Review for Southern Energy Management

04/21/2018
Anonymous Raleigh, NC

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.