Texas Solar Outfitters

They did a great job and their pricing was way more competitive than other major national solar installers. Happy with the service and install. The system has been running for the past 13 months without any issues. **Update on my original 5 star review** I had a issue where the conduit line cracked, probably due to a freeze during the winter and water getting in the line. The system still works but I wanted TSO to come by and take a look. Maybe repair the cracked conduit line. I have emailed, called, emailed again, called, left voice mails and i have not heard from anyone. Are they even still in business. Very Frustrated. **Update. Still have not heard anything.

My solar was installed by Texas Solar Outfitters, and worked great for two years, then stopped working two months ago to an inverter problem. Texas Solar Outfitters won't even answer the phone anymore, and they don't respond to voicemails. So I haven't had working solar panels for two months now. The 25 year warranty is a joke if you can't get service on the panels. Edit: after getting back in contact with TSO they successfully resolved my issues and brought my monitoring equipment back online.

Beware of doing business

I purchased 13 solar panels which were installed late July of last year (2019). The system functioned well, but several items were not taken care of as promised. One of the two main issues were having them trim some trees that caused shade over the panels. One gentlemen by the last name Thomas came to my house to evaluate the trimming and said he had "some guys" that would come out to take care of it. Well, it's been over a year and they never came. Needless to say, I went ahead and paid out of pocket to have those trees trimmed. The second (and main) issue I am having now, or should I say, have been having for over six months, is that two of my panels are not registering power production. I have reached out repeatedly over the phone all summer, and conveniently, their phone lines are never answered and/or their voicemail is full and unable to take messages. I finally got in touch with one employee (Melissa) in late July who was very empathetic to my situation and she supposedly spoke with someone on the team but no one has ever bothered to return my call to send out a technician to evaluate the faulty panels. The most frustrating thing about this experience with Texas Solar Outfitters is the lack of accountability and customer service. I am a citizen trying to do my part to help my environment only to be meet with what seems to be a scrupulous company veiled as a righteous environmental advocate. Beware of this last business practice of theirs. BEFORE they even turn on your system, you have to sign a document that states that ALL work was completed to your satisfaction. The quandary is how do you know all work is fully functional? I should have seen this coming. And yes, I have filed the pertinent complaint with the BBB. I will update as necessary.

I purchased 13 solar panels which were installed late July of last year (2019). The system functioned well, but several items were not taken care of as promised. One of the two main issues were having them trim some trees that caused shade over the panels. One gentlemen by the last name Thomas came to my house to evaluate the trimming and said he had "some guys" that would come out to take care of it. Well, it's been over a year and they never came. Needless to say, I went ahead and paid out of pocket to have those trees trimmed. The second (and main) issue I am having now, or should I say, have been having for over six months, is that two of my panels are not registering power production. I have reached out repeatedly over the phone all summer, and conveniently, their phone lines are never answered and/or their voicemail is full and unable to take messages. I finally got in touch with one employee (Melissa) in late July who was very empathetic to my situation and she supposedly spoke with someone on the team but no one has ever bothered to return my call to send out a technician to evaluate the faulty panels. The most frustrating thing about this experience with Texas Solar Outfitters is the lack of accountability and customer service. I am a citizen trying to do my part to help my environment only to be meet with what seems to be a scrupulous company veiled as a righteous environmental advocate. Beware of this last business practice of theirs. BEFORE they even turn on your system, you have to sign a document that states that ALL work was completed to your satisfaction. The quandary is how do you know all work is fully functional? I should have seen this coming. And yes, I have filed the pertinent complaint with the BBB. I will update as necessary.

Great experience. You deal with one person throughout the entire process. They beat every date they quoted. Very helpful throughout the entire process and answered all questions so even I could understand. The install crew came and finished in one day and cleaned up very well. The install looks great. The system works very well so far (about a week). I'm very happy with the results. Had the system for 2 months now and I already have a substantial credit with my service provider. The performance has exceeded what was quoted by at least 10%. Loving it.

Excellent system provided and people to work with

Had a 5 KW system consisting of 15 LG solar panels and SolarEdge inverter installed in Oct 2019. Texas Solar Outfitters was very good to work with. Of 5 proposals obtained, TSO provided the best proposed configuration and price. The sales person and technical people were very responsive to my many questions, including when I wanted to add: another panel, a higher capacity inverter, and electric vehicle (EV) charge capability. System is working great. We currently use approximate 6,000 KWH per year, and based on the system performance for the first eight months (over 5,000 KWH), I will have power available to cover much of the charging of a plug in Hybrid vehicle. The system monitoring via an ethernet link provides very comprehensive information on system and individual solar panel performance, from time of day to yearly.

Great folks, professional plans and installation, great results

Texas Solar Outfitters came up with a nice layout and options for us to reach close to 100% solar coverage of our power use. The installers were very nice folks and know there stuff. Thanks Texas Solar for helping us contribute to

Steve and crew got me running at full power

TSO installed my 16 kW system back in 2015. After commissioning modifications, other than one blown fuse and an SMA inverter communication card failure (all warranty work), the system has performed carefree. I am very pleased with my investment and the savings from grid power. However, several weeks ago, I noticed a significant drop in production. I called TSO and spoke with Kyle. TSO was here within days to do initial troubleshooting. After consulting with SMA about possible inverter issues, TSO sent their lead electrician, Steve, to do a more robust instruction of the wiring between the panels and the inverters. In between rain events last Friday, Steve and crew identified the issue on the roof - a connector had been pulled out by something chewing on the wire, thus taking 10 panels out of production. Weather kept them for doing the repair that day, but he was back Monday morning and got the system back up to full power. Appreciate Kyle sticking with me on this to get to a resolution and for Steve systematically going through the wiring to identify and repair the system in a timely manner. Thanks!

Great company to work with!

We sent a query to Texas Solar Outfitters at the end of October 2017 and had our 26 residential panels from SunPower installed and running by the start of March 2018. The entire process was smooth and easy from picking out the right design to getting all the approvals completed. The team (represented by Chris Walker and Kyle Story) was transparent and honest and extremely knowledgeable. They were able to give a timeline of when each step of the project would be completed and met every milestone on time. After the system was running, they followed up to make sure I had what I needed for my rebates and taxes, which gives me confidence that they will also back their warranty if anything ever goes wrong.

Landowner

I added my solar panels to my barn roof which have preformed very well. I have gone thru a hurricane, 2 floods and a tornado with no damage or loss of productions. Strangely my brother has installed a field many times larger than I did and after his exhaustive search, he came to the same conclusion Texas Solar Outfitters was the best company to deal with. I can always reach by phone and production reports are always available on line.

Professional, experienced and trustworthy!

I've had my 360 solar panels for over a year now and they have performed 7% better than projected by TSO. Therefore, I am a happy camper.

Great Experience - Chris Walker - Texas Solar Outfitters

My family and I had a wonderful experience working with Texas Solar Outfitters on our 2018 solar install. Chris Walker was on company rep/sales person, he illustrated great knowledge of the various products, while showing extreme care for customer questions. This install went very well and all of the items went as planned true to schedule. I give Chris and his crew 5 STARS.

We got 26 solar panels installed by Texas Solar Outfitters. The entire process from first visit to the system going online took about 4 months. I worked with Chris Walker and had a fantastic experience from start to finish. We hit every milestone in the time frame that he gave in our first meeting, which was pretty astounding to me. Everyone at the store was nice and helpful. They made sure that we knew the costs and benefits of multiple options so that we got a design that would both save us money and meet our requirements. They take great pride in their work and refuse to sell anything that won't perform well for the customer. Chris has been great at following up and stayed in touch even after finishing the job.

Residential Solar Array Project: Houston's "Greater Heights"

I selected Texas Solar Outfitters for a couple of reasons: I had read reports and reviews about them, and their location is not far from my home. I stopped by their offices one afternoon to inquire about a solar array solution for my home. Five (5) weeks to the day following our first meeting, we activated a dual array solution with 18.6kW capacity using SunPower Equinox panels. My wife and I could not be more pleased with the experience. The sales team was very professional and quite capable. The installation team was prompt, respectful, and easy to work with. The back office team made the transition from our legacy REP to the new REP easy and seamless for my wife and me. The system has been producing results for us that are consistent with the assumptions I used to evaluate the return on investment.

Solar Panels Made Easy!

We have wanted solar panels for 10 years and have waited for the right opportunity and better pricing. Cal and Texas Solar Outfitters made the process of installing 33 panels on our new home easy. Cal is down to earth, straight forward and very easy to communicate with. He is the owner and is super customer service oriented. He will show you the shop, explain the process, provide information on rebates and be readily available if there are any questions or concerns. His shop is centrally located on Shepherd between Memorial and Washington. I could not be any happier that I am using solar to power my house!

EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INSTALLATION

My experience with Texas Solar Outfitters was positive from project start to finish. Marshall and Amanda made the process effortless from design to switching to a local net metering provider. As a new person exploring solar, Marshall patiently answered all my questions on options. No hard sell tactics, just clear answers and great financial feedback. I was extremely pleased with the openness of the entire team to answer questions posed along the way. TSO is a company that puts customer service first and definitely one that I will recommend to others.

Rough Start, Good Finish.

1) Initial quote/proposal was via Google Maps and solely over the phone. The initial design did not take into account the actual site considerations (i.e. young trees that will eventually grow considerably, etc.). Was going to go with another outfit, but they decided to change their business model to commercial only in the Houston area. 2) TSO "hired" Marshall from the "other" outfit. His proposal was more "accurate" and he was much more attuned to my/our needs. We went with TSO solely b/c Marshall went there. 3) Installation: Took several days (longer than expected) because the crew(s) were working on other projects. Not a problem for us, but may be for others. No problems with city inspections. Crew(s) were professional and seemingly very competent. 4) Electrical production (predicted vs. actual). So far, better than predicted. Less than 1 years production, but the numbers seem to be meeting (if not bettering) predicted estimates of proposal.

Review

Cal and the people at Texas Solar Outfitters were outstanding. Cal explained everything to us and made sure we had the right system for us. He really shines when working with the local power companies and made sure we were getting credit for the extra power we were generating. I called a few others and they just hired a contractor or never responded. These guys have their own warehouse and equipment. This is what they do. They are not electricians putting in solar power. Hire these professionals for your project.

Great Solar Results

I thought I would give you and TSO some good news. Our system was installed in December 2015. Our January-Feburary bill was $15. Better than that, our February-March bill was $1.95!! We have Green Mountain Energy. It took us to the end of December to finalize Renewal Rewards program. They buy the power at the same rate as we pay for it. So, whenever we are not using power, they buy what we do not use. We have had great weather these the past couple of months and we have not needed much power. It has been fun watching the power increase as the sun intensity increases. John Miggins was a great sales man. He is truly interested in solar power and it showed in his readiness to answer our questions and to get the installation done. We are quite happy with the system.

Overall a good job, but some learnings along the way.

This is a short review of my experience with Texas Solar Outfitters (TSO) and my journey to solar energy. Three years ago I was inspired by Elon Musk's dedication to clean energy and his efforts to manufacture a desirable electric car. As a result, I decided to start my investigation into solar power. As someone who is retired, I wanted to migrate to a reasonable, cost predictable energy source for my house. In addition, I thought, how cool would it be to be "fossil fuel free" - ironic as I made my career with "big oil". I began my engagement with TSO three years ago, with Cal Morton coming out to give me an overview of the system, cost, and generation options. The good news was my house was a great candidate for a solar system. The bad news was that my roof was almost 15 years old. I decided that it made no sense to install a new solar system only to have to take it off a few years later. So I made the decision to install a new roof and delayed the system installation a year. Roofs are expensive! The following year I got back in touch with Cal and we proceeded to spec out a system. My goal was to have a system big enough to cover most of my energy needs and provide the energy for future electric vehicles. I decided to go "deep" and cover the south facing roof with panels. After signing the initial contract, due travel, order time, and schedule delays, installation began about four months later. I was impressed with the design and engineering work, which was comprehensive and detailed (although there was one significant item missed. On installation day Cal's team showed up bright and early to begin the two day effort. The following is a summary of what went right, wrong, and what I would do different. Although the text of "what went wrong" takes up most of the review, I want to share this to help future buyers with their installations. Overall, it has been a good experience and I would recommend TSO to prospective customers. What went right: Prompt and polite installation staff Cleaned up after their work. Quick installation Good hand over to CenterPoint Willingness to assist with problems and issues What didn't go so well: First let me say, that mistakes happen in life and sometimes "who is at fault" is not clear or is shared between the customer and installer. So I think that it is more important how a vendor recovers from a mistake, than if one is made. In this respect, TSO did a good job of responding and addressing all the issues. I have put some detail around each issue to help future customers. Panel Placement & Cosmetics Panel placement on the room was different from the reviewed engineering drawings. The design called for the panels to be placed in a continuous rectangle - but crew put gaps to accommodate vent pipes in the roof. This had no functional impact but was a bit disappointing. There had been a miscommunication between the design and install teams. Bottom line - if having vent pipes interrupt the panel placement, you should get them adjusted prior to installation. To achieve a great looking system, the goal was to have all the mounting hardware in black. Unfortunately, one of the splicing bars was silver and a couple end-caps were missing. This took a second visit to correct. Electrical Provider Activation After installation, Cal recommend a solar buy back program from Reliant Electric that could be used with the now generating solar system. To connect up the to the grid a "DRG" agreement between the homeowner and CenterPoint (grid provider) is required. This outlines each parties responsibilities and obligations. This was done quickly, with Cal's help, and the system went online producing energy within a week of installation. I then signed up with Reliant Energy for their "solar buyback" plan and then left the country for two months. While gone, I was able to remotely monitor the system and saw a significant reduction in my bill. However, it wasn't until I returned home, that I thought I should be seeing a much smaller bill given the size of my solar system. After some discussion with Reliant, I discovered they require a second "DRG" agreement before they will begin any credit for energy put back on the grid. As a result for several months, although my bill was lower, I was not getting the credit I expected. Cal helped me identify the issue and with some "wrangling" with Reliant, everything got straightened out. So far during the winter months, I have been running a credit balance with them. Yeah! Just remember to check your first / second bill closely to ensure you are being billed correctly. Breaker Box Cleanup As part of my installation, we specified the installation of the "Ted Pro Home Energy Monitor" system which would allow me to see real time my electrical usage and generation. With this system you can monitor both overall and specific targeted device electrical consumption (e.g. air conditioning). This system was installed with connections to the main breaker box. A few months after installation, I needed to turn some breakers off. I could hardly open the breaker panel door. It turns out that the electricians had done a poor job with the wire management and installation, resulting in some panel miss-alignment. Given this is the heart of my electrical wiring, I was quite unhappy with this. I contact Cal and after a few weeks of scheduling mis-fires, he was able to get a qualified electrical to come out and straighten things up. My learning is to inspect every aspect of the system before signing off. CenterPoint Connecting Sizing The most significant issue was that the engineering design failed to catch that the existing connection from the main breaker box to the CenterPoint junction box was undersized for the new application. Although the system could be activated after installation, the addition of two additional 240V circuits in the garage (future electric cars) could not be activated. When the house was constructed (yr.2000), the builder had put in a "minimum spec" aluminum cable to the CenterPoint junction box. The additional load of the 240v outlets exceeded it's average rating. This resulted in a long discussion and search for an electrical contractor to trench and lay new cable to the junction box. Cal was very helpful and found a local electrical contractor that would retrench and install the cable. This required two days and a disconnection / reconnection order with CenterPoint. In addition, the areas of the yard where the trenching was done required new sod the be laid. The learning was to be sure your contractor inspects all aspects of your electrical system before signing off on the engineering. Now that the system is fully operational, it has been great getting "free" electricity. The system to date has been trouble and maintenance free. Purchasing a solar system system is a long term investment, but one that provides a lot of personal satisfaction, good for the environment and will save you money over time. If you are purchasing a new home or have one under construction, solar should be part of your plan. I also believe that electric cars will be the answer for the majority of urban drivers. Bloomberg News has just recently written an opinion article where they predict another "oil crash" in part due to the conversion to electric transportation. This article can be viewed at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2016-02-26/bloomberg-advantage-electric-cars-to-take-off-within-10-years . I believe renewable energy such as solar will continue to help make the USA self-sustaining for it's energy needs and contribute to better environment. All the best to Cal and his team at Texas Solar Outfitters.

Very satisfied

Texas Solar Outfitters were recommended to us by our builder. From the initial call to post installation we have been very satisfied. Not only were all my questions answered, but they went even further to email articles they thought I might be interested in (even after installation). Their proposal was conservative and realistic in terms of cost and savings which I appreciated. The process was explained very clearly so there were no surprises or confusion. It has been a very easy process from a customers perspective. Would most certainly recommend to others.

Great service and expertise.

Had been thinking about solar for years. After a meeting with a rep from another company that sent me a "cold" email, and receiving pressure to sign up "that day," I decided to give Texas Solar Outfitters a call. I've seen their office for years (a good sign), and they advertise on Houston's NPR station (to me, another good sign). A call to Marshall Harkins resulted in a quick rough mock up of a design, and some basic information about the benefits of going solar. There was no pressure, and we continued our conversation over the next few months. Everything was handled incredibly professionally. Once I decided to move forward, it really only took about a month from signing the contract to completion of installation. TSO handled all the permitting and HOA permissions. They were always here when they said, early to meet inspectors, and everything was explained very clearly and in a way that laymen can understand. Today I had the pleasure of watching my electric meter run BACKWARDS for the second day in a row. Thank you Texas Solar Outfitters. It's good to know you're part of the community, and I can reach you when I need to.

Let The Sun Shine

If you have ever thought about getting a solar system for your home or business, stop thinking and go do it. Be sure to call the people at Texas Solar Outfitters. Talk to Cal Morton. He'll give you all the information you need to make the right decision for your home needs. Everything was done to a high professional standard including assistance in acquiring the best solar buy back program. Their workmanship was first rate and i have gotten rave reviews from all who have seen our home after the panels were installed. If I had a question, the staff at Texas Solar Outfitters were happy to give me as much information as i needed. I would recommend Texas Solar Outfitters to friends and family and can't thank them enough for getting my home hooked up to the Sun!

7.37 KW system installed by Texas Solar Outfitters

I started discussing the solar installation with Marshall Harkins and after collecting the basic information on my house location and providing him with the average electrical bill over 12 months, we finalized on a proposal for a 22 panel system that should produce 108% of my energy needs for the year. The proposal included very detailed specs for the solar panels and inverter. I'm was already a low energy user and that included charging my wife's Chevy Volt. I have a 3 bedroom house and I use ~11,000 kWh of electricity a year. This is why I was able to have a system installed that has the potential to cover 108% of my energy needs with a Solar Buyback plan from Entergy. After paying a down payment, the installer came out and looked at my south facing roof and made measurements. They also looked at my attic and I gave them my opinion on how I would run the electrical conduits thru the attic and to my garage. It took a few weeks to get the plans finished. The plans were submitted to the HOA to sign off on. With the HOA signing off, the company got permits from the city for installation of the system. I also received an Interconnection agreement from Entergy that I had to sign off on since the solar system will be pushing power to the grid when I'm not using it. Because of bad weather, the installers came one day and installed the roof mounts and after the bad weather passed, they installed the panels while running the electrical conduits in the attic to the garage. The installation took two days to complete and was exactly how I wanted. The installers installed the Wifi antenna on the Inverter so that we could monitor the system online. Marshall gave me a binder with all the material you could ever want on the system for my records and we activated the system. Entergy came and inspected the system and approved it while changing out the old meter with a new digital meter. January was the first full month that the system has been up and running and I generated over 940 kwh. January was a rainy month and February is looking to generate more than 1,100 kwh. It's a lot of fun to see how much electricity your system is producing and you can even monitor it from an app on your smart phone! My thanks to Amanda, Marshall and the installers from Texas Solar Outfitters who installed a system for me that allows me to produce my own energy.

8.91 kW system installed by Texas Solar Outfitters

I'm very pleased with my system and with TSO's service. There was only one day's delay on their side; they had a big project ahead of me. Walker and Amanda were helpful and patient with my ignorance. I was impressed by the precision of the installation crew. Way to go, TSO!

Excellent Service for 6.48 kW/24 panel system

We are very pleased and excited to join the solar family through the TSO installation. Ours was completed on 12/15/2015, 2 months after signing a contract. We did extensive research for other Houston providers, and interviewed two other companies. TSO was the most informed, thorough and transparent than the others. John Miggins was able to visit us twice before signing and then twice after the contract. This gave us confidence in the attention to our needs. The design, ACC approval, city permitting, installation and commissioning were flawless, mostly thanks to Amanda Simmons. Our experience and timeline parallels those of the previous customer's post on 10/02/2015. We have 24 x 275 W Sunedison panels and the SolarEdge 7.6 kW inverter (room to grow). So far, over 15 mostly cloudy and rainy days we have produced 170 kWh, and hoping for more during the sunny days (like 29 kWh on 12/28). We highly recommend TSO to all our friends. Regards, Andreas Matzakos

6.6 kW 24 Panel System

Installed the following: PV Panels: 24 x REC Solar, Model: REC275TP Inverters: 1 x SolarEdge Technologies, Model: SE6000 (240V) First of all, I wanted to say that I was able to take advantage of the offer on Angie's List for $1,000 for a $2,000 Credit Toward a Solar Panel Installation since I was getting a 6.6 kW system installed. A very nice coupon! I started discussing the solar installation with Cal Morton in early August. After collecting the basic information on my house location and providing him with the last 12 months of my electricity use he sent back a proposal for a 21 panel system that should produce 111% of my energy needs for the year. The proposal he sent back was not a 1 pager, it was 14 pages plus 4 pages on the specs for the solar panels and inverter, very detailed! I told him that I was interested in rounding out the system to 24 panels (3 rows of 8) knowing that the solar panels do degrade over time (they provide that math upfront too). He agreed and quickly turned around and provided me with a proposal for 24 panels that was estimated to produce 129% of my energy needs for the year. I must add the disclaimer that I'm already a very low user of energy. I have a 4 bedroom house and I only used ~7,500 kWh of electricity in the past year. This is why I'm able to have a system installed that has the potential to cover 100% of my energy needs with a Solar Buyback plan from the retail utility company. After providing a down payment, a couple of their folks came over and made measurements and looked in my attic so that they could get the numbers needed for detailed plans. It took a few weeks to get the plans finished. After that, the plans were provided to the HOA to sign off on. The HOA was very impressed with the thorough information provided by company. With the HOA signing off, the company got permits from the city for installation of the system. I also received an Interconnection agreement from CenterPoint Energy that I had to sign off on since the solar system will be pushing power to the grid when I'm not using it. The installation occurred on a Friday, the crew of 7 worked hard all day. On Monday a foreman with the company came out to install a Wifi antenna on the Inverter so that both they and I could monitor the system online. There is a home station that is directly connected to the modem in my house that receives the wireless signal from the inverter. On Tuesday CenterPoint came out and inspected the system and approved it. Cal met me at lunchtime with a nice binder with all the material you could ever want on the system for my records and we activated the system. This is only the third full day that I've had the system and it's produced from 26.5 to 31 kWh a day. It's a lot of fun to see how much electricity your system is producing and you can even monitor it from an app on your smart phone! From my initial discussion with Cal, to the actual functioning system, it was just under 2 months. A lot of things have to happen in that time, I've hit all the major ones above, so you have to be patient with the installation of a system like this. My thanks to all of the folks from Texas Solar Outfitters who installed a system for me that allows me to produce my own energy without any pollution to the environment!

excellent!

We were very happy with our solar installment by the Texas Soalr outfitters. They installed the panel on time and were very professionall and very informative about everything and explained how the whole system works. Answered all our questions. We are already seeing good results with our electricity bills.

GaryM

Walker, Amanda and the rest of the Texas Solar Outfitters team were a pleasure to work with. Came up with a design to meet our needs and budget that we can easily add to. Permitting process was smooth sailing for us since TSO did all the work. Installation crew were exceptionally polite and thoughtful. Final inspection and handover was a breeze. We're enjoying the sunny days and reduced electricity bills.

Would highly recommend!

I had a great experience from start to finish with these guys. Very knowledgeable from start to finish and they treated me like I was their only client. Very personalized service. Thanks!!