ION Solar

From the beginning Ion has kept us informed of each step and what to expect. They installed the panels and they look great. We are almost ready to be up and running.

This company is taking forever to install my solar system. They left cosmetic defects on my house, interior as well as exterior during install. I had to tell them to fix it and then they said they would and set up time and no one came. I took off work to wait and they told me it would happen within the next 10 days whatever that means. They left no contact for the company coming. Also my solar system isn’t even turned on but I’m being charged already by the financing company who I financed through. Ion says they will reimburse me for any bills. We shall see if they follow through. It’s a giant headache though. Better to just not go solar at this point.

The Good: Top end technology, comprehensive warranty, attractive purchase model -- pricing, interest rate, and ownership rather than lease -- engaging and responsive representative. The Bad: 1. Misleading system offering: claim of 84% ION solar generated power and 16% Utility generated power was factually incorrect. It was more like 48% and 52% based on actual usage. Basically, ION proposed a solar system that would provide X amount of energy annually (first year in the documents), and claimed that would provide 84% of the annual energy. However, compared that energy generation value to actual annual usage, and the system would provide only 48%. When monetized, the difference between Utility only and the Solar/Utility combination was extreme making the latter a financially disastrous proposition. 2. No amortization table or schedule in the loan proposal -- a sixteen month interest payment only teaser that was not transparently disclosed in the documentation material. 3. Misleading and inaccurate cost and usage numbers in the documentation material. Basically, ION made up a monthly energy cost as well as the Utility's kW/h rate, and then compared this to a ION plan that was based on kW energy provision. Aside from inaccurate cost values, it was not a transparent apples to apples comparison. 4. Sales pressure not from the visiting market representative but from the on telephone "closer" with the explicit statement that withdrawing from the agreement after the mandated three day "cooling off" period, but before the actual engineering site assessment would result in a $1,200 cost. This was akin to buying a pig in a poke approach to sales and closing; no actual engineering specific system, no loan and payment contract (you do far better buying a used car), and no clarity on effect on overall property ownership (i.e., how is the balance of the loan handled in the event the property is sold prior to full payment on the system?). Bottom Line: There is a big disconnect between the quality of the technology and system provision and the financials which is a nice way of saying that the people on the ground are honest, competent and professional, and the management and back-office staff are duplicitous, incompetent, and unprofessional. Interestingly, all it takes is an Excel spreadsheet and about an hour or so of analyzing the documentation that was provided to reveal this. Other users and reviewers who have complained about ION post-system installation didn't do their due diligence. On the other hand, one would want to expect more integrity out of the company. Sadly, that is not the world we live in. With regret, I cancelled the project within the three day window after doing my analysis. I really like the technology but the numbers and the promises were inconsistent with the real world.

Everyone I had had the pleasure of talking to has been super friendly and very informative. They are able to answer any questions I have. The installation was quick and they were very professional.

I'm so disappointed and frustrated at Ion. Before I signed any documentation, I specified that I needed my roof redone as well (because my insurance needs it done). Waqas said that would be fine and we would be able to group the solar and roof all together. I specifically asked if I would be required to pay any amount. I was reassured many times that I wouldn't be required to pay. Waqas specifically said "even if you had any money down I wouldn't take it". I felt good with my decision to move forward with this. From that point forward things started going wrong. I was being pressured to get other people I know to sign up, I specifically stated that I wanted to wait to see how my experience went (I have text messages of the amount of pressure). I downloaded their app to find the progress of the account, 1 whole month has past (I started this in January and am still waiting for things to happen) without any word from Ion. I called and text Waqas trying to get an update. I finally called into the main line to be told that nothing was happening. After the month I was given Jason as my project manager. I explained what the Waqas told me would happen and how things would work. Jason came back to me after becoming familiar with my account and stated that in order to do my roof and the solar I would have to pay $4,000 out of pocket. I explained that isn't what I was told and that I don't have that money right now (I explained all that to Waqas). I'm now going on 3 months with no progress and I just got notified that they will do a partial re-roof and the solar. I don't know what else I was told is a lie or going to come out different then explained to me. I'm very frustrated and have NO faith in this company or it's words.

We are not getting solar! #IonSolar made mistakes every step of the way. The straw that broke the camels back: We were promised a 9.28 KW system and they plans came back with a 5.95 KW system at the same price. That is 32% less power generated. No explanation as to why the experts at the company make such a gross error. Also, the site inspector (the guy who measures the roof) measured the wrong part of the roof (the north side...) and then customer service told me incorrectly that their plans are not signed by licensed electricians. The only good thing this company is good for is apologizing for mistakes.

Ion’s representatives were informative and helpful throughout the permitting and installation process. Would highly recommend their customer service to anyone.

Easy process that just made sense. I own the system. It was just installed. The panels look great. The team has been very professional all along the way.

I would not use this company if I was you! I did my research on ION Solar when we were first approached by them, and felt that they would be a good company to proceed with. I was very wrong. We have had issues from installation: - We live in a new build. Instead of waiting a year to get an accurate idea of what our energy usage is, they came to our neighborhood after 4 months. They said that they could accurately give an estimate of what our usage is because they can check average usage of other houses similar to ours with the utilities company. We moved in to our house late October, so we had not used AC yet. We were assured that this would be accounted for in our quote. It was not, so our quote was horribly off the minute we started using AC. - They sent a new electrician out to our house to set up the panels. He used up our entire breaker box instead of installing a new one (so if we ever need to add anything, we have to install our own box), and he forgot to turn all of the power back on when finished, costing us hundreds in frozen food because the breaker he forgot to turn back on was for our freezer. - Our $500 check that we got for covering the first year of payments took months to get to us when we were promised that it would be sent as soon as the system was up and running. - Our system was turning off every day during the summer from 11am-7pm. ION Solar didn't notice that there was an issue until I called them because our system wasn't producing any solar energy. It took them three weeks to send someone out to look at it. When I asked them to reimburse us for part of the bills that we received during the time our system was unknowingly turning off each day, I was told they would not reimburse because “they cannot guarantee the service of the solar panels”. - Our system still is not generating the power we were promised. In our initial quote, our sales rep, Brian N. promised that our solar panels would produce 98% of the energy we used. They don’t even come close to that. When I spoke with the regional manager, he said that our sales rep shouldn’t have quoted so high and that solar panels rarely produce that high of a percentage. Our roof is pretty maxed out and only has room for one more panel, so the likelihood of us coming close to the % of solar usage that we were quoted is pretty slim in my opinion. - When my husband went up to the roof to put on Christmas lights (and take down the red tape that ION solar had left after installation) he noticed that there was nothing that looked like a critter guard on our solar panels. This was something he had discussed with the sales rep and was told would be installed. We are a young family, and are trying our hardest to make the best financial decisions right now, to help set us up for a better future. Although we liked the environmentally friendly aspect of solar panels – this was largely a financial decision. Based on the quote that we were provided, it would have saved us money to switch to solar panels and have a (as quoted) $20-$30 utility bill and then the bill for the solar panels. However since our system does not adequately fit our house usage in the way we were promised when we signed up, we are still paying a decent utility bill on top of the monthly payment for the solar panels. We are not planning on this being our forever home, so we most likely won’t be here after we have the solar panels paid off. At this rate, it is going to cost us more annually to have the solar panels then it would to have just paid our utility bill. We honestly probably would have held off to purchase the solar panels until later if we had been given some accurate quotes on what it would have cost us each month. Other neighbors agree that they would not have purchased the solar panels from ION Solar if they knew that the savings would not be what we are quoted, as they all are having issues with their solar panels producing what we were told they would produce. I really like to give people/companies the benefit of the doubt. I have tried to be patient and logical while working through our issues with ION Solar, but after 8 months of dealing with issue after issue, it is very hard to remain optimistic about the situation. I am very hopeful that the solar panels will build up enough stored power in the winter/spring to offset our usage and bring us closer to what our quote was, but am very doubtful that that will happen based on the info that I have so far. I know that quotes can be off, but when there are at least five families that I know of that have the same issue we are experiencing, that is more than a bad quote, that is a deceptive marketing strategy. If ION Solar is not checking the quotes that their sales reps are providing to make sure that they are reasonable, then they should be responsible for trying to make it up somehow to those of us who signed up under false pretenses.

We are very happy with Ion Solar! Excellent communication throughout the process, quality work and better energy returns than estimated. If you want Solar go with Ion Solar!

Ion solar is the worst! The salesman was awesome and so did the product I was so ready and excited to go solar but afterwards I had a few questions about what would happen if I moved so I put it on hold. Unfortunately as a construction worker my phone broke during the week so went without a phone for 4 days when I finally got the new phone I turned it on and I was blown up with voicemails and harassing text messages from Erik R about fines and calling me names and this guy is supposed to be the “VP” for their resolutions center. That made me realize this company is a joke and desperate if their “VP” acts like that... WARNING do not deal with this company!!!

I was very excited about ion solar. Until they did our house terribly. We had wires sticking out and a partial bird guard around our stuff. The only thing that looks good is the pipe on the side of the house that is painted the same color as our house. When they installed the boxes on the side of the house it was also not level and looked terrible. It failed inspection by the city too. Not only that they dont call you to check up on you, they text you. When they text you they take forever to respond. They do not communicate, so we still do not have all of our stuff promised to us. Not satisfied at all with this company.

Don't use ION solar, find another company. We had issues with them causing damage to our home, and they are now ignoring our emails and attempts to have them complete the repair work for the damage they caused (they stepped off the joist in the attic and caused damage to the cieling in our living room). Additionally, the electrician they sent was a new hire, who had not received sufficient training, and came to complete the job without any senior technician to supervise. After over 12 hrs in our home he left with the electrical being about half complete. Although they knew the electrical was not complete, they allowed the state inspection, and then when the incompetent inspector gave them the "pass", they said, oh well, at least we have the passed inspection. We have video from our Ring doorbell of the ION guy talking about the "passed" inspection, even though the electrical hadn't been completed.

Recently installed. So far so good. They have kept all of their scheduled appointments, installed it very quickly and have delivered on everything they promised.

been dealing with ion solar since december 2016, tring to get the dang project started. Once it got started in March of 2017, all they did was to install the panels, then nothing. Between december and march no communication at all except my ignored phone calls. From March to june same story no returned calls and no information. Finally in july they came out and hooked everything up except the new meter so I still don't have a functioning solar system. This company is probably the most unprofessional company it has been my displeasure of being involved with. Avoid at all costs. Not worth the headache and frustration. Completely ruined the experience.

Filed with the BBB. Buyer beware. Misleading - they do actually nothing but wrap you into a contract and install but after that nothing. They sell your contract to a third party. We've had a difficult time having Vision Solar fulfill their contract because of this and review our under producing panels monitored by that third party. Surveyor has no idea what kind of roof is good for solar. After they installed on our roof we found out (now on our 4th) no home insurance will cover our roof because of it's condition and now we have Vision and no real customer service with panels stuck that we cannot remove! Installed 6 months after signing sheesh!!! And not online for even longer. No one has any answers and all their employees keep changing probably because of poor management.

I found their practices to be very shady! I had requested a solar proposal for my house and had one, brief phone call with a rep in Utah. I found him to be a bit high-pressure for my liking when I told him I wanted to do more research into solar first. That alone was a bit of a turn-off but not the reason for my rating. Shortly after I spoke with the rep, I had a significant change in family circumstances and pursuing solar was no longer an option. I did not call, email, or otherwise communicate with Vision Solar after that initial phone consultation. So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from them weeks later stating I needed to complete my "net metering application" with my local utility company Rocky Mountain Power. The email stated RMP received my application for net metering (required to proceed with solar) and that they were just needing my signature to complete it. WTF? How and why did my local utility receive an application on my behalf? At first I thought the email was a phishing scam, but there was way too much identifying information in the email (address, utility account#, etc) for it to have been a scammer email. So apparently Vision Solar is submitting an application on my behalf without my authorization! I would call this deceptive marketing at best, but this is corrupt and contemptuous behavior. I never once gave any indication to the rep that I was interested in their program. The last words I had were that I wanted to do more research first. Avoid Vision Solar at all costs!

The installation process was a nightmare -and it hasn't ended. They never once kept an appointment, rescheduling three and four times and then failing to keep the appointment. They had to send someone out four times to do an inspection because the person wasn't trained and didn't know what he was doing. I had to take days off work twice to try to accommodate them -and all for nothing. Once installation had finally begun (7 months after signing the contract) they abandoned the job, saying they had damaged too many roof tiles and had to stop -but they would return the next morning. It was a week before I finally got them to come out and finish the job. They never cleaned up, leaving my yard and driveway scattered with debris and broken roof tiles. Then, our first rainstorm hit and my roof is leaking like a sieve with major damage inside the house. I was told they would send someone to look at it "next week". Knowing them, I asked to speak with a manager. He said he would look into it and call me right back. Surprise, surprise, he didn't. I don't know what else to do but call a lawyer... This is NOT a reliable company.

Be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait. Was told by sales person that the system would be up and running by the end of October. The panels weren't even installed until November. It is now the end of December and it's up there, but it doesn't do anything yet. They NEVER advanced a single step in the process (except for the initial sale) without us calling a week or so after it was promised and asking what was going on. Also, was told by technical engineering crew that the lower pitch of our roof would not be a problem for snow melt. NOT. The panels are the last thing on the roof to have the snow melt off of them. They also told us we would not have to make any payments until the system was up and running, but, guess what, first payment is due in a week and wedo not have a functioning system, and, apparently, it is out of their hands..... NOT HAPPY.

Vision Solar is the worst solar company I ran into thus far. Their customer service was awful and I couldn't seem to get anything accomplished. I cancelled after talking to neighbors and hearing how aweful the process was going. They promised to cover 100% of my power and my neighbors but they haven't even come close. She still got a $200 electric bill. I was promised the process would take 30-60 days and it took my neighbors 8 months. My neighbor also said they used some random company to do the financing and now that company dropped her and she's expected to resign everything. I'd steer clear of Vision Solar if I were you.

Excellent company. Excellent energy advisor! I would recommend this company to everyone I know. Your stupid if you go solar without going Vision Solar!

Company went door to door. We signed up and were impressed with the microinverter installation. This company installed the panels great but were backordered on parts for months. In addition, communication was sketchy and required us to call to see what was going on and when we were to expect updates. They tried to negotiate with the utility on moving an AC condenser unit dragging us through with an 8 month wait time from signing the contract to flipping the switch. In the meantime, our utility bills were during the highest points during the spring-fall which we were hoping to avoid. Nothing was provided as compensation for the long wait time even after getting the regional manager involved. They just wanted to steamroll installs during the busy season and left all the finesse and competence out of the equation. They didn't do their due diligence on start to finish. They overextended their electricians, didn't anticipate parts that were needed for install, and when we were frustrated, the rep, Selver Z stopped communicating with me directly. This is even after we referred them to friends...embarrassing. I would not recommend this company to anyone, and at the moment we are stuck with them.

Where do I start... 1. They told me that the system would be installed in 60 to 90 days. It took them 10 months to get the system installed and connected. 2. They caused a power surge through my home and then short changed me on the reimbursement. 3. They installed a ground line to meet code and the installers put 2 holes in my underground sprinkler system, but didn't tell me about it. I found out a couple of months later when I went to use my sprinklers. This time Solar Vision handled the situation better. 4. In April a hail storm hit our city and damaged 18 panels. The system still was not connected and had not passed the final inspection. In May 2016 the final inspection was completed and the system was connected. In the contract it states thr system is my responsibility once the system is complete. They were damaged by the hail prior to final inspection yet they are telling me that it is still my responsibility to get them fixed. I'll be speaking to the Better Business Bureau about this. 5. When they connected the system, they claim that I had 19 working panels after the storm. With 19 panels being on for 15 days my electric bill was 490.00. The following month the 19 panels were on for the whole month of July in San Antonio Texas and the panels only reduced my electricbill by $40.00 leaving me with a bill of $570.00. Do the math...if I had the other 19 foxed to make a total of 37 so called functional panels then I would have still only saved $85.00. The sales person told me that with 37 panels in this part of the US that my utility bill would be zero for my home and I would just be paying my panel payments of $110.00 monthly. That still leaves me negative $25.00 per month. My neighbor at my other home told me that he's running into similar issues with Solar Vision as per them taking nearly 11 months to connect his system. They are extremely shady and I've even had two of their former employees tell me how Solar Vision is out to sell as many units as possible but can not keep up with the demand and knowingly telling customers lies of the installation time and of the expected power output.