Sungevity Reviews

It was number one in NYS Solar lists. I was fine with talking to representative, but he had trouble answering my questions when I compared his company to SolarCity and CNY Solar. He said he would send me the proposal so that I could compare the analysis, but I could only get it if he ran my credit. I was not going to do a credit check because the financial institution used for loans had already approved me and I didn''t want to damage my credit with excessive runs. Also, the phone numbers that the rep called from changed from state to state. I had a call from Alex Bay, NY and then the same rep from KY. A little more consistency would go a long way

I chose them because they were rated #1 on your site, but I was very surprised that they don''t even have consultants who know about my local area. They are simply a call center far away from me. They didn''t even know how to say the name of my electric company and kept getting it wrong. He obviously didn''t have much local market understanding and was reading a script. That''s not a company worthy of being #1. Plus, they told me solar wouldn''t fit on my home and disqualified me, but other companies were able to fit 18 panels on my roof. From their satellite and lack of ability to see my house in person they gave inaccurate information. Plus, THEY DONT EVEN INSTALL THEIR OWN SYSTEMS!! They are apparently subcontracting the job to (what I would assume to be) the lowest bidder.

JD M Technician was great. Updated the solar panel system and explained well how it works. Now the system works great and I am able to monitor the system properly.

JD M, he give me my best day from Horizon to make me happy. He had answers to all of my questions and commissioned my system thank you for sending him out Peter Balint

Horizon Service is the worst service company that I have ever worked with. I been having a problem since February 2017 for a problem with the meter. I have had service calls that are scheduled with no one showing up and no phone calls. I had service persons show up and tell me that they will follow up with me to make sure that the "fix" they just made will work and of course they don't follow up and I have to call back and find out what is going on. The meter has been replaced multiple times but still not working. Finally I call Horizon and they are upset because I am upset and don't want to hear my complains. There has been multiple visits and none has ever had a follow up and I have to call to find out that I have to open another service call. I don't think that it is the service person(s) fault but it must their management redirects them to installs or hot issues and they don't think it is necessary to advise the client waiting for to them to show up. It is very frustrating to deal with them as they say sorry but continue to do the same.

I like the fact that everything is handled on line and that updates are frequent. My sales rep, Kyle M, is extremely responsive which I appreciate, he even answers late at night if needed.

The sales pitch was great and informative. They told me it would take about 2 to 3 months to get it all done. It took 8 months from start to finish. They delayed my installation for about 4 months and when I called and hollered they came out and did it. Then it took SDGE working with Horizon another 4 months to get it going. I called and talked to Steve and various other people and even had to call the HERO program because nothing was getting done (I went through the HERO Program to get my panels installed and funded). I told the HERO Program people I was going to go to the better business bureau and even the contractor's board on Horizon. In the end, it did get done and Horizon reimbursed me for 4 months of energy bills. So far I am glad I have the panels, but then it's only 2 months into the program. It was very very very frustrating and I regretted going through them, but I also understood that SDGE dragged their feet as well. It was like I was the project manager constantly calling and trying to get it finished and I'm a single woman. Anyway, in the end it was done but it took close to a year to complete. Just saying.

OK, So, I work for a company that purchased a system from Sungevty that cost over 225,000.00 The installation went well, we purchased the extended service package at a 7K premium. The system is installed and about 3 months later the company declares bankruptcy. Now I have a system which needs a bit of service without anyone to service it. Truthfully Sungevity treated the installing contractor much worse than my company by not paying them for my install which I personally feel horrible about. However, we paid a significant amount of cash for a service plan which is money wasted at this point. HERES THE DEAL. WHY IS THIS WEBISTE RATING THIS COMPANY FAVORABLY? THEY NO LONGER HAVE EMPLOYEES TO SERVICE CURRENT OR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. STAY AWAY OR THROW YOUR MONEY IN THE GARBAGE WHICHEVER YOU PREFER.

This is the worst company I've ever dealt with. This company bought Sungevity, INC out of bankruptcy. I was supposed to get a system with Sungevity then they went bankrupt. This stupid company sent me a bankruptcy notice stating that they wouldn't honor my warranty while I was waiting for my system to be installed. when I received the letter I called them a million times and got no response. I cancelled my project, then 5 weeks later they called me to see if I wanted to install. After two months of literally no callbacks and a letter in the mail stating they don't honor warranties. What a complete joke. stay away from them!!!!!!!!

Had been negotiating with Sungevity since early March and finally signed the contract mid April to purchase the system outright. Made the 50% payment on May 1st. on May 2nd got the letter stating the Sungevity had file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, something that in the last 2 months was never disclosed to me. There is also a class action lawsuit against Sungevity from its installation partners. Now I have concern that what I was sold which was the integrity, quality and warranty will not last. No work has been done, or even started. I have expressed interest to cancel but Solar Spectrum says it doesn't matter that I was not informed of the bankruptcy or change from Sungevity to Solar Spectrum, contract is binding, and my options are to complete the business or lose my 50% payment.

My agreement was buy out the solar system since day one. The sale person from Sungevity read contract for me paragraph-by-paragraph without explaining fine line. The company did not give me option to buy out the system even though every aware of my buy out plan from day one including project management and senior project manager and sale persion, the company claimed solar panel tax for 2016 without discussing with me or allowing me to buy the system. My solar system is not ready to run yet. The company give me hard time since beginning, poor customer service. I am calling them for update on my system almost every week. A lots of miss communication among the Sungevity staffs. No one knows each other job in same project. The senior management is very rough and mean to me. I am in middle of the process, not completed my electric panel and city inspection yet. It has been going on since Oct 2016. Never disclosed my option step-by-step. Every time i ask question, they have no idea what going on. The senior project manager is very disrespectful and rude. I need help please...please... if any one can give me idea to get out of the solar system. I feel like i choking every time i talk to them.

TL;DR you'll have to sue them to get the installation completed. Compare my review below with all the others who have identical problems with them. Sungevity will be proactive and responsive during the sales process, and certainly when asking for payment. Enjoy it while it lasts because when the project goes to their "project management" team you'll be forced to use lawyers to get a status update. They will ask for final payment due before they schedule for the interconnect with PG&E. Once they have your final payment, you will need a lawyer to ever get a response from them again. It's been 120 days since I paid for the install. 100 days my paperwork was submitted to PG&E, 90 days since I paid in full for the solar installation, and they have no plan for how to reach that point. For 60 days they sat on my money without doing anything to move the project forward. When I threatened to sue they finally got an inspection scheduled which they failed. Now I've been waiting a month, and nothing has been scheduled yet to get it fixed. They just don't care. 130 days since signing the contract, and there's no plan, no progress, and no communication. At this rate of progress I'll be lucky to get the panel installed and working in a calendar year. Meanwhile I'm bleeding cash into my electric bill. They love to blame on PG&E, however PG&E provided a full record of everything submitted on the account... which was been nothing for 70 days. Then they blame San Jose permits, but you contact them and they show no communication from Sungevity. They blame everyone else, but it always turns it to be their lack of follow through. TL;DR unless you need more stress and lawyers in your life, you really don't want to work with Sungevity.

i JUST RECEIVED A LETTER FROM SUNGEVITY THA THEY ARE DECLARING CHAP 11 BANKRUPTCY. I AM SUNGEVITY CUSTOMER FOR 1 AND HALF YEARS AND HAVE BEEN EXTREMELLY PLEASED WITH THE SERVICE,IT WAS PPA WITH NO OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE

I decided to have Sungevity install my solar system after I checked around and talked to friends who used them. Sungevity had the twenty year prepaid leasing program that I was interested in. They also had a referral rewards program, which I will get to shortly. Anyway, the process got messed up during design phase, not sure why but the number of panels changed three times, Not a big deal. Then things got messed up in scheduling when we lost a month because they changed project managers on me. Sungevity's subcontractors finally showed up, (Sungevity subcontracts their work out to local contractors) and in two days we had a working solar system. System worked well during the first month and a half. Then I received an e mail to shut down the system for safety reasons due to some sort of recall. The e mail stated that I would be reimbursed for electricity used during downtime. Well a week passed and no contact, so I called and was told that they were very busy with the recall and would get someone out ASAP. Again they told me that they would be paying for the electric used so not to worry. Another week goes by without any contact so I called again only to hear basically the same story. Well finally someone came out and replaced four screws in the shut off box. In total my system was off for 18 days. Without asking or checking with me about expenses or review of my electric bill Sungevity sent me a check for $30, which would break down to $ 1.66 a day for each day the system was down. My electric bill for that period was $ 165.00. They quoted some sort of mythical formula that was used to calculate the reimbursement. I called customer service to voice my disappointment. A nice polite customer service representative reviewed the reimbursement with me. She had me e mail the electric bill to her and said she would review, recalculate and have a supervisor review the information and get back to me. She called back and informed me that the calculations were correct but the supervisor would like to contact me tomorrow. The following day the supervisor called, sounded like he didn't know anything about my complaint and wanted me to start from scratch and tell my story. I wasn't interested in starting all over so I told him the system was off 18 days and I got a check for $30 to put towards a $165.00 bill and wasn't happy. He responded by saying how about $90. Well I went off on him, they were trying to screw me by sending the $30 hoping I would just settle for that. Makes you wonder how many people did settled for it. $90 doesn't cover my bill but I said if they want to send it go ahead. But now my problem is I can't trust a company that I am in a 20 year lease with. He said he would pass that on. Well I haven't seen a check yet but it is still early. So be care full, I'm sure there are plenty of company's to choose from out there. And understand that all these company's buy their panels, mounting hardware and connecting hardware, they don't manufacture it. All they do is install it and hopefully stand behind the warranty. I feel solar is a smart investment and is normally worth the expense. Now about that referral rewards program, its been four months with several phone calls to find out the status of the reward. As of today we are on the third customer service rep who will "look into it". If you won't keep your promises don't make them.

I got 5 quotes from other companies on this list. Sungevity offered the best warranties, and my consultant was extremely knowledgeable, and not pushy.

JD M was very helpful with all my questions and concerns. I appreciate having a knowledgeable tech assisting me. He has been a pleasure!!! Thank you, Allen Hickerson

The man I spoke to from this company was a nice upbeat n friendly salesman but after they look at my property on Google maps they decided they didn't want to bother because I have trees. If they came to my house they would see that my roof is in direct Sun all day. One tree in the backyard can be trimmed but it does not hinder the sun. I even sent them photos, showing the sun shining on my roof, but still doesn't want to be bothered. I think it's tacky to use google maps considering the image they use is extremely outdated. At least I've found a few other companies who will actually come out and see with there own eyes.

They are absolutely amazing, and way better than Sunrun (customer service is TERRIBLE IN EVERY WAY) Solar City changes prices... Sungevity is amazing.

Norma and Raymund are the best. They are always there to help me with my problem or question regarding solar. They always come up with great solutions and they are both quick in everything that needs to be solved. Kudos to both of you!

The installation process was excellent; project manager Shawn and Brita, Project Coordinator were professional and provided excellent customer service,

Everything has gone smooth with my solar. The savings are awesome. The panels look great on the house also. Thanks to Brita Richardson for taking care of my questions.

Norma ****** is very instrumental in getting our solar on target and on time. I really enjoyed working with Norma ******'* excellent customer service.

I am sending this in only because I received a request to do so twice. I found Norma Aguila to be condescending and self serving. I was very put off by her unprofessional behavior during two separate telephone conversations. During one of these conversations she let me know that it was almost five o clock and she was trying to leave making it quite obvious where her priorities were....and that wasn't with me.....the customer. My questions were not adequately answered by her and I had to resort to being frustrated and contact Michael **** who always returned my calls and answered my concerns in a timely, professional manner. Honestly, i was very close to canceling and going with one of your competitors.

Norma Aguila and Dean where really nice during the hole project,she keeps an open line of comunication at all times...and Dean was always there when i call him....Thank's

I decided to go with sungevity because it looked like they had good rating with the BBB. Unfortunately,l made a mistake. l was under the impression that l could mail my payments in or pay online like every other utility bill if l do not want to have auto pay but guess what? they make you pay and charge you $15 extra if you do not sign up for auto pay!That is simply wrong. And then they have the nerves to tell you that you signed up for it! Well,l will tell you this...l'm stuck with them now for 20 years so for you that still has a choice, make sure you know what they are asking..read over every line and ask questions...my thought was that if l didn't want auto pay l could mail it in...so now l have to pay $15 extra. Sungevity, people convert to solar to save money not to lose more money! This is wrong and if you really care about so called referral from your customers, then look out for their interests. You can be sure no one I know will be signing up with you guys!

This company is the WORST!!!!! they do NOT really care about the customer! and their PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE IS A JOKE!!! We have had their system since December of 2014 and we haven't EVER generated POSITIVE!!!! We just want their panels OFF our roof and them to go away!!!! I get a call from some company almost every day wanting to help us save on our electric bill! Southern California Edison has told us they are ripping us off... PLEASE GET YOUR PANELS OFF OUR ROOF!!!!!!!!! The patent phone calls start out saying we see you are spending more than $150.00 a month with the electric company... We can help you... and then I start to tell them our dilemma and they apologize to me and then I start to get angry at Sungevity ALL OVER AGAIN.... SUNGEVITY SUCKS!!!!!! We are both on a fixed income and heaven help me if my husband passes because I will have to move because of SUNGEVITY!!! We have been told that the panels on our roof are antiquated and because the system shuts down if ONE panel gets shade! We will NEVER GENERATE POSITIVE!!! We had an arch fault and system alarm on in the very beginning of 2015 and had issues... they sent out a crew and supposedly fixed the problem... We kept our spa running thinking that my husband could have his hydrotherapy again (which is one of the reasons we wanted solar). Then we were told we needed to cut the tree in OUR backyard because it was shadowing the panels. It is not OUR TREE! We had to try and contact the person who manages the rental house that has the tree and that was ANOTHER NIGHTMARE!! After months of phone calls from Sungevity asking if the tree had been cut, and months of phone calls requesting the tree to be cut, it was trimmed, however, it is still an umbrella over our backyard and the manager of the house just says "that's as good as it gets! I'll see you in court! That tree was there before your panels and it's not going anywhere!" So now we have drained our spa and it is just sitting there and we get VERY ANGRY when we go into our back yard and see the TREE and an EMPTY SPA.... WE HATE SUNGEVITY AND I AM SPREADING IT ALL OVER OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. My next rant is on NextDoor.com to all of the 19-20 neighborhoods in our area and then channel 7 news!!!! GO AWAY SUNGEVITY!!!!!

-Original Review- Signed up with Sungevity back in May of 2015. First off, the entire process took months longer than they promised. 2 of ''my reps'' there (I won''t mention names) have been the rudest people I have ever dealt with. They are also very unreliable. We had several issues with the system so far and the 2 reps have gotten rude with me over the phone and now they don''t even return phone calls or emails. I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone. Once you sign up, their customer service becomes non existent. Now most of the time when I call, it rings forever and then goes to an answering machine. This company is not as big as they say they are, and they are no where as reliable as they come off to be. If I had the choice, I would cancel the whole deal and go with another company. Shame on Sungevity! -Updated Review- 01/05/2016 We signed up with Sungevity back in May 2015. The install process took months longer than promised, although they did send us a check for the amount of electric we used to make up for it. However, after the install we've had nothing but issues and their customer support is literally non-existent. I've called and called, I've left emails, .. they were supposed to send a tech out on November 6th, its now January 5th! When I call, I get the run around and NO ONE calls me back. We are in the process of working with the NJ State Dept of Consumer Protection, that's how bad it is. I would NEVER recommend Sungevity to anyone.

First, Sungevity tells me I can cancel the agreement before installation, but when I find out the other solar company seems a better fit for me and I want to sign up with the other company, they are reluctant to cancel the agreement. So they lied to me. Second, they try to show me what kind of mouthing system they use on the roof, but I don't really have time to go over this detail with them because their contract doesn't offer a longer period of warranty as others. So this is wasting my time. Why don't they cancel the agreement right away if I already make up my mind? I hope this experience may help other people who want to go solar.

I've had my solar system for a little over a year. I'm extremely pleased. Sungevity is a good and reliable company. I even got a rebate for last year.

Dealing with Sungevity has been an absolute nightmare. This has got to be the most incompetent company I have ever dealt with. First the sales representative will say anything to get you to sign their one-sided contract. She told me that the system would be up and running within three months which is normal for the industry. It took over 7 months. I was also told (and have this in an email) that: “Hi Ted and Olivia, Here's the updated quote: This one would offset 100% of your current need, so you'll have a buffer to run more AC and heat as needed in the future. Also, you'll take control of your costs instead of those higher rates in the future. Let me know what you think. Shine on, Darlene” Not even close. I am using less energy than last year and had to keep my AC at 80 like last year. I have changed all but one of my old light bulbs to LED light bulbs; the one not changed to LED was changed to a CF bulb because the LED interfered with my garage door opener. I am not even leaving my fans on unless I am in the room. This year was cooler than last year so the AC did not have work too hard. I got rid of the small AC used in the bedroom at night; it was not needed this year. I am not working from home anymore so I went from using my computer for eight hours a day to less than one per day. I even changed all of my Christmas lights to LED. Even with all this I am still going over; even into tear 3 sometimes. The worst part is by time you find out how inept this company is it is too late. If you decide that you don't want to deal with their lies and excuses you must pay a hefty amount to get rid of them. As I said earlier even though they said it would be running within three months it took seven. The first delay was in the design of the system. Their reason according to the account manager was that they were over loaded with unexpected sales. That is an issue the management should have taken care of, not making me wait even longer than promised. The second delay was in permitting. They said; Ted, “I understand your frustration but it is not something caused by Sungevity. You should be frustrated with the city of Palmdale for holding up your permit. My installer went in person to Palmdale's permitting office on Tuesday and they told him that the plan is still in plan check. I don't know what my associate told you, but I have been consistent with my messaging. It is in Palmdale's hands. Please feel free to go to the city office and see what the hold up is. Let me know that outcome. Regards, Jeramiah” I went to the Palmdale city permitting office and was told that Sungevity had not provided the proper documents for the solar panels. I called my account manager and informed him of this. The next day I receive an email from my account manager informing me that “He had found the issue”! He found it? I guess he found it after I told him! I should not have had to go to city hall and find out what Sungevity already should have known. On the bright side the installers were polite, courteous and professional. They had the installation with the required inspections completed in three days. The only issue with the installation was that the installers did not know that I had a vaulted ceiling in my living room. No this did cause issues with the installation, the installer had to reroute some of the wires for the panels over my living room. The sales person was told about my living room ceiling, the inspector who came out to see if I could have the system installed actually looked at the ceiling and pointed it out. So, what happened? The last delay was because they could not get funding. What? You knew for seven months that the system was being installed and you did not get funding for it? At this point I wanted to get rid of this incompetent company, but was told that I would have to pay for the uninstallation. Have you ever heard of this? A company that is not doing what was promised charging the client to make them go away! Even better is the fact that you do not find any of this out until it is too late to stop the company from making your life even more of a nightmare. So now four months late the system is somewhat up and running and more fun waiting to be had. As soon as I started the system I immediately had issues. I noticed that SCE was not showing that I was producing any solar power. I went to the inverter and saw the following message: “Error! Arc Fault E050”. I called tech support and was told that a ticket was being created for me. I asked if I could just press the “ESC” button to reset the system. They told me I was not to touch the ESC button. I emailed Sungevity and got the following response. “Hello Ted and Olivia, I hope all is well. I wanted to inform you that I created a case with Power-One (inverter manufacturer) regarding the Arc Fault issue. At this time, they are sending their own technicians into the field to repair the inverters. They will be contacting you directly to give you a heads-up on the timing of the service work. That will occur next week. As you may already know, pressing the ESC key on the inverter should allow the unit to generate again - at least temporarily. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused; especially so soon after receiving permission to operate. I know this is frustrating, so I've requested that Power-One prioritize this service work. As a leasing customer you do have a Performance Guarantee with Sungevity. If the system does not produce what we guaranteed over the course of the lease year, you will be compensated for that difference. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns, and thanks for all your patience while we work with the manufacturer to resolve this issue. Take care, Justin” I went out and did the “temporary” repair. As of this date I no one has come out and fully tested the inverter. I have gotten no explanation as to why this issue had arisen in the first place. Next I noticed that I was not able to review the amount of power created by my system on line as promises. When I tried to view the power created on the website I got “A problem was encountered while accessing performance data. Please try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, please contact us at 866 SUN-4-ALL (866.786.4255) extension 5575.” So again I contacted customer support. At that time I was told that it takes a little time for it to start propagating. I waited and a month later it was still not showing anything. So they said that the solar monitoring unit originally installed was defective and had to be replaced. Well the second unit also did not work. So they sent out another. As the third solar monitoring unit was being installed the technician told me that the units were not bad just the wiring was wrong and he had to make some adjustments to the unit. What, adjustments!!!! Sungevity sent me the following email: “Hi Ted & Olivia, You will recall that the solar monitoring unit originally installed was defective and had to be replaced. The replacement unit has also malfunctioned. It appears the manufacturer had a batch with a software problem and we've had to replace some of them. Unfortunately your system was affected by two of the units. A new one has been shipped; I will get an update on scheduling the service visit. That Locus Energy meter measures production in two (redundant) ways: the inverter reports data directly, and it has an internal chip that separately measures the same production. We are receiving the direct inverter data, but the power chip inside the meter appears to have failed. That data stream is the one connected to our website. So I can confirm the system is producing properly but I cannot display it properly online. Here is the inverter data reported by the first unit, showing system production from 4/29-6/3:” (I'm not showing the graph but the amount they say I used was 974.75) “Here is the inverter data reported thus far by the 2nd unit, showing system production from 6/4-7/15:” (Again I'm not showing the graph but the amount they say I used was 1272.89) “I know it is frustrating to be unable to view it properly. I'll check on the replacement. Regards, Chris” Now for the numbers: Cost out of pocket for electricity. April – November 2014: $1091.52 April – November 2013: $926.61 With added 8% $1000.74 Net Loss: $90.78 I added 8% for what Sungevity said the rate increase was. Now you think a loss of only $90.78 is all that bad but you must consider that I have made changes to use less power since the solar was turned on conserving power. As showed before I was told that not only would I have enough power to increase my usage, but there would be power to spare so I should have been an overage in my favor. I was also told that SCE would be paying me for that overage. Power Consumption: Now this is where it gets very strange. Remember I stated earlier that I was doing everything I could to use less power. Remember that they said the system “This one would offset 100% of your current need, so you'll have a buffer to run more AC and heat as needed in the future.” These numbers were without using more AC or Electric Heater. This year has been considerable cooler than last. Last year I ran my AC through most of December, this year it has not run since mid-September. Examples; August 2013 I used 831 kWh in 2014 I used 1411 kWh September 2013 I used 688 kWh in 2014 I used 1189kWh October 2013 I used 871 kWh in 2014 I used 936 kWh November 2013 I used 478 kWh in 2014 I used 860 kWh Do you have any idea how hard it would be to almost double your Consumption especially when you are trying to conserve? There is something definitely wrong here. When I asked Sungevity what was happening the sent me an e-mail basically saying I was too dumb to figure something like this out. The fact that they had a form letter for this makes me wonder how many people are noticing this. I emailed them back telling them I did the calculations correctly, as of yet they have not responded (More than two weeks later). I guess I was supposed to go with no real answer and just stick my head in the sand. I do not want to throw around any wild accusations here, and there are many that can be thrown around. One thing that comes to mind is the inverter. I had issues with it early on and no one ever came out and really tested it. The equipment used by Sungevity seems to be prone to malfunctioning. In conclusion, check out everything before agreeing to sign that contract they lie to you, they try to misdirect you, and they will say anything to get you to sign the contract. Have all the solar company's come out and give you a bid. Check out complaints about all the company's on line. Do the math….

I agreed to have Sungevity install a system on my home. The installation crew was excellent - polite, efficient and hard working. Before the final test of the system I asked where the solar plugs were that should have been attached to the inverters. I was told that they would do it when they came back for the final test. I called Sungevity and was told that it could not be done. After two weeks of aggravation, and having several people in the Sungevity system tell me that it was impossible, I received a call saying that they could do it. ???????? During that two week period, Sungevity let it slip that if the local power company were to lose power, the solar system would shut down. This was a complete surprise to me - having never been told about this 'arrangement'. I said that this situation, which had NEVER been explained to me, needed to be corrected, and that I knew that it could be done. I was told that they had installed thousands of systems and never got a complaint. I cannot imagine that there are thousands of people out there who accepted this unacceptable installation. I told Sungevity that if they could not correct this situation, they could take back the system. This is something that everyone considering a solar system from Sungevity should be aware of.