Rooftop Solar

Reasonably satisfied

I am writing this review after being reminded in an email follow-up from Derek Turner who is the VP of Sales/Marketing (I think). I probably would give 2 1/2 stars if I could. My system was installed Sep 2019 and turned on a month later. The positives: 1) From signed contract to turn on was 3 months (this is actually pretty fast, although doesn't feel like it after paying cash and want to start saving immediately); 2) Status updates and information flow was pretty good from the project manager; and 3) I received a great price after a lot of negotiating. The negatives: I was already under contract with a competitor and submitted to APS. I received a call a day later from the sales person who of course wanted my business. It ended up going going back and forth between the two companies (with me in the middle). I ended up cancelling the contract and going with rooftop even though the competitor would price match. I do sometimes regret this. Not long after this, I received a call from Derek Turner. After a lengthy conversation, he offered to to split the cost with me (about $500 each) on an extended warranty. That language never made it into the contract. I have followed up with him about this, but all I get are crickets.... Another thing that I am somewhat dissatisfied about is the install itself. The installers deviated sharply from the design that I naively approved as I knew nothing about optimizing installation which was a good thing. Despite my roof having a number of peaks and valleys making for a challenging installation, the installers were able to pull 9 panels that were on the north side in the design and place on the south. The problem is many of the south panels start receiving shade from the roof as the sun moves from east to west and therefore produce nothing in the afternoon which reduces overall production. No panels were placed on part of a west facing spot where production would have far exceeded the south facing ones that are getting shade. After paying this much money in cash, I guess one kind of relies on the company to set panels to get maximum production for the owner, but maybe I expect too much. Consequently, I am losing about 4% production. This may not seem like a lot, but equates to about a 1000 kW/hr loss per year simply due to sub-optimal panel placement. So my overall recommendation is that if you do go with Rooftop Solar, then ensure everything is in writing. Second, observe your roof prior to install during different times of the day to check for obstruction of the sun from other parts of the roof so that you yourself can ensure optimal placement of panels. If this doesn't get right, then don't expect Rooftop Solar to come back and fix it. There are numerous solar panel companies to choose from. My experience wasn't terrible, but could have been more satisfying. You could probably have a better experience with someone else, but you could have worse too.

Nice people, but....

The Solar was installed in the winter of 2017 and now 2 months after installation I already have a production issue. I am able to keep up with the production with Enphase, otherwise I would never have known. Unfortunately, because they have overbooked and understaffed themselves I have been told I have to wait 2 more weeks before they will come out and service my solar. I am a bit worried about my future dealings with the service and repair if needed.