Review for NRG Clean Power

Office location: 7012 Owensmouth Avenue, Canoga Park CA, 91303

11/19/2021
Q. Lam Los Angeles, CA

Stay Away - Use a More Professional Installer

Detailed review of my experience below, but the main points: - Deceptive sales tactics - Poor design - Unprofessional installer - Poor coordination and communication throughout Sales Process - The initial bid NRG provided was a low ball bid intended to win the work, but did not reflect the actual cost. The initial quote was priced at $2.76/watt, but the revised bid was $3.39/watt (+23%). - The quote included solar panels that conveniently were no longer available during the follow up conversation - During the negotiation process, there was a sneaky attempt to switch materials. When I requested the installation of the NEMA 14-50 outlet be included for free, this was added, but there was another change to materials that was not called out (from Enphase microinverters to a SolarEdge inverter). Luckily I read the details carefully Handoff from Sales to Project Manager - Project manager had no details about the NEMA 14-50 outlet installation so I had to connect the dots Site Assessment and Plan Designs - Even though a site assessment was conducted, it seemed to be ineffective - The initial plans suggested that the inverter be installed as an obstruction to my front door. The installer had to look at my neighbor's solar setup to identify a new approach - The installer had difficulty locating the J-Box in the attic, which resulted in more time wasted. Shouldn't this have been covered during the site assessment and communicated to the installer? Materials Logistics - No details were provided about the fact that materials were going to be dropped when two different deliveries were made - The solar panels were dropped off in front of my neighbor's garage and the community trash/recycling area, which restricted access to these areas for a day and a half, which not only inconvenienced me, but also my neighbors Installation Process: I was told this should take 1-2 days to complete, but it took more than 5 weeks in total Visit 1 (October 1) - I was told that the installer would arrive in the morning, but they didn't get here until the afternoon (4pm) - The wrong lift was delivered so the install was delayed further - The installers were only able to work for a couple of hours before they had to stop when it got dark - The solar panels were left where they were dropped off, leaving the obstructions in place and inconveniencing my neighbors. Not to mention they were exposed to the risk of theft, just sitting in the driveway Visit 2 (October 2) - The installers came back the day after, at least they were on time on this occasion - However, they were only able to complete a couple of hours of work due to the heat - At least they were able to move the solar panels to remove the obstruction and install the NEMA 14-50 outlet Visit 3 (October 22) - In all transparency, this visit had to be re-scheduled because my wife went into labor. Although, this would not have mattered if the install was done in the 1-2 days originally quoted - For the 3rd visit, the installers were late again. Quoted arrival time of 2:30pm, actual arrival of 5pm - The job still wasn't completed Visit 4 (October 23) - The installers had difficulty locating the J-Box (as described above), which made the process take longer - Installers needed access to the home to get into the attic. They did not take much care as they came into the house (i.e., did not use coverings for shoes; were not careful in carrying the ladder in the house - I heard it hit my walls a few times) - Installers left without providing any sort of update regarding whether the work was done or next steps - Was later told that the final touches were to: paint the conduit by the main panel, turn on the system and provide instructions on the monitoring app - I later learned that the installers left the light in my attic/crawl space on and only found out about this a month later due to a different inspection Visit 5 (11/6) - Originally scheduled for 11/5, but it did not happen. No communication from the installer just no showed - Installer showed up unannounced on 11/6 to finally complete the install process, but I wasn't given access to the monitoring app as had been previously communicated until 11/8 Inspection - A couple of NRG employees came on-site to support the inspection. They parked in an inappropriate location blocking the driveway and garages. They were also rude to one of my neighbors when she asked them to move. - The NRG employees asked if I had any paperwork for the inspection. However, I had already given everything to the installer. Another example of poor coordination and communication - I did not participate in the inspection, but I did overhear the inspector say one of the stickers was incorrectly labeled. The inspector also expressed his frustration that they had to send inspectors to our home 4 times because nobody bothered to call them to cancel the prior scheduled inspections when the work was not completed on time - At least we did pass inspection