NATiVE Solar

Great installers - terrible service and warranty work

After a successful installation one of the panels on a 15kw array shattered. I have been chasing them for months now after reporting and Native determining it was a warranty thing and not due to impact. Every email reply says they will get around to it to no avail.

Outstanding service

Even though Native Solar did not install our system, they were willing to come out when we had a squirrel build a nest under our panels and ate through some wiring, knocking out our system. They person who came out was so professional, competent and very good. He took care of the nest and then did all the needed repairs to get us back in service. We also felt the charges for all that was done were very reasonable. We highly recommend Native Solar. John W.

Excellent!

Top class from beginning to end. TotL project done on time (6 weeks contract to finish) and professionally. Good follow- through as well. Highly recommended

Good Install.. EXTREMELY BAD at follow up

They installed a system about 3 years ago through the NRG solar lease. There had been some problems also with installation and phone calls did not cut it and unfortunately leaving a bad review on yelp was the only way I could get their attention. 2 years down and the systems output is way down (since February of 2016). I called NRG which has been trying to get in touch with Native. Its either NRG or Native that is not responding (NRG blames Native and now they advised me to directly contact Native). I think NRG is correct since after repeated phone calls and voices mails there is no response. Stay away if you can. The install was decent, but there are at least 2 things that are not working 1. The output of the inverter (as indicated by locus monitoring) is about 1/3 of what it is rated to be. 2. An outlet that was installed in case lights go out during the day (to directly get power or use my own backup battery) has never worked and never been fixed. Dont have much hope of fixing this, but hope this review would get their attention

Awesome Team!

We had 5 companies give bids. Native provided the system with the most output at the most reasonable price. Not only is the system working well, but the installation team was awesome. All individuals were friendly, respectful and pleasant to work with. We felt completely safe with them working on our residence. They were quick to answer any questions we had. They did not mind if we were curious and observed what was going on. They were all respectful of our property and the parking constraints on our short street.

New residentaul Instalation by Native

We just finish having Native install 40 panels (13Kwh) system on our house. They are all professionals. We couldn't have picked a better installer to work with. It took them about a week to get the system installed and set up and running. Excellent communication during the pre-installation and during the installation and after the installation there were no surprises.

Native Great company

We got our solar panels up up and running in March then a storm came in April large hail and we had to have our roof replaced. Native was wonderful about coming out and removing the panels when it was time to get our roof replaced ; kudos to Stuart Prior from Native who has been great to work with ! I highly recommend native our utility bills so far have been $20 a month from CPS with our panels up and running love them!

New Braunfels Rooftop Install

System has saved me a ton of money on my utilities since it was installed. The work is quality and the system is working beautifully at this point. Financing options are very good. The only negative is the monitoring system which is inoperable due to a shoddy wireless monitor which was supposed to be replaced but never was. The first motor failed because the usb port was poorly soldered and the replacement that they attempted to install broke as soon as it was plugged in. Both units are taken with a promise to get back with me after they checked with Solar Edge. Apparently that never happened.

New Solar

Native is great to work with, I didn't have to do much but sign some documents and they took care of the rest. The quote was competitive and the install went smoothly and quickly, the longest part was just waiting for the City to install their meter so I could turn on the system. Kiss that electric bill goodbye!

Small scale solar Install

I had one bid that was low but sketchy. One bid higher and one company did not even want to try due to shading. Native made the most sense with their design and estimate. Our relatively small 2.74 kWp almost off set our use last month. Sure we have relatively low needs but that was really cool to see what 9 panels could do. Also got $3,900 in tax credit.

great job

Native did a great job. Very professional. They kept the job site clean and neat. They were punctual. They were patient explaining the solar system. High recommend this company, Chas

6.7kWh Solar Installation in Austin

Decided to get a 6.7kWh system toward the end of the year and went with Native. I had been talking with them since the summer and finally made the decision to get it installed, but only if they could get it working before the end of the year. This was just before Thanksgiving. After signing the paperwork and giving the deposit, things progressed quickly with the materials being ordered a couple of days after. They thought installation would take about 2 days although it actually took 3, partially because of light rain and a potentially slippery roof.Once the bulk of the install was done we had to wait for the utility to come and power it on, which took place on the 28th December. There were a couple of issues on getting the power flowing through correctly, but these were dealt with pretty quickly and a week later I was generating electricity. Of course, it then rained/clouded over for a week so I had to wait to see what it would do. Max output in a day so far is 35kWh.

2014 Solar Install

Native did an outstanding job on our solar panel job. The sales cycle included on site reviews, understanding our desired level of power generation and tips in addressing HOA approval. They also connected me right up front with Austin Energy and coordinated an inspection to determine any changes to insulation that might be needed for payment of the energy rebate. Our goal is to be fully solar energy sustainable over the life of our ownership of this house. We chose to install 39 LG high efficiency solar panels with a SolarEdge Inverter/Optimizer that includes web based monitoring - along with wiring to support a future electric car. The install team was professional, courteous and worked with us to get it right while still understanding our schedules just prior to Christmas. The key differences between Native and other companies is their people and their knowledge / experience installing solar systems. Native people work with you on every level. They help you achieve your alternative energy goals and provide you with the knowledge you need to be successful. They keep their promises on schedules and help you understand the nuances of your new system. I chose Native over other competitors because they had more solar installs (more experience) and because their people gave me knowledge about the system and working with Austin Energy that I didn’t get with other bids. That sales decision was positively reinforced by the install crew, project manager and finance people who worked with us every step of the way. On a scale of one to five with five the best. This was a five.

Great experience with a 4.5 kW home solar array

I did a bit of search to find the right contractor for my home array, and went with Native. The process went smoothly - Carl Gayhart was our point person, and he walked me through the process and was always available when I had questions. Native was open to the changes I wanted made to the contract, and later to the installation itself (running wires through the attic rather than across the roof). The installation itself went great, given the timetable of inspections, permits, etc. I now have a 4.5 kW system, and am very happy with how the whole process went. I'm looking forward to sitting back and watching the watts pour in! I would happily recommend Native to anyone looking for a residential solar array.

solar system on home

Native put a system on my home and they did a great job! Since then i have not had to pay a electric bill this summer.

AWESOME customer experience!

I have really wanted solar panels for some time and was willing to go through all the hassel with my electric provider and city ordinances to get it. What was outstanding about Native was the extent to which they fully partnered with me to make it all happen. Carl Gayhart drove quite a distance through downtown traffic just to come by and meet me and make sure that he saw the property and had a discussion about my expectations. He contacted me again several weeks after the installation to make sure my expectation were met and to personally thank me for trusting the work to Native. What a professional! Josh Koehn was very warm and friendly and actually met personally with several stuffy city officials about how they were interpreting a city ordinance that could have restricted the design of my solar array. He tracked down the author of the original city ordinance and facilitated a discussion with officials concerning the original intent of the ordinance which cleared the way for my solar plan. Who does that?? I enjoyed working with Tommy Edds and his supervisor Tommy on the installation and found them and the rest of the crew to be hardworking, very knowledgeable and able to explain technical things in easy to understand terms. Working on the roof in heat over 100 degress would justify a little irritability in my book. However, with Native the people seem to enjoy answering questions and getting to know the customer even when they should be near heat exhaustion. Consistently, Native personnel demonstrated genuine interest in my needs and wanted to make sure I was happy with every detail of the process. Their follow up was exceptional and they never seemed to be in a hurry or following those terrible customer service "scripts". Deciding to go solar and to spend that money created quite a few doubts and fears for me. Native seemed to understand that customer perspective was able to provide no-pressure information,support and follow up that sure made me feel like I made the right decision in choosing solar and in partnering with Native. I would highly recommend them!

Mr. Winters

Mr. Royal is a wonderful asset to Native Inc. He made going solar a seamless transition from consulting through installation. His expertise and product knowledge and assistance were excellent and made our choosing a quality solar company like Native Inc. an easy one.

Jen B

Our experience with Native was exceptional! Right from the start Carl G. was our solar expert. He was there anytime we had questions or needs. We did a lot of research and got several bids but went with Native because of Carls expertise and care for his customers. We give Native an A+ all around!!

Bastrop Customer

All of the employees at Native were professional in every way. From our perspective, it's a great company. The installers were courteous and kept the site immaculate. All of our questions and concerns were answered quickly. I will recommend Native to anyone interested in Solar. They were not trying to sell a "cookie cutter" job. They listened to our interests, gave great feedback, and provided the product we wanted. As for support, we can't speak to that since we've only been on line less than a week.

Happy Homeowner with a 40-panel system

We started getting bids for a solar system in March, 2014. We went to Oncor first to see the list of installers they had already worked with to insure that we’d pick someone who wouldn’t endanger getting our Oncor rebate. Picked two local companies to start – to get educated about what would have to be done. Through them and other searches for information found two serious contenders to do the job: Native (out of Austin, but with a Dallas presence) and another Dallas company. Although the other company had slightly better pricing, their production estimates were not believable – perfect world figures. And, they only wanted to install 32 panels which would be an 8 Kva system – said you only needed to produce what you’re using now. Native’s production numbers seemed more realistic and they recommended a 10 Kva system (40 panels). Keep in mind that over the course of a 23 year life time, the panels may reduce their output by 20% (guaranteed to be no more than 1.25% per year). The 8 Kva system would have then only been producing 6.4 Kva – not enough to maintain a $0 cost of electricity for us. Native’s recommended 10 Kva system would then be down to 8 Kva and would still allow us to live without having to pay any electric bills. We had many conversations between the two companies. The most sincere conversations (in our opinion) were with Carl Gayhart (Native – 512-763-6714). He had an excellent grasp of what we wanted to accomplish (eliminate all electric bills). He represented Native well and promised a reasonably quick installation. We signed the contract with Native the first week of May. There were a number of other paperwork items that had to occur before the actual installation started – Oncor and the City of Dallas (you have to permit the installation). Actual installation started the third week of June. We had a slight hiccup in that the panels that were first delivered weren’t the right color. Josh Koehn, the on-site project manager, took care of that within 2 days. The electricians (Tommy and crew) had to upgrade our electric panel which added about a day to the project. So we were producing power within 3 days of the crew actually being to work. As soon as the panels started working we started seeing the results from Smart Meter Texas – zero power having to come from Oncor. Josh worked with me to get the monitoring system for the units working – my electric lines in the house weren’t cooperating. It took about two weeks to get things working (communicating) properly (this didn’t affect the system’s electrical production). Now I can see each individual panel – what its status is and how much it’s producing on a minute by minute basis. It’s great information if you want to be at that level, but it’s not necessary – I just like monitoring things. We’re now two months into things and we wouldn’t go back. We’re not producing so much (in the summer) that we’d be ahead of the game, but in the other 8 months of years we’ll be accumulating credits to cover everything next summer. So in a 12-month span we’re looking at zero cost – regardless of whatever the electric companies are charging for a kilowatt. (All my analysis has been based on our consumption figures for the past three years – that includes the hot 2011 summer.) In terms of costs, we got about $10,000 from Oncor in the form of a rebate and then we’ll get a 30% federal tax credit next spring (Native has a partner that’ll finance this with a 12-month, zero interest, zero payment loan, so it’s not really out of your pocket). Based just on my current electric rates we’ll have this paid off in a little over 7 years. Then it’s at least 18 years of absolutely no electric costs. BTW, our homeowner’s insurance cost didn’t increase at all. All we had to do was supply a copy of the project’s documentation and photos of the installation. Our local real estate friend said that this immediately added about $25,000 to the value of our house and gave it a big plus in any competition with a similar house without a solar grid.

Completely satisfied, great doing business with them

They kept me informed via both email and phone as needed, made sure I had all paperwork covered and all items processed. Really made it simple. Their employees and their installers were courteous, friendly and knowledgable. The actual installation was top-knotch; as a former electrician i was especially impressed with the wiring job they did at the bus. Everything at 90 degree angles, labeled, it was textbook perfect.

7.5kw system

No complaints. Good guys and plan on using again for upgrades.

May never have to pay again!

Native designed and installed a system for me that is working better than expected. I had contacted other companies, but they hadn't taken into consideration the shadow that might be caused by the house next door. Most folks proposed putting the panels along the lower part of the roof, near the gutter. Mine are at the top of the roof. Based on the position of the homes, it's unlikely that any other structure/tree will ever block my panels. Native was very good about coming out and doing "warranty" work when I had issues with my monitoring system (panels were always fine!). I was very concerned that they wouldn't service me well in The Woodlands, but they really serviced my system. I turned the system on mid month, so the first month, I did have to pay. After that, I didn't have to pay for electricity until July due to A/C usage. I anticipate by Sept, I'll be accumulating credits again and I may never pay again since I'll be able to accumulate enough between Sept and May to offset June-Aug usage (I have gas heat).

Native Solar Recommendation

My solar array is fantastic and I am so happy I chose native. They are professional from start to finish. Gary Royal came out and fully explained what solar could do for my home and how all incentives work. Native did all the paperwork and took the job by the horns. The installation crew was professional,fast and cleaned up after themselves. Other than solar panels, I could not tell they had been at my home when the job was complete. My electric bill is exactly as low as Gary said it would be. I highly recommend Native to anyone trying to decide on a solar company. S.Mumme

Installation (Gary Royal)

Gary came out and gave us a lot of information right away. When we decided to schedule installation, everything went very smoothly. The only installation delays were due to weather. There were some delays with final inspection due to CPS back logs, but Gary and the installation crew kept us in the loop almost daily. Once all that was done, we are very happy with our system!