Southern Energy Management

From no hassle sales process to quality of installation to after install follow-thru has been exceptional. Installation guys were great - they informed us when they came, what they would do, cleaned up after work and on schedule. Every which way a professional group who did a great job. We are very pleased - Thanks Graham.

I have two requirements when it comes to doing business: professionalism and great work quality. Since I work in the solar industry, there was also a higher scrutiny in terms of the system design. SEM delivered on all three. I called 3 installers, of which only 2 responded and visited my house. One of the sales reps (who will not be named, but I did notice the company has a 5-star rating on this site) who visited my house was like a used car salesman - we haggled over the price and he seemed put out to agree to $3/watt. Not the case for SEM. Graham was professional from the start, listened to me when I spoke, and quickly turned around a very professional proposal. By professional, I mean it included detailed datasheets for modules and inverters, system size (based on my roof size and orientation) as well as my utility bills, an estimate for ROI and added value to my home at a price better than $3/watt - without haggling. All my questions were answered with polite and thorough responses within a reasonable response time. SEM worked with my schedule, they kept me in the loop, were courteous and responsive through the entire process. They provided drawings when I asked for them. The installers were professional and more importantly, executed their installation safely. They didn't leave wire insulation or cigarette butts around the house. The PM was present during the city inspection and answered the inspector's questions so that I didn't have to. They completed all the contracts with Duke Energy Progress and the city of Raleigh as well. There were two potentially contentious issues that could have caused this review to be quite lower: The first occurred in October 2017, just before the installation, when modules were scarce and prices were all over the place due to the possibility of tariffs. SEM contacted me to let me know they were changing the module, which resulted in increased DC power of the system, but didn't charge me for the increased wattage. Secondly, Duke Energy changed their bi-directional meter and SEM didn't have the right current transformer for the system monitoring to show my electricity consumption (the production was still showing, so I knew my PV installation was working). It wasn't until January that the CT came in, but SEM was understanding and didn't require me to pay the final 10% until after the CT was installed. From November to February, the system didn't generate as much as my household loads used. But in March, the system started producing more energy that I am using, so my electric bills are right now less than $15/month. I would recommend them to anyone in the triangle area interested in solar. I will likely use them again. Note the system size below is kWDC. The system AC size is 6.0 kW.

We worked with Graham from Southern Energy from the beginning, his time and detailed explanation of the process throughout were great. We are extremely happy with the work and customer service, thank you!

They installed solar panels for me 5 years ago. When they came to install they discovered the panels would not fit. They did not measure accurately so the panels would not fit on the roof. Their solution was to put some panels on a shed roof but they had to use mini-inverters. I did not want mini-inverters as they are not as reliable. And, the panels in the new location was less efficient than the original location. So we got off to a bad start. I look at the inverter fairly often at peak output and it does not seem I am coming anywhere close to the output promised. All in all I was hoodwinked. Since then I have had few questions but there have been times I needed some information about the panels. When I emailed them they essentially ignored me. I sent repeated emails to no avail. I finally resorted to calling the owner and leaving messages. Over and over. Finally they responded. So for me their response to customers is extremely poor.

i was most frustrated with how long it took for my solar panels to arrive, which kept changing and held up my building project for a couple of months, which may not be the fault of SEM. But overall i was very please with the company.

My installation did not pass the county inspection for 3 reasons. My installation company tried to downplay it. In the end, they made the changes necessary to pass inspection, but it was only 6 months later, when the wanted to get paid.

I was very pleased with my dealing with my salesman, Matthew Dickey.. less so with his boss, Eric, when trying to agree upon a resolution to a problem. Overall, everything went fine with the install. I had left a message with Matthew that I really wasn`t sure it was working or not, but did not hear back or follow up with him. I really won`t know if the system is working properly until the spring, as it was installed late in the season. I certainly couldn`t say it extended my swimming season this year (beyond October) or if it is even working correctly. After this experience and learning more about solar I would say that I would probably never attempt another solar project. This was the second type solar system I purchased and can`t see the investment will ever be recouped from an energy savings cost standpoint. I guess you could say while I was happy with the process, I am somewhat dissppointed with the results.

by purchase agreements, i thought you were talking about tax incentives -

I think SEM did a fabulous job and recommend them to everyone who asks about my system.

Somewhat delayed in completion of the work and installation and followup work was not tidy

solar hot water heater installed and then took 4 months to make corrections to pass plumbing and electrical inspections. Kept getting ignored by contact person but company kept sending final bill to be paid and said it was late even though they still hadn`t finished. Do not recommend. Will submit bill with taxes to get tax credits after job completed.

PV is installed but not yet operations due to inspection delays - engineered plans were not done prior to installation.

you need to have a written manual with all the information and instructions for future references.

they have been great to work with, and very patient with us leading up to our decision to make the installation.

Every little detail is taken care of by professionals. Southern Energy Management is great! Purchase incentives are state and federal tax incentives that will be applied to our 2010 income tax. We will have to (and want to) do this ourselves.

The references to net-metering do not fit the now preferred sell-all strategy. Utility connections made and contracts in place, but not NET metered.

Great job, my only complaint is that my gas bill has a fixed minimum fee on it, so I am not saving as much as we anticipated. Average bill prior was around $50 now it is $18, but $12 of it is the fixed fee, I did not know about. No big deal, because I love the system.

The only issue I have had is the system makes more noise than I thought it would. Noise was never mentioned as a consideration in the placement of the system. I would have made another choice for placement if I had any idea that the system emmitted an electronic buzz. Tax incentives are an absolute neccessity if we are going to get renewables installed on a large scale. The public cannot afford renewables without tax relief. It also indicates the the gov. backs sustainable policy--and that the public doesn`t have to bear all the upfront cost of a shared global problem.

Mostly we are satisfied with SEM, but they did not do a good job of explaining the relationship with NC Green Power (who we are very dissatisfied with) and our options regarding NCGP and/or net metering. SEM did a great job of dealing with a PV installation problem that was created by the general contractor. General contractor did a terrible job of coordinating with Duke Power & SEM to organize the workflow of the installation.

These guys are on the ball. They came out and swarmed over the project getting my hot water heating system installed and functioning in one day. A few days later a state certified plumber came by to inspect the job making some cosmetic changes so everything would be exactly perfect. Overall I`m 100% satisfied with the installation and the function of our solar hot water heating system. Please listen to an environmental podcast I`ve started: http://H2Opodcast.com also another related podcast: TarSandsPodcast.com which also includes information about Mountaintop Removal

highly professional company

They did a great job in half the time we thought it would take. They brought a professional crew. Made suggestions to make our system better. They seemed to really care about the work they did. They made suggestions as to how we could shore up our home in other energy areas. Highly Recommend. This is something we have wanted to do for 25 years. Our kids have finally gotten older and we have two jobs so were at a time when it was doable. We love our system!

My only negative comment relates to an email I sent to the company president, commenting that we felt the water was not hot enough, resulting in our turning our original water heater to its former settings. I asked for advise about this but never received a reply or recognition that the email was received. Installing only a hot water heater did not require a permit so questions above re this aspect do not apply.

SEM has a great group of people who are knowledgeable and the presentation to our group at Fearrington was very helpful. I would like to have them out again sometime as the issue of alternative energy seems to be catching on out here.

Great to work with!!! Installation went extremely smoothly, finished way ahead of time.

Producing approx 430 kWh during summer months Very satisfied with Southern Energy - they did a great job!

SEM did everything: paperwork, installation, stat-up. There was never a hitch or correction needed. One of the most hassle free purchases/installations I ever experienced. In addition all the employees of SEM were extremely friendly, capable and enthousiastice about their work SEM provided Energy Star inspections in our community. That is how I got in contact with them. Once the contact was established there was no doubt that they would be my contractor.

I have been interested in solar power and all aspects of reneable energy for a long time so my sources of information were and are all of the above. I am set up as a sole proprietorship/business with a seperate meter.

This was my first venture into renewable/solar energy, and the company spent alot of time with me explaining and sorting out my needs. The website is informative as well, and I appreciated pictures of finished jobs. The crew finished the work quickly, and worked with me timing-wise to gain the maximum tax credits available my system went online January 2006 to bebefit from special federal tax credits for the years of 2006 and 2007. The job was neat, and when on a follow-up visit, I asked for a small repair to a small piece of split molding, that was handled immediately, no questions asked. The difference between my December 2005 and my January 2006 power bill was nearly $60, so needless to say, that caught my atention. Savings seem to be in a more realistic $40 a month. I`m not a large hot water user to begin with, so didn`t realize I was spending that much each month just keeping water hot that I wouldn`t use. With the current tax credits, the system suprised me how afordable it was, and at this rate my system will be paid off in a little over five years. Thereafter, I`ll make 20 percent a year on this investment, an inflation-proof use of my money that I would be hard-pressed to duplicate in the stock market. Six months after the system came on, I got a follow-up note with a test strip and instructions on how to keep an eye on my system. I appreciated the reminder and the info. Overall, it`s rare that I find a contractor who overdelivers. If this company ever wants to expand into the Sandhills, I would be first in line to be a rep.

Southern Energy Management helped me with an energy audit, home energy improvements and coordinating other contractors for insulation and crawlspace sealing. They have helped in followup meetings to determine the best ways to continue to reduce our energy consumption. We are planning on installing a PV system this fall and will definitely use Southern Energy Management for this system. We looked at the long term benefits versus the costs ( social, environmental, economic ) of doing nothing. We saw a renewable energy system as a smart, longer term choice which would pay back in about 6 years. We can live with that time frame. We wanted to do our part for reducing the effects on health and climate change by reducing our electricity consumption which would mean less carbon dioxide, mercury and particulates would be released into the atmosphere by less coal being burned. This would also mean, hopefully, another mountain saved in West Virginia and saving the disruption of those communities in Appalachia.