Palmetto Solar

A good investment, IF you do the research

I’ve had solar panels from Palmetto for a smidge under one year now. Late October 2023 install and early October 2024 review. I feel that overall my experience is a positive one, but there are several things I as a potential customer could have done better on, and a few the company could have done better on. First, the sales process. They’re not pushy. It was an efficient process from deciding to go with them until the panels were installed. And generally I am satisfied. However, one point of contention I have is they could have explained the rebate process better. We decided to go to solar because of a generous federal rebate which the salesman made it seem like we would be getting cash back which we could either put towards the cost of the system or keep. And come to find out, the rebate is in the form of a tax credit. Not a “discount” like we were led to believe. Furthermore, that tax credit only applies if you owe on your taxes. So if you’re getting a refund, you’re not able to take advantage of the credit. However, that credit does apply until it runs out (I think). Next up, they wanted an energy bill so they could estimate how many solar panels we would need. So we gave them our latest energy bill, which happened to be September and we hadn’t really used a large amount of energy. It would be far more helpful if they asked for a years worth of energy bills so they could get a more accurate picture of our households energy consumption. If they insist on going one bill, make sure you are giving them a bill with a lot of power usage so you are getting an adequate amount of panels installed. My next gripe ties directly into the last one; our energy bill is not zero as promised. We still get a bill from Duke power, albeit a greatly reduced one. I have a neighbor who went solar with the same company and she says she isn’t getting a power bill, only a solar bill. So I think we are mainly at fault there because we didn’t have enough panels installed. But I think the company bears some blame there, and getting a better picture of energy usage would in my opinion fix this. So overall my too long, didn’t read version is that you need to do thorough research into whether it’s right for you, and how to go about it if so. Don’t go in uneducated, which I am embarrassed to admit, we did.

Easy Install - waiting for results

Very easy installation process. Came back quickly when we didn’t like the original placement of the wiring. Waiting to comment on production of electricity as we are late in the year. Looking forward to our solar impact.

Still waiting on promisses to be fulfilled

The installation and activation process took longer that expected, but the day the installers arrived, they were stellar! Very friendly and professional. The shipment of equipment the day before was one short one panel, and the missing one was driven 4 hours from Atlanta to Savannah so that it could be installed the same day as the others. What concerns me is that during the sign-up process we were promised a second smart thermostat because we have one on both floors of our home and a cover for our attic stair well. We did received the 1st thermostat and the LED light bulbs promptly in April, however, even after multiple emails to our sales re Chloe, the 2nd thermostat and stair cover have not arrived and it is now the middle of July.

Same to be a good company so far.

Ok

Very good

Domestically manufactured solar panels

I chose Palmetto due to their solar panel manufacturing facilities being located in the United States. Also the financing terms (interest rate and loan duration) made my annual cost of electricity lower with solar than with the electric company.