this elevation solar, a 4.78kW system offsets 99% of my usage). They failed to file permits with the city in time and now, i am screwed because the NEM 3.0 sunset with my utility is October 31, 2022. in essence elevation solar failed to design, permit or install my system within 6 months of me paying their initial fees. I am now proceeding to sue them as they have failed to respond to my emails, phone calls and even a demand letter served by certified mail. They believe that they are immune from hefty lawsuits by the contract clause "Limitation of consequential damages", but they are mistaken, as there are precedents where a contractor who knew (or should have known, given that they claim to be experts on the solar topic) that dawdling could result in damages, still chose to dawdle and not file permits in time. I am now proceeding to sue them, and they have yet to reply to me with an answer different from "you can cancel the contract and we will waive the cancelation fee for you". As others said, avoid them like the plague, they might have won best contractor of the year award in 2019, but check the reviews here and their service and expertise tanked in 2021

Avoid, inept delivery team

If you’re not going to read this entire review and just want the TLDR. Avoid if living in California. They misrepresented their capability to deliver, lied until I proved that they provided me a stream of inaccurate information. I chose Elevation to install a solar + battery project via the EnergySage marketplace. The sales process was simple, straightforward, and painless. That was how I thought the delivery portion of the project would go. This was my second home solar + battery project and unlike the first time. I knew about the process, and how my city’s permit process works wrt batteries. Turned out, that this knowledge was superior to that of Elevations own delivery team. After the contract signing, Elevation measured my roof, and then nothing happened, literally for months. I raised questions with their concierge team and received statements that it was in “Design Redo” for 3.5 months. During all this time, I made nor required no changes. Call or txt I’d receive the same answer. Nothing happened, other than they had my deposit. I requested specific clarification, as to why nothing was happening. According to Elevation this was due to my cities permitting department. Having worked with San Jose before, I knew they were detailed orientated, but not particularly slow. So I chose to pull my residence permit history, low and behold, Elevation had never actually submitted any permit request on my behalf. After close to 6 months from contract signing, having seen nothing happen and been misled as to the actual state. I escalated, stating that I was prepared to cancel if nothing happened. At last, they submitted a permit request, incorrectly and the permit hung for close to 2 months. Again no communication, when I requested updates, they blamed the city, but after reading updates it was clearly apparent Elevation was using the incorrect process and the city had requested them to correct but nothing happened, other than stonewalling me. A second escalation happened in June, but again the same issues, the design team could not for the life of them get it right and 3 months later still had not managed to secure a permit. It was always me, checking with the city, getting updates from their permit department. My takeaway: They sold a project, and realized they delayed so long that due to inflation, would cost them too much to honor, so they strung me out and waited for me to cancel Their model of using a centralized planning department in AZ does not work, they have no one competent in California that understands the process. Their design department lacks insight into cross-state regulations. Thus make constant mistakes Their concierge group has little to no knowledge of the actual project status After 10 months of waiting I canceled, two friends have asked me about my process and I’ve directed them away from Elevation. So far Elevation have ignored my request to return my deposit, since I view them as being in breach of contract.

Started Great

Sales process was great. Delivery and support has been poor. Promised a home monitoring system called a CURB whne I purchased and installed in 2019. Last week, Sept 2022, they told me that there are no installers in Utah so they can't fullfill. They installed a 3g cellular monitor on my system. When 3g was phased out in June I lost the capability to monitor my system. They offered me a $500 wifi solution as they didn't think 3g being phased out was a warrenty issue. They have no ineterst in working with my power company over the disparity between what the system reports (when I could see it) and what the power company says the system generates.

Getting used to it

Still getting used to solar but happy with my choice. I didn’t know what to expect at first, and honestly thought Solar would take care of the entire bill. We sized our system at 7.8 kW to offset the peak hours with our utility company and anything bigger the return on investment wouldn’t make sense.

Doing my part to help the earth

I liked Elevation from the get-go. The sales rep was informative and very sharp, but didn’t try to push me or up-sell me which a lot of other companies did. We have so much sun here in Arizona, it felt like a smart move to install solar panels. The feeling of reducing my carbon footprint is another benefit. Good service, good company.

Great!

Everything is working great! I’m saving tons of money each month. Always get the support I need.

4.5

I would rate Elevation at four and a half stars. Most of the process was handled fairly well, but we had an inverter go out 1 month after installing and it took another month to get it fixed. Took a little longer than I would like, but I understand they are busy and I’m not their only customer. We had to change the plans a few times before installing, but I’m glad it was done correctly.

Easy

Easy installation for me, and customer service was fantastic. I just like the ease of use with the app.

Fast install

My rep was great, very responsive and had awesome communication overall. Super fast installation, only took 28 days. Really liked the ease of the Docusign too. Good experience.

Love the solar savings

I’ve been retired for a few years, and I’m really happy that I decided to install Solar with Elevation. My system always produces enough energy to offset my monthly utility bills, except for 1-2 months during the summer. But I get to use my energy credits then so it works perfectly. The savings alone justified the purchase.

Great experience working with Elevation

I’ve had a great experience having my solar installed with Elevation in 2021. Anytime I had any questions, I was able to get an accurate answer quickly. One of my inverters went out after a few months and after calling in, they had a technician come out within a few days to replace. Fast work and good communication so I would recommend to friends.

Best Investment

This is arguably the best investment I have ever made. I met with a representative who was very sharp and based my system size off my past history of energy usage. After discussing in more detail and sharing that I might be working from home, we decided to make the system a little larger and I’m really glad we did. I know Solar is not for everyone but I couldn’t be more pleased. My payoff looks to be about 6-7 years.

Good experience from the beginning

I’ve had a good experience with Elevation from the beginning. Everyone from the sales rep to the installation team was very knowledgeable and professional. Already seeing huge savings each month on my utility bills, and it looks like my systems ROI might be even quicker than was originally forecasted.

Get ready for a bad “Solar-coaster” ride! :(

I would not recommend Elevation as your solar partner unless you are prepared to be heavily involved in project managing your entire project and don’t really care when your installation will take place. I’ve already invited the ownership of Elevation to contact me about my experience, to which they did not respond. If you see the standard “we’re sorry about your experience, contact us” response to this review, know that they chose to not respond to me during or after the project. If you are from Elevation and you are reading this, save your review response and pick up the phone to give me a call. I’d be happy to discuss this with you. You have my phone number. If more specific details are helpful to you, read on. Good: 1. The sales process through EnergySage was great. Ryan was very responsive and knowledgeable. The price was great and I chose Elevation after communicating with Ryan that the solar industry has a poor reputation as a whole. He assured me Elevation was solid and was excited to earn my 5-star review. 2. Generally speaking, Ryan from sales remained responsive throughout the project and was the most helpful employee. 3. The Accounts Receivable department is solid. You’ll always get super fast invoices and helpful reminders about payments being due. Their communication is so good that you’ll likely learn about your installation date from them instead of your concierge when you get your invoice. Bad: 1. Our sales process shared that the timeline was 2-4 months for installation, but likely going to be within 6 weeks. We signed our agreement on March 10, 2022 and did not get our project completed until August 11, 2022. When I mentioned this timeline given to us by Ryan to our first project concierge, they said: “that is just what the sales guys say, but it is definitely going to take longer than that.” 2. Elevation made a number of mistakes that cost us time, including forgetting to stamp plans, not realizing laws required pictures of Joshua trees on your property, and forgetting to communicate when our solar equipment was being delivered. Nothing terrible, but overall very sloppy. Ugly: 1. You’ll be assigned a “concierge” who is meant to be your complete point-of-contact post signing your agreement through the completion of the project. We had at least 4 over a 5 month period. The idea of this role is great, but probably one of the biggest operational deficiencies that Elevation has. 2. Our concierge provided essentially zero timely information, requiring me to text and call them repeatedly. Every promised follow-up time I initiated for us to meet was blown off by them, except for one (after I had to really strongly chastise them for perpetually failing to follow through). This role seemed to have little practical information and our contact blamed almost every department for their inability to provide the information we needed. When I shared my deep concern over their lack of responsiveness, they said "we have lots of projects and yours is just one of them." Overall, this was one of the more frustrating parts of the project. 3. Before signing our agreement, I confirmed with Ryan that we could do an attic run to avoid running conduit around our house. Given the challenges I observed with the company, I decided to revisit that topic before our installation. They shared that they did not have a record of that being what we agreed to and that our installation would be completed via conduit. I threatened to cancel the project which caused them to scramble and ultimately re-agree to those terms, but not without me having to hold them accountable. 4. When we finally cleared our conduit issue and received our installation date, I cleared my schedule to be home and available (since they needed to run through the attic) for the installation team. Their arrival window came and went, but they were nowhere to be found. I had to call our concierge, who neglected to tell us that the third party they were using for the installation refused to come on the day they were scheduled because “it was too last minute”. We were able to get them to come the next day, but with lots of personal phone calls, following up and applying pressure on the Elevation team. 5. Our installation was supposed to take one day and ended up taking two. This point could probably live in the “bad” section instead of “ugly”, but at this point, I was beyond fed-up with Elevation and their overall lack of operational capability, communication and level of excellence. 6. I asked our concierge for compensation and for Elevation to take accountability for their blunders throughout the project, which required me to spend extensive amounts of time engaging in emails, phone calls, text messages, etc. I stepped out of multiple work meetings and re-arranged my schedule a number of times to keep this company moving. I received about $72 for my trouble with zero personal response from management or the ownership. Before writing this review, I offered our sales and concierge contacts the opportunity to discuss this matter further and did not receive a reply. To make matters worse, I referred my neighbor (and did receive a referral bonus for doing so, which everyone can do) who is currently going through much of the same issues. After doing collectively ~$45,000 of business with Elevation, I’m beyond shocked at how poor their response to my invitation to talk was. Bottom line, we have solar. I’m glad it’s over. I’d never use Elevation again, nor should you.

AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE

We had solar panels installed in 2021 and the experience was so good we decided to have a battery also installed in 2022. It has been nothing but problems. First they scheduled, never called to cancel, when my husband called to confirm the day before, they said, oh no that was just a tentative date. They tried to reschedule in May. We told them via phone, email and text that we would NOT be home the entire month. Got a call in the middle of the month that they were just turning onto our street. Finally got the installation finished. Next was the county inspection. After several weeks of being told that the county was just slow, I called the county and Elevations had never submitted the form for inspection. Finally that was done. Now to wait to Tucson Electric to inspect. TEP was backed up, but finally I looked out the window one day and the truck was parked in front. When I went out to open the garage for the inspection I was told the inspector forms were submitted for panels, not a battery system. However, the guy inspected for the battery also. He found two violations, both completely amateur (paint on connections and no warning label on a power box). Elevations sent out a crew who put the warning labels on. I told them the TEP inspector said to submit photos to TEP through Power Clerk. The service guy said, we don't use that. When we got the failure notice from TEP it clearly stated that all photos of remedies must be submitted through Power Clerk. The same failure notice was sent to Elevations. And here we sit with non functioning solar panels and a useless battery system. NO ONE AT ELEVATIONS SEEMS TO CARE. THEY WILL NOT COMMUNICATE WITH US. We are now out a boat load of money with nothing to show for it. Go elsewhere. I have no idea of some of the specifications so I just put in random numbers.

Bad communication, slow, no permits

I chose ES not because they were the cheapest but because I liked having one point of contact and that they did more than just the solar panels but also improving insulation in the attic. I signed the contract first week of April. At first I was very happy, the insulation guys came very quickly and got there work done in half a day. I was then notified that my permits had gone through quicker and they were ready for install. Day of the install, halfway through the process, I find out that they didn't have any build permits for the city and got hit with a stop work notice. That's where the delays started happening. It took multiple weeks for the city to approve and then multiple weeks after approval just to get installers back out to finish. I had to notify ES that curb still hadn't been installed and it took 1 1/2 weeks just for them to respond back to schedule the install. At this point, I decided to call SRP myself for final confirmation and connection but was told it had to go through ES to schedule. 4 weeks later and still waiting for my system to be turned on.

Ignorant sales rep and solar system design engineers

I took Elevation Solar eight months from signing contract to complete my solar installation. I informed the sales rep that I was having my roof coated with a high density foam roof coating. We discussed installing the panels using a ballast installation process instead of using the penetration process. The rep told me Elevation could not install a ballast mount process on a foam roof so I cancelled my roofer (this was in late September 2021) It was not until November 2021 that the installers showed up to install the ballast mounts, upon their arrival the installers told me they could not install the ballast mounts until the roof was coated. I had already had rescheduled my roofer to foam the roof the week after Elevation scheduled the ballast mounts to be installed. I originally agreed to the ballast mount option with the sales rep because the foam sealant would seal the mounts to my roof. I then decided for Elevation to proceed with the penetration mount option because Elevation could install the penetration mounts then I could have the roof foam coated sealing around the penetration mounts to eliminate the chances of roof leaks. The sales rep at this point agreed this would be the best option. I had to cancel my roofer again in November 2021 because Elevation had to reschedule for the penetration mounts to be installed. Now my roofer is a little unhappy with me due to Elevations ignorance on the exact process of how different mount system could be installed. Elevation installed the penetration mounts and I rescheduled my roofer to foam the roof. My roofer told me he was going to have to charge me an additional $1000 due to his materials cost and supply chain issues. My roofer also informed me he would not be able to foam the roof for at least a month. To make a long story short it took Elevation eight months from signing of the contract my solar system to get up and running. Because it took so long, Elevation had to reapply for the TEP power company permit due to it expiring after six months. I ended up having to pay an additional $1000 for my roof work a losing several months of solar power generation due to Elevations lack of knowledge on how solar systems could be installed. Elevation also sent a person out to inspect my roof before I had a $1200 roof overhaul done and made me sign a roof waiver relieving Elevation from any liability if there were any roof leaks due to their installation process. I asked Elevation for some compensation for the additional roof cost of $1000 I had to pay due to their delays but they said they would not. In closing it is my honest opinion Elevation solar is not a morally ethical company.

Thousands over bid & months behind schedule

Do Not use this company! I hired elevation in January 2022, to install a 30 Kw system on my home and I’m still waiting. from what I can tell this system was way more than they could handle. They are now thousands of dollars over their bid and about 3 months behind their projected completion date and there is nothing scheduled going fwd, so here I sit waiting. Their so called concierge service is a joke.. all I get from them is excuses and with no actions. If they know anything about project management I’d be surprised. As one can see from the attached picture the main power boxes still need completed. I’ve requested a complete legal review and the findings will determine the procedure going fwd.

Elevation dropped the ball!

After choosing Elevation Solar (ES) for a +$55,000 solar job, the main reason I choose ES wasn't because of the price (they were not the lowest quote) but rather their commitment for providing a "one point" of contact. (as a baby boomer, this was most important to me as it is so annoying to talk to different contacts and have to repeat yourself potentially dozens of times). I required and obtained written confirmation of their commitment. And after agreeing to this, about half way into the project I heard that my "one point" contact had left the company because of a dispute from upper management that my salesman, whom was the director of sales at that time, made in commissions more income than a certain vice president, his supervisor. Evidently, as I was told, that was a no-no as that certain VP could not have any employee make more income than him. After all, maybe employee performance and ranking is not based on ability, but job title? Unfortunately, no one at ES stepped up to be his replacement. ES was in default their agreement. As far as the other issues, ES has not completed the installation as contracted. ES was very late (months and months) in completing the installation for various reasons, (I rec'd many many phone calls saying.... I'm sorry for the delays. I'm sorry we can't meet our commitment, etc, etc. These delays included having their proposal rejected by SRP (much more to come on this, including steps taken by ES to hide certain details from the SRP inspectors), not having scheduled all the necessary components to arrive in time (more to come on this), and and and. After not hearing from ES for over 6 months, I contacted ES on Thursday July 20, 2022 to resolve these issues only to receive an immediate demand for final payment (that did not settle well). I responded that I would discuss all issues next week. On Saturday July 23, 2022, I received a registered letter demanding payment by August 4, 2022 or ES will start the collection process (that did not settle well either). NOT ONE PERSON REACHED OUT TO TALK TO ME. This is my first review, of which may not be my last. I did not previously wish to elaborate on several other issues, like the tech ES sent to work with me that I heard later died from Covid-19, or the commitment from ES on Oct 26, 2020 that they would install by Dec 31, 2020 so we could take advantage of the tax credits. As of July 2022, installation still hasn't been completed, etc., all I wanted was to receive is what I contracted for. Nothing more, nothing less. And here I am now being pushed around by a big company that doesn't even care to know the facts. What was their response to my text on Thursday asking for a resolution? It wasn't that they wished to discuss it, or to resolve it, rather .... they just sent a final demand payment letter saying pay the balance due or we will turn it over to COLLECTIONS. I did receive their demand letter! (which wasn't even signed by a real person). I will not be pushed around, all I want is what I contracted for! Nothing more, Nothing less. And for ELEVATION SOLAR to live up to their commitments. Nothing more, nothing less. Stay tuned..... Johnebegood

Worst thing I ever did in my life

I had Elevation solar install solar on my house in April of this year, I was told everything was inspected by the the city of Phoenix and SRP. But when it got turned on in June, all of a sudden everything thing turned to Sh_ _ ! I had circuit breakers blowing in my bed rooms CURB was off line power surges . I call and they had a tech come out to check it . He did something and I had no power on 1 side of my house. Call again , they sent him out again . He said it was fixed. Right after he left my house it started getting hot . My A/C shut down. When I called they said it was because I was using up my power grid and I was on a Demand program , which was never explained to me. But come to find out the Demand box was never installed so I had an HVAC tech come check my A/C unit and he said that a power spike must have burned out my compressor. I haven’t had A/C in my house for 4 days and this is the hottest time of the year 4 straight days of 110-to -112 degrees. I can’t leave because I’m a 100 percent disabled Veteran . I have 3 dogs and small puppies living with me and my wife. I can’t run a portable A/C unit because it keeps blowing the breakers. I have call Elevation, and They say it’s SRP , and they say it’s Elevation and so on . So no A/C all weekend because no one works or answers the phone on weekends So this how they treat US disabled Veterans. That’s SAD.

bad management

I am still in process of getting solar activated , they messed up in the first inspection it took them one month to get the appointment for the inspection and the system was missing equipment, although I have been telling them some of the stuff is missing and they told me the tech will install them and no one has installed it yet. communication with them is unbelievable, the people on the phone have no knowledge of what is going on with your account and only give you run around very bad customer service. they Sub my installation which was fine with me but when all the equipment is not installed it becomes a problem. overall I would not recommend them for solar installation.

No customer service or competent engineers

As an electrician I am disappointed in them.. After drawing are done they come back at me for another $500 for a meter, which I argued about. After all said and done NV Energy didn't not set a new meter they changed my existing to a bi-directional meter. Now I cant get my money back and I have to repair their work myself. Worst company ever. Do yourself a favor go elsewhere not worth any savings, not even a penny.

Good quality. Fair prices.

I want to share my experience with Elevation. I’m writing this review after 2 months ot testing. I researched a lot of information about solar panels and solar companies before I decided to purchase it. I found Elevation offer more fair and competitive then others. Plus, their representatives Adam (Vice President, Field Sales) and Pier(Regional sales mgr. NV) was honest and provided me correct estimate rate and all necessary information , without pushing me to sign contract with them, like others. I signed the contract in November , Installed in December, Connected in January. Adam and Pier was very receptive at all my questions and requests,

Regret using Elevation

Elevation was not the least expensive, but it came with a separate insurance policy that provided extra peace of mind, they said they used their own installers and not subcontractors, and I really liked our sales representative Ryan. However, after signing the contract in early September 2021, the rest of the process has been very frustrating and disappointing. The plans/permit were approved by the City in mid-December 2021. I was told by Elevation that the City caused the long delay. Our plan included upgrading our electrical panel as well and there was another long delay because Elevation said they needed to coordinate with So Cal Edison to shut off the power to install the new panel. After I reached out to SCE in mid-Jan 2022 and passed along a contact person to Elevation, I was then told that the power did NOT need to be shut off after all. By then, the REC 365W panels we had originally signed up for were no longer available due to supply chain issues. On a positive note, Elevation allowed their customers to switch to 400W panels at no additional charge. I was under the impression it would still be REC panels, but by Feb 2022 no REC panels were available. Because I was worried about changes to net metering in California, I agreed to switch to Q Cell 400W panels. I am wondering if we are owed any money back since there is one less panel needed and REC panels are more expensive because they are better panels overall than Q Cells. We sent an email to Elevation asking them to review the pricing and have not heard back. Communication has been poor during the installation process. Panel delivery and follow up electrical work happened unannounced. The panels were installed last week (March 2022) and I was informed that the City inspection would happen within the week. When I called the City over a week later to find out when the inspection would happen, I was told that no request had been placed. I just spoke with Elevation and they said no request was made because they had to see when the SUBCONTRACTOR would be available to meet the inspector. Again, one reason I picked Elevation was because they said they used their own installers, not subcontractors. I am hoping the final steps of City inspection and SCE approval go more smoothly, but given the many delays and poor communication I cannot recommend Elevation for solar installation. Look elsewhere.

Angel was so great to work with

Angel hooked up my Curb monitoring today. He was such a nice guy to work at my home. Very clean work area and even moved my plants so he didn’t get any dust into the potted plants. He was very helpful with the app and I feel very confident in using the system after him being here.