Office location: 2100 Pewaukee Rd D, Waukesha WI, 53189
01/04/2022
Jeremy P
Hubertus, WI
It breaks my heart to give this rating, because I TRULY wanted to be an advocate for Sun Badger Solar. I don't usually take time to write reviews, but this process was so absolutely painful and not transparent I only write it to caution others if they are considering working with them. If "excuses" was a rating, they'd be 5 star in that category. It was quite clear from the beginning the different functions (sales/ops/engineering) in their business do not communicate with each other. I was very clear I wanted to pay for THE ENTIRE COST up front. I paid for (what I thought was) 100% of the project up front in September 2020. It was known from the beginning that my arrays would be a GROUND MOUNT, not on the roof. After I paid the full amount, I was told that I owed an additional $10,000 for trenching. When I balked at that amount, the project essentially got delayed for ~6 months. I stated I was willing to do the trenching myself as there is absolutely no way trenching costs $10,000 (you can rent a trencher from Home Depot for $200-$400 and I've done a fair amount of trenching myself to know that was BS)...I stated I would even sign a "Hold Harmless" and assume the risk myself to avoid this additional cost. This was not an agreeable solution for Sun Badger, and we "agreed" at a cost of $4,500 and was made to feel like I was getting a "deal." After agreeing to the BS trenching cost, that put us in a timeframe of the "1st week of July" for installation. It rained for 2 days, which somehow then pushed my project to the end of July. Then it was materials not available, then it was crew not available. The project was finally installed at the end of September 2021...1 full year after I paid for the project. Now I am encountering that my battery backup is not working properly, and I'm not even storing the energy I was hoping to store. I've called their "service" multiple times, and have been told "we don't have anyone available with experience to fix this." The one positive I would say is that their installation crew did bust their butts and were extremely friendly and courteous throughout that process. The bones I have to pick are with sales (not transparent about cost), the project manager in the office (captain excuses & absolutely worthless), and the service department. I'm not mentioning names because I realize this is already a borderline unprofessional post, but I hope there is someone that actually cares in that organization that realizes they have an extremely pissed off customer and will tell everyone to avoid Sun Badger Solar. I would be happy to share with anyone my experiences if you are seriously considering installing solar. I wish someone would have had the conversation with me up front.
System size (kW): 14
System price: $65,000
Price include the Federal Tax Credit or incentives: No
Sun Badger Solar reply
01/07/2022
We are very sorry to hear of your frustrations, as this is not the way we would like for our customers’ to feel after getting solar installed with us! When we were on site to commission your solar project, we were unaware that you were feeling this way. In the contract you signed with us, it is our responsibility to perform the entirety of the work involved with your project. During the property readiness stage, which occurs post contract signing, it was determined that there would be 480 feet of trenching needed. Therefore, when the distance of trenching was discovered, Sun Badger split this total cost to accommodate your situation.
Weather delays and supply chain issues are out of our control, and unfortunately can affect our schedules. If and when weather does not allow for us to complete the work, we do our best to reschedule for our next earliest available date on our install calendar. We can not push all projects back because we schedule installations on a monthly basis. As well, there are supply chain issues occurring across the world and it has affected parts of this industry when it comes to ordering materials.
In regards to our service team, we are very proud to have this department in place! Some companies do not offer assistance post-project completion! Our goal is to stand by our customers beyond installation and the system being operational. With that being said, we do have a limited number of battery experts and to avoid any further issues, we want to be sure we have the most knowledgeable service technician on site. As you know, we have a technician working on this for you as of earlier this week.
Finally, please remember that we are dealing with yet another Covid surge, and along with the rest of the country, we are working to be as safe as possible under these circumstances. Again, we apologize for your frustrations, but we hope you can understand that Sun Badger Solar has a dedicated team that is working with you through these issues.