02/15/2020
Nat and Donna
SCARBOROUGH, ME
Maine Solar Solutions was a pleasure to work with. My initial system assessment was performed by Sam Zuckerman, owner. His was one of two bids for the project, the other was from Revision Energy (also a pleasure to work with). It was a tough decision. Sam said he would try to install the system before the end of 2018, and he delivered. His crew, led by Phil Walter, was outstanding. Phil was great about staying in touch by text messaging, so I knew when the crew was coming and going. When they wrapped-up, everything was left neat as a pin. The same can be said for the indoor electrical work. There was one miscalculation, but we had a good solution. My system is a 10-kW grid-tied system with battery. I chose to go with Pika Energy, a local Westbrook company, for the battery system (now owned by Generac). The battery modules arrived exactly as promised. A problem with the inverter was addressed by Pika sending a technician to the house. Having Pika nearby was invaluable. The system seems to be meeting all our power needs. When there is a power outage, the switchover to battery backup is almost unnoticeable. I am happy not to have to deal with propane tanks, noise, oil changes, and generator maintenance. We can keep the house warm and the lights on for probably three days with no sun. If the sun comes out and the panels are not snow-covered, we can go indefinitely through a power outage. There is nothing like a steep roof pitch to help the panels clear themselves of snow. It just slides off. Not so with a shallow pitch. I would buy this system again. I would have Maine Solar Solutions install it, with the caveat that you should always obtaining more than one bid. Areas for improvement: Maine Solar Solutions needs to produce a homeowner’s instruction manual for the system that explains all the new switches and devices that are mounted outside and in.