10/26/2015
Anonymous
San Jose, CA
We had a 2.2kW system with microinverters installed by Sunwork on our San Jose house. Our project lead was Bryan. He did everything from completing a site survey, answering my questions, doing the system design, procuring city permits, installing with volunteers, to getting city inspector approval. Bryan also sat with me to configure the online monitoring and to apply for the PGE net metering. Sunwork and Bryan did a lot of things, but one thing they did not do is a high pressure sales job!<br /><br />Sunwork is a nonprofit which serves customers who have electricity bills of $100/month or less, and are worth considering if you are in that category. They also have a roofing criteria; check out their website for details.<br /><br />Sunwork does the installation with volunteers. Homeowners can also participate on the install, but I don't think is required. If you are a DIYer, this can be a fun and educational opportunity. I volunteered on another homeowner's project before participating on our house. Like the other install job I worked on, the system on our house was professionally done. Our house took only 1 day because it was a smaller system.<br /><br />Over the years, I talked with different solar installers (at the big box stores, at solar events, the door to door sales people, Costco including Costco Online, etc.). Because our electricity consumption is not very high, these traditional installers did not seem interested (I think because they don't make as much money on a small system). I stumbled upon Sunwork while reading reviews on the internet; several reviews indicated that they did small systems at an affordable cost. While our system is small, Sunwork also installs larger systems.<br /><br />I highly recommend Sunwork! Cost wise they were very affordable because of their nonprofit nature and the participation of volunteers. Our project lead Bryan was great! I also met Reuben, Mike and Marc of Sunwork, and they are also wonderful people! I think of Sunwork as the Habitat for Humanity of solar. Sunwork is not for everyone, but we had a great experience with them and the volunteers!