Sunwork Renewable Energy Projects

I cannot recommend Reuben Veek and SunWork highly enough. Reuben installed our heat pump water heater, and his work was phenomenal from start to finish. I am a detail-oriented homeowner who tends to research major projects heavily before making decisions, and Reuben was one of the rare professionals I have worked with who was not only willing to engage at that level, but clearly welcomed it. He was meticulous, patient, technically knowledgeable, and extremely thoughtful in walking through options, installation details, incentives, and long-term maintenance considerations. When I had questions that went beyond what I could find on my own, he either knew the answer immediately or tracked it down quickly and got back to me. SunWork’s nonprofit model also made a major difference. Other installers quoted substantially higher prices for the same general project, but SunWork’s pricing was so competitive that I was able to use available incentives not just for the water heater installation, but also to add valuable related upgrades, including a whole-home surge protector installed by a licensed electrician and extra anode rods for future maintenance. What impressed me most, though, was that Reuben stood by the project even after installation. We later had complications with the water heater itself that were entirely manufacturer-related and not caused by SunWork. Even so, Reuben remained available, helped me think through options, and provided support when he had no obligation to do so. Knowing I could count on him made a frustrating manufacturer issue much easier to navigate. Because Reuben works across a large service area, you may need to wait for him to be back in your area. In my experience, it is absolutely worth the wait. If you are considering a heat pump water heater or other electrification work and SunWork serves your area, I would put them at the very top of your list.

Sunwork have been around for a long time. They are an excellent choice for property owners who are not in a rush. They work with you on the design and installation phase, and their estimates are accurate. I had both my base system installed in 2018 and an addition installed this year. I was highly pleased with the results in both instances. They are thorough, very competent and reasonably priced.

SunWork installed solar panels for me a few years ago, and a heat pump water heater last year (2025). In both cases I've been very happy with the quality of work, communication, and price. The HPWH actually cost less after incentives than a gas WH did twenty years ago. They explain options, limitations, and the process well, and do thorough work. The only minor negatives- 1. they've been busy (especially with federal incentives ending) so it took a month or two between signing a contract and the work starting. 2. they only do solar and HPWHs. I had to hire someone else for a panel upgrade and car charger. And I had to do a little basic carpentry (with their guidance) to reinforce the roof before solar installation. As an added bonus, as a non-profit their whole mission is to make cleaner energy solutions available where they otherwise might not be affordable.

Key attributes of Sunwork: 1) Transparent, Fair and Accurate Pricing upfront. 2) The only installer who subtracts rebates from their charges and deals with the various authorities to get the rebates. 4) Excellent Quality installation. I got heat pump water heater installed in May with the help of Sunworks and the overall experience was amazing from start to finish. The entire installation was completed in less than a day and as you can see from the photo its a clean install. It took us less than 2 minutes to get the inspection cleared and Reuben was helpful and communicating throughout the whole process. I wish that Sunwork provides more variety of services in future so that Sunwork will be my go to installer for everything that my home needs. The only downside is that they are busy and getting on their calendar is tough but once you are on their calendar everything is handled very smoothly and transparently.

Reuben did a very good job on replacing our water heater. He is an attention to detail person. The finished work is beautiful. He's very patient on explaining everything and adapt to our request. We had one instance that we were trying to figure out why the water heater start giving out cold water after several minutes. We had a long call session with Reuben, and he diagnosed the right cause which none of other contractors did.

Great experience with Travis + Sunwork team

Thank you so much, I've been wanting solar panels for years but they were so cost prohibitive. I'm glad it's gotten a lot less expensive and that Sunwork nonprofit offers solar panels at a low cost for those who can qualify. Appreciate it!

Awesome Quality work with fantastic customer service

SunWork is a not for profit organization, which has very few employees and rest of the (wo)man power comes as volunteers (like you and me), who get trained both in classroom/zoom and on-the-job. Great guys to work with and very friendly at every step of the process. Everyone I had a chance to work with are highly professional, flexible, spend time to explain all the questions I had. They are not only nice to the owners, they are also very nice to the volunteers. It's a Win-Win-Win.

Excellent consumer relations, education, performance and price

My husband and I recently had a solar installation by SunWork. We are both very happy with our solar system and with the entire process working with this company. Travis Moe was the main contact. He did the site survey and supervised the installation. Travis was professional, personable and enthusiastic. He answered my questions thoroughly and in language that was easy to follow. Our system has 8 solar panels and was installed mostly in one day by Travis and Fernando, a terrific volunteer. Travis walked us through every step of the way. During our inspection, Travis displayed extensive knowledge of electrical code and was able to pass an incredibly detailed and perfectionist inspection with flying colors. I recently got an email from Travis to advise me on how to manage maintaining my solar panels during the recent fires which have left troublesome ash on the panels. I was impressed that Travis was thoughtful enough to reach out to customers with sucj helpful unsolicited followup. I am very happy to decrease my carbon footprint and that SunWork was able to make installing solar on my house affordable. I appreciate how committed the SunWork staff are to being Green. I highly and enthusiastically recommend this company.

Amazing Experience!

Sunwork was great to work with. Right from the first discussions to the completion - they were extremely professional, very informative and just a pleasure to deal with. Al Keyes did our installation alone and he was just fantastic! Highly recommend Sunwork.

Gave me exactly what I wanted at a great price

If you qualify, I can't imagine you can find a better deal than Sunwork. They worked with me to determine what would best fit my current and future needs at the price I could afford. I never felt pressured in any way to get something more or less than what I wanted. They were flexible and handled my specific installation and feature request with no issues. The team lead is a professional contractor and the volunteer installers are trained and supervised well. My installation is exactly what I wanted, the way I wanted, at a significantly better price than the other options I explored. The system has been performing reliably to my expectations for several months and I'm having fun watching the generation increase as the days get longer.

Capable and reliable installer of solar energy system

My wife and I were introduced to Sunwork at a presentation in San Luis Obispo on March 30, 2019 From that time on we worked with Project Lead Bryan Noel, regarding the feasibility and size of a solar energy system for our home. As we met the first criteria of an electric bill of under $100 per month, we scheduled a site inspection by Bryan. He patiently offered various configerations of the panels to take advantage of sun exposure and followed with recommendations regarding panels' efficiency, pros/cons of the various inverters and equipment warranties. After deciding on the number of panels, Bryan selected an optimal layout on the garage roof which took advantage of the proximity to the main (PGE) service panel and minimized the use of conduit for wiring. A major hurdle was scheduling the installation of the panel support mounts after the tear off and before the installation of a new composition roof on the house and garage.Bryan and his volunteer crew worked well and there were no conflicts with the roofers. Brackets and panels went up after the new roof was finished, followed by the installation of the solar breaker box and connection to the main electric service panel. Bryan handled the permitting and scheduling of the SLO County electrical inspection and assisted with the application to PGE for their Permission To Operate (PTO) the system and access the grid. Sunwork's invoice was detailed and came slightly under the quoted price. We highly recommend Sunwork Renewable Energy Projects as a capable and reliable installer of a solar energy system and commend Bryan Noel for being a knowledgeable and well organized Project Leader.

Reliable, respectful, resourceful and a really great team!

Sunwork staff (Reuben, Al, Sonya and John) considered our needs and educated us about our energy options, literally down to the nuts and bolts of installing. After reviewing 3 estimates (they patiently considered and adjusted to potential variables of our future energy consumption), we made a financially and environmentally prudent decision and installed 14 solar panels and a Solar Edge inverter. Sunwork accommodated our schedule for installation, thoroughly explained the rebate program, the associated costs and handled all required permits, responded promptly and courteously to us, our renters, and the inspectors. They allayed our concerns about the duration and expense of our installation; when we received the invoice, it was meticulously detailed and ultimately below the estimated cost, a pleasant surprise indeed! We were so enthused by the experience, we’ve since volunteered on other installations, and Sunwork project leads (Al and John) remained cheerful, prompt and focused, and communicated efficiently and effectively with clear with instructions and explanations, and showed transparency and respect to colleagues, volunteers, residents and neighbors. We hope solar panels continue to gain popularity, and more financial incentives expand the feasibility and popularity of rooftop installations. There are many solar installers competing for business, but few provide the customer service and expertise that we found in abundance with Sunwork.

I would highly recommend Sunwork for any solar project.

SunWork was a very smooth and easy contractor to work with. I worked with John Beard to ensure my new roof was unobstructed for the foot print of the panels and my service panel was upgraded to the current code. John gave me all of the options available, sizing, and micro inverter vs. string inverter. The work was scheduled for 2 days but completed in 1!! The install crew was prompt, knowledgeable, and cleaned up when they were done. The project came in $442 under budget! SunWork took care of the permit, drawings, meeting with city inspection and PG&E Solar agreement. System: 8 panel 2.25 kW mirco-inverter.

SUPERB!

The Pricing is AWESOME! The workmanship in my area was SUPERB! Their business model explains it all. Bid them! You won't regret it.

18 kW system at our meditation center

Really enjoyed working with them - from planning to execution. We had them install an 18 kW system at our meditation center. Being a non-profit ourselves, we had to go back and forth many times to ensure our money was well spent. They were very patient with our queries. They were very knowledgeable and gave us the best price. The actual cost came less than what they quoted. Would definitely recommend them!

O'Kelly Project - San Luis Obispo

I could write a long review with all the superlatives but it boils down to this... If you qualify to have Sunwork do your project, it's a no brainer to go ahead with them. I saved 28% over the nearest commercial bid and the work, planning, and project was FIRST CLASS. I would be glad to discuss them in more detail if you want to email me.

Sunwork install

It's an amazing company!! They installed a complete system on my house. I usually do the work on my house and can be very specific on doing a job right the first time. They were more careful and detail oriented than myself! They have a different business model than other solar companies. They use volunteers for the grunt work, thereby reducing the cost by about 30%. I volunteered for a few days first, then I helped with my install. I couldn't be happier with the whole process!

Great job and amazing savings

Thanks SunWork for an amazing job on our solar project in Arroyo Grande. You made the whole process easy, educational and fun! Plus our panels look beautiful. My roof is steep and made from concrete tile and the team had no trouble at all. I'm glad we upgraded the Sunny Boy inverter to one that could accommodate any future solar panel expansion plus includes a secure power supply feature where I can plug into my solar even if the grid goes down. Bryan Noel and my awesome volunteer crew did a terrific job! Bryan patiently answered all my questions and designed a system that is perfect for our needs. So glad SunWork has expanded operations from the Bay Area to San Luis Obispo County. I can't wait to get my first PG&E bill which I expect to reflect only the minimum amount. Thanks SunWork!

Great service at cheapest price

SunWork did amazing job on installing solar system at our home. The amount that was charged was really less compare to rest of the installers

SunWork. Easy and inexpensive

I heard SunWork interviewed on KCBX radio and was instantly interested in their business model of helping out the low electric use customer get a system that would take 2 or 3 times longer to pay off with a conventional installer. I then talked with them at Earth Day SLO. When I left their booth I was sold, and scheduled a site analysis with the project lead Bryan. Bryan was very thorough professional and several weeks later we started the installation. Bryan was great in explaining what we were to do and was there to help us out as needed. I had not done any previous training, but as the homeowner, was able to help out. As Project Lead Bryan did all the site planning, permitting with the county and PG&E. The process was so painless and easy, thanks Bryan Noel and SunWork!

Thankful for SunWork

In a word. . . impressive. I started this process towards the beginning of the year not even imagining that this would go as well as it had. I decided to educate myself, and fortunately I came across SunWork during my research. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario because I was the perfect candidate for their business model, customers who are interested in learning the in's and out's of the system and how it is all put together. Mind you, if you want to be hands off, they cater to that as well, but I think they really would rather have their customers get involved as much or as little as they would like. Before I found SunWork and reached out to them, my mindset was that I was going to do this completely on my own. I feel like going through this process and learning what I did, I have a greater understanding and could probably get it done on my own. SunWork provided me the opportunity to take my baby steps when it came to getting this project going. When I first reached out to SunWork, because of the 'S' Tile on my roof, it wasn't looking like it was going to be a reality. I'll be honest, I begged and pleaded to work with this non-profit, because I knew they were EXACTLY what I was looking for, and I believed the same was true of them, whether they knew it or not. I think I may have convinced them when I showed them that I was in this for all the right reasons. I was not looking just for a bargin, although that was a huge selling point for me, I was looking for a partner and a teacher, Bryan (project leader) was just that. After a bit of begging and convincing, I was told Bryan would have to do a site survey and he would be the final decision making authority. My wife and I waited for our site survey with Bryan and crossed our fingers for the best. When Bryan arrived I did my best not to try and scare him away with how much I wanted to work with him, it worked. He did a very thorough and meticulous site survey and I knew this was exactly what we needed for our home. Bryan got back to me after a few days, said the 'S' Tiles were typically a no-go for the volunteer model, but we could make it work, since they were of good quality. My wife, uncle and I attended both free workshops, (which I also highly recommend) one for volunteer training and the other for "Going Solar", which, by that time we already had a signed contract and a project date confirmed. I went to the class eager to learn and nervous about getting volunteers, especially since we live in Orcutt. I believe by the end of the workshops we had a full list for both days. Fast forward a couple weeks and the project was upon us. Bryan, myself, my uncle, my wife and volunteers got to work. Bryan was so patient as we had a crew of first timers, but as we went the work seemed to flow pretty well. Everyone had a job and a purpose. At times I felt a bit useless, as I was pretty unsteady on my feet and around these types of tools, but I felt included and I felt like I had a purpose in being there, not just a spectator. Bryan worked hard, even surpassing the normal "work" hours to get us ahead of schedule for the following days work, which was really admirable. I'm glad Bryan did that for us because it turns out there was a last minute cancellation (no fault on the part of SunWork) for volunteer. My uncle, Bryan and myself worked hard to get the panels up, wired and the system online by the early afternoon. I could go on about SunWork, Bryan and why solar is so important. I will, but not in this format, I plan on volunteering and doing what I can to get SunWork more projects and more happy people. Bryan was a pleasure to work with, I guarantee your system won't be slapped together and thrown into place like a commercial installer does.

Sunwork did a system expansion for us

Sunwork installed an 8 panel 2.2kW system with microinverters for us in the autumn of 2015. Since that time, our electricity use increased. We contacted Sunwork about increasing our solar capacity. Project Lead John Beard visited and gave us a few options. We decided to go with adding three 290 watt panels. As this was a small job, John was able to install the addition in one day with me helping. John had the city inspector over a few days later to inspect and approve. He also filed the NEM paperwork for the expansion which PGE signed off in about a week. Another great job by Sunwork! John's work was excellent and we are very happy! He did everything: design, install, inspection scheduling and PGE paperwork! And all at a reasonable price! As a DIYer, this was also fun because I was able to participate in the work. For my review of our original install, see past reviews dated 10/26/2015. I highly recommend John and Sunwork!

Excellent experience and service

SunWork was, without a doubt, the most comprehensive and perfect service we have experienced. Typically the cost of any remodel, addition, or home improvement has followed the old saying of twice as expensive and three times as long as the initial quote but this was not the case with SunWork. From start to finish Bryan and Reuben were there to answer any questions and to keep the job moving forward. We added 15 panels in a single day, helped installed our own panels, got to know and work with some cool individuals, and got our system up and running in less than 24 hours. I rarely proselytize for one business or experience over another but, in this case, it made both cents and sense to have SunWork supply and install and connect our solar panels. We have a less than 5 year payback time on our panels and SunWork was with us through design, quote, installation and city inspection! Amazing!

Townhouse unit. HOA approved.

One of the most pleasant and professional experiences I've had with any contractor. Great communication. We were able to do it even though I'm in a multi-unit HOA.

For a challenging installation

SunWork installs photovoltaic (solar electric) systems only for non-profits, and for people with electric bills under 100$/mo, ie, very long pay-back periods. My project presented several challenges. Reuben Veek, the principal lead of SunWork, had to pull 110 ft of cable through three structures and underground conduits to reach my one sunny location. He dealt, very patiently, with three dubious arguments at my building dept, over a period of five months. Once the permit was issued, he installed the system fairly promptly. He was always positive, always hopeful, always a pleasure to work with. Oh, and his price was less than half of what several commercial installers quoted me.

Thank you, SunWork. A++ job!

After getting quotes and talking a bunch with SolarCity and SunWork and customers of both, I opted to get solar put on my roof with SunWork. I'm really happy I did. Bryan and the company were wonderful the entire way through. Bryan did a great job explaining things well to me throughout the entire process and got the system up and running without a hitch. The workmanship was top quality. Plus, I got to be involved in the install myself which gave me the confidence to feel like I can maintain the system myself if needed. Thank you, SunWork, for working with me and getting me onto Solar!

I highly recommend the nonprofit SunWork.org

We had such a great experience with our SunWork installation in August. Communication was excellent, the time from initial contact to site visit to quote to workday to inspection was FAST. I participated in the installation, which was a ton of fun. Everyone involved was great. The attention to detail shown by the project lead (Reuben, the founder), was incredible, and I can be very picky. What a great organization, and what a great deal for any family that uses less than $100/month for electricity (the threshold is higher if you have an electric vehicle). Installation costs are 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of going with one of the big installers. Our system is on target to pay for itself in less than 4 years.

Happy Warms Spring Resident

SunWork provides excellent service at the affordable price. We had an excellent experience with Meo and Paul, they both were incredibly professional. The installation took less than a day, Meo and his team did an excellent job. Meo was extremely patient in answering our questions, he even helped to setup the monitoring system for us. I have already given out his contact to my colleague and friends to keep him busy.

Unusual roof in old Palo Alto

If you have an unusual roof or other unique situation that major installers can not address, these are the people to use. I had a nearly flat TPE membrane roof with lots of vents and skylights. SunRun could only engineer an 11 panel system. Sunwork managed to design and install a 20 panel system at a very reasonable price. Bryan and his workers did a great job and worked well with the building department to get our permit and pass final inspection. If you are a DIY person, you can help and really understand how it all goes together.

Solar panel installation

We had a great experience with Sunwork. Bryan was the project leader and he was extremely helpful. He very patiently answered all the questions I had. Especially going through the details on the pros and cons of a microinverter system vs an optimizer system (we ultimately went with the microinverter system). I volunteered as part of his volunteer crew and learnt a lot! Bryan was very patient as he explained all the details to everybody. His work was very professional and thorough. There were a few fuses in the existing main panel which were not according to code, and Brian went to the trouble of replacing all the other fuses in addition to what was required for the solar installation. I would recommend going through the volunteering experience as Brian shared his vast knowledge ranging from AC-DC converters to best places to buy tools. Both Brian and Paul were very helpful. Sunwork provided the most competitive quotes. And the actual bill was lower than their quote. They were very fast. After we signed the contract, the whole installation including permits, review, PG&E activation was done within a month. I am already seeing my usage at PG&E drop significantly! I usually don't write reviews, but this is an exception. If you are thinking Solar, hopefully your electric bills are less than $100/month so that Sunwork can help you!