Review for Green Way Solar

Office location: 43 Doe Run Road, Manheim PA, 17545

12/27/2023
T Smith Pine Grove, PA

Knowledgeable, Helpful, Excellent System for a Great Price

I highly recommend Green Way for your solar system. Will from Green Way always returned my calls or emails quickly, efficiently, and with knowledge and care. Out of six quotes, Green Way provided the best price per kwh of energy. In addition, Will has a knowledge of the local laws and codes, and knows who to contact within the building code departments to expedite the process. Green Way provides local labor who are knowledgeable and work diligently. Some companies that I had quotes from were from out of state and thus the labor was not local and their time to begin installation was much further off. Below is my solar story. This was our third solar system that we have installed in the last six years. Although we knew what was available five to six years ago, we knew that solar technology moves along quickly, so we began to research what was now available in solar. We started with five quotes for a new system while simultaneously doing a lot of research on panels and what was now available. We found a youtube channel from Julian Solar Consultant who looked at all of the available panels and compared them scientifically like we would. We also did our own additional research and comparisons. After lots of research, we decided on the new REC panel. This panel is great in low light, has a low temperature coefficient (absolute value), a great efficiency, and has one of the lowest degradation percentages over time. Also, their quality control is so great that they have very few panels that fail. After settling on the REC, we found that none of the companies that we had quotes from were certified installers of the REC panels. As a result, we would not get the free extended warranty. I looked on REC's website for certified installers and found Green Way. The first thing I did was to look up Green Way on BBB.org. Unlike many of the other solar companies, Green Way had no complaints and was rated A+ on Better Business Bureau. I then contacted Green Way. I am so glad that I did. Will at Green Way gave a quote for REC's panels. He also gave a quote for a lower priced panel as well to give me another option. Will provided a local source, unlike all but one of the other companies. I like supporting local companies. Also, I figured (correctly so) that a local company would know the local building inspectors and local regulations better than a nonlocal company. My previous two systems were Enphase microinverters. I was skeptical of SolarEdge as it was different than my other two systems. After much more research on SolarEdge vs Enphase, I found that both were fine. Because the inverter is so important to the system, I opted for the extended warranty on the inverter for not much additional cost. Will provided a great price as well for both panel options. I put together my own spreadsheet for cost savings and included effects of the panel degradation, efficiency, and temperature coefficient. I calculated that although the REC panels were significantly more expensive than the other panel, I would break even on the added cost within five years and anything beyond those five years I would be much better off with the REC panels. Comparing the now six quotes which I had, Will gave the best price. He also offered local labor, which helps our local economy. He also offered an expertise of working with local officials. Because he is a certified installer of the REC panels, we qualified for the free extended warranty on the panels. Will was excellent in getting the paperwork through for the system. He hand-delivered the paperwork directly for the building permits. He knew the people to contact, how to contact them, and how to quickly get the system approved. After it was approved, Will's team showed up and worked tirelessly to get the system up and running. Judy was the lead on the team and did a great job. As a woman PhD scientist, I appreciated that Will had a female lead. After installation, the inspectors came and the system flew through inspection with no challenges or hiccups. The very first morning after the system was connected was a very foggy, winter morning in the mountains of Pennsylvania where I live. I couldn't see six feet beyond our balcony due to the heavy fog. Even an outline of the sun was not visible. Yet at 8:30 am in late November and heavy fog, our solar panels were producing three times as much energy as we were using at the time. As the day wore on, the panels generated more. We also began to run other appliances and our energy uptake increased, but I was just amazed with how much energy was created even in the heavy, morning, winter fog with the REC panels. It has now been five weeks since our system was connected to the grid. We have had no challenges at all with the solar system. There were many complaints listed on the Better Business Bureau with the other companies. We made the right decision to go with Green Way. We also made the right decision to go with the REC panels. Green Way found out that our metal roof had waves in it, so they had to customize the racking system for our roof. Even with that customization, the original price quoted by Green Way was the exact amount that we paid. There were no hidden costs or added fees. Everything went as smooth as silk. Sincerely, Tammy L Smith, PhD