07/17/2014
John White
The buying experience that I had with SolarMax was excellent in every way. I would strongly recommend that anyone considering a Solar system, or “PV†(Photovoltaic) as it is more correctly called, regard SolarMax as the first choice “go-to†company.<br /> <br />First the designer got the math exactly right when he recommended a 33 panel 6.5 Kw system for our 2100 square feet home. Even when the a/c is running the meter has a hard time deciding whether to go forward or backward. It seems to depend on whether a refrigerator is running at the time. Of course, when the thermostat turns the a/c off, the meter goes backwards.<br /> <br />Some companies offer a lease deal on PV systems, but I would recommend the purchase option through SolarMax. With a lease deal you do not get the Riverside Public Utilities (“RPUâ€) rebate, nor the Federal Tax credit that practically wiped out our tax liability for 2013, and of course you will have to keep making the lease payments.<br /> <br />As part of the Solarmax purchase deal they offer very affordable low APR financing, and the repayments are lower than the electricity bill you used to pay, so you save money from day one. When the payments are done, you literally get free electricity.<br /> <br />My wife and I have expensive Spanish tiles on our roof, but not a single one was broken by the installers. In addition to removing all packing materials and odd scraps of wire, they washed down the whole driveway, so afterwards there was nothing to show they had ever been there.<br /> <br />Each panel has a built-in inverter (from DC to AC), so you do not have a great big ugly inverter on the side of your house like the older systems do.<br /> <br />The system also has a Wi-Fi feature, so if like me you are interested, you can view performance from your computer. I am told this also offers remote trouble-shooting so they know the problem even before they come out. Not that we have had any problems.<br /> <br />All in all, very professional, a system that delivers on its promise, and a great company to do business with.