Southern Energy Management

Very good at explaining the process from development of a proposal to showing how the monitoring app works once the installation is complete. With all of the paperwork (engineering designs, communications with utility, permits, etc.) they did a good job of keeping me updated on the process and completing 95% of all the paperwork. The utility agreements are confusing and unfortunately are a moving target as the rules change from year to year. Installation crews were good at communicating their needs and were respectful to our requests so that we could limit problems for our neighbors. They were flexible with scheduling dates too. I always felt comfortable that the people with whom I worked knew what they were doing and were not just throwing stuff out to see what sticks to the wall. I would definitely use them again for other projects.

Big thanks to Yanni Madonis and everyone at Southern Energy Management for our solar panel and battery backup system design and installation. The system has been in place and operating for just over a month and we couldn’t be more pleased with it ( a negative $10 Duke Power bill for April was icing on the cake!). From initial design through permitting, installation, and activation the crew at Southern Energy Management was friendly, professional, and very competent. If you are considering adding solar to your home, I highly recommend Southern Energy Management!

Amazing! Low-pressure and thorough

I had a 6kW system installed by SEM in the spring of 2022. To determine which company to go with, I got three quotes. The experience with each company was vastly different, with SEM being the most laid-back, professional, patient, and experienced. I'm four years in, and could not be happier with my solar.

Max, Leath, Frank and Hunter were AWESOME!! They were VERY courteous, efficient, neat, organized, mindful of my cats! They moved their water bubbler so it wouldn't be disrupted by their use of the ladder to another outlet - and I have to say that I found this VERY thoughtful and I appreciated it very much! They all seemed to work VERY well together as a team and I HIGHLY recommend these guys! A+ Thank you and me~ow! 😊😁🐱🐯🐈🐅🐆 We also just had Phillip (I hope I spelled this correctly!) Install the electrical portion of our solar panels and he was also very courteous, communicated everything we needed to know, was very respectful of our house and was neat and efficient as well. You all were a great team and I have NOTHING bad to say about any of you, and it is still too early to tell, but I believe we will absolutely be happy with our decision to get solar - electric bills have been going up lately, we are in Smithfield, NC and we get VERY windy storms and knowing that we will NOT have to deal with losing power due to the sun powering our house and storing it for later use is going to be WELL worth the cost! We also are purchasing an electric car very soon, and we will be able to charge it in our garage, which will save us from needing to use the charging stations and of course all the gas we won't need to use! The sun is amazing and so are you guys! Thank you so much! Get solar powered today! Paul Safrit, is the reason, that my mom decided to choose Southern Energy Management. He was very professional, personable, knowledgeable and made my mother very comfortable, and confident in her business choice of Southern Energy Management. It is a big decision, but also a smart decision, especially these days, a little security goes a long way. Paul, not only is a great salesman, he also came out to the house, after everything was done, to make sure it was working accordingly, and that we knew how to get the most out of our purchase. Thank you guys! 🔅💛🔆🧡🌤🌞💡🌞🌤🧡🔆💛🔅

Where to start.. We met Paul at a renaissance fair held at Starlight Meadery. They had a booth set up and we were honestly not in the market for solar. Paul was relaxed and there was zero pressure. No “sign up today for 50% off specials”, just useful information. They came to our home, gave us a proposal and we agreed. Here is the fun part. When the installers came to our house and started to install the clips to hold the panels they stopped work and contacted us. While our roof was in “okay” shape (13yrs old) as they got a better look at it they were concerned that it was damaged enough that a replacement would be needed in the next 5 years or so. We contacted several roofing companies (A&M Premier is amazing) and after a 3 month fight with the insurance company got the roof replaced. SEM did not need to do this, they got their full payment 3 months late because of this, but it was the right thing to do and they did it. Krista, the project manager kept us informed of progress at all times and made everything go so smoothly. It has been several months since the solar installation has been completed and we are thrilled with it! We switched from propane heat to a heat pump and are seeing significantly lower heating costs. Looking forward to this summer and lower cooling costs. Charging our electric car just got even less expensive! I can’t possibly recommend SEM any higher!

The price was right. The service from sales (Davis) to installation (Davison) was quick, pleasant and thorough. Billing was very clear and easy. I got critter guards because we have a lot of squirrels. I went through Duke's PowerPair program because the rebate and peak payments were a huge bonus to the tax credit.

Recommend Southern Energy

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.

Highest Recommendation

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.

New Solar in Claremont South

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!

Disappointed

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.