Semper Solaris

Debra D.

I was asked to give a positive review in order to get a discount. I was uncomfortable with this from the start and told the company representative that I would give a review based on my experience thus far! I told the representative I would add more to my review as a project commenced.

In my situation there was a total lack in communication, and my sales rep was very unprofessional, I do realize this is probably the exception (meaning my experience)
I would be happy to share email messages between myself and the company representative for anyone who would like to see them.

UPDATE
A very nice lady from the company reached out to me and tried to make things right. Including sending a site manager to my home to actually go over everything . As it turns out it was just like I thought after looking at my home the bid went up. Not that it matters but initially the bid was 36,000. Then if I would do things that the representative asked of me they would take $500 off bringing the new bid to $35,500. And last but not least after looking at my home as I insisted someone do before I signed the contract it went up another $200. Not that it is the end of the world but please keep in mind they wanted me to jump through hoops to get $500 off now I can just have the $500 off but let's add 200 dollars in extras they didn't see in the satellite imagery? sorry just too much Drama for me .

I do see that some people have been very happy. I just wish I could've been too.

To be honest with you I am really disappointed. I really wanted to work with this company.

I am going with another roofing company Reliable Roofing.

FAIR WARNING to anyone who decides to do business with this company or ANY company, if it's not in writing it doesn't exist.
Make sure everything is in writing

Scott D.

Semper Solaris has agreed to come back to my home and spray more insulation into my attic.

G S.

I was very hesitant to write this review. I believe the company is great. The experience with one of their employees was horrible. Kelly was not helpful and rushed answering my questions. She was unprofessional and rude. Customer services is key and I ended having someone else help.

K L.

Kelly and everyone I worked with at Semper Solaris were nothing but professional, thorough, and friendly. The installation of my Tesla Powerwall went flawlessly. It took a while but that wasn't Semper's fault. I would definitely recommend Semper Solaris and will use them for any future heating and air conditioning needs I may have.

Pat G.

Semper Solaris did a good job installing our solar cells and equipment, along with two Tesla Powerwalls and new concrete tile roofing in the area where the solar cells were to be placed. The salesperson, Paul Wallach, helped identify the number and layout of the cells on our roof, the 2020 year end timing requirement as well as working through a number of other issues with us. He was responsive to our requests for more details as well, as we were very particular that the solar equipment not be visible from the ground level house front or sides and no piping or wires be put on the walls of our home. Our critical objective was to take full advantage of the solar credit due to expire at year end (before it got extended). Paul worked with us to ensure all that would happen, although as it happened the Tesla Powerwalls were not able to be installed in time (no harm though as the credit ultimately got extended!).

One item that became a material issue was that we were supposed to get to see a physical sample of the concrete tile to be installed on the roof elevation where the cells would be placed - so as to compare the to the existing clay tiles which remain on the balance of our roof. We never saw the physical sample (only a small postage stamp picture among many online) and we thought the coloring was wrong, but were told this was the closest they had available. In the rush to get the solar installed by year end (before the solar credit was extended), a truckload of the new concrete tiles were dropped at our home (no preview sample was provided) that didn't match at all color or style wise with the balance of our roof! We tried to get them substituted, but were told we'd have to pay a large restocking fee and risk losing the year end credit if we insisted on substituting the tiles. So, to preserve the year end credit, we agreed to accept the mismatched tile provided the new tiles (located on the rear elevation of the house) could not be seen from the front or sides of the home. Semper ultimately did this (we had to insist that the roofing contractor to install the old clay tiles along the fascia to attempt to match the balance of the roof, which he did and it worked out in acceptable fashion.

We also requested that the electrical piping installed in our garage to serve the powerwalls and solar be run inside the garage walls (instead of on top of the drywall) and we agreed to pay to repair and paint the drywalls after they installed them. This took longer for them to do, but they didn't charge me more for doing it, and we avoided a junky looking mass of pipes in our recently remodeled garage!

Semper worked with us throughout the extended (6 mos plus!) install process and ultimately got the job done - they cleaned up after their work, repaired any damage to our property and were professional. Also, the San Diego office had customer reps who called frequently and discussed scheduling of the various tasks, etc. so we knew who was coming and when (roofers, solar install, electrical, powerwalls, etc.).

We would highly recommend Semper Solaris to anyone wanting a single company that accepts all responsibility for the installations, does have customer service and strives to meet expectations of its clients.

Lynn F.

Not knowing much about solar I was a bit skeptical. That is until I found Gil with Semper Solaris. He took his time to explain how summer worked installation process and the tax credits and rebate I found out they do HVAC and was wanting to get an air conditioner which I had an air filtration system as well on the recommendation of my doctor. My allergies are all but gone and my electric bill has disappeared thanks Gil and Semper

Dennis S.

Unfortunately when the solar panel installers came to my home they created a lot of damage to the new roof that had been installed. I was contacted by two supervisors who were upset over how their crew treated my roof. They brought two van loads full of replacement tiles and worked for two days to fix the damage. This year I had my home fumigated. I hired an inspector to ensure that the tenting did not damage my roof. It didn't, but I was shocked to find out how Semper Solaris ""fixed"" the roof they had just installed. There were over sixty broken tiles that had been glued together with caulking then painted brown. Caulking had been used to glue replacement tiles in place. They even left a stack of replacement tiles up on my roof concealed from view by a chimney. The inspector found it incredible that the county signed off on the project since it had so many code violations. He doubted that the inspector ever went on top of the roof. I have reached out to Semper Solaris with my complaints. Their customer service representative said that their Roofing Manager would be calling me. Currently I have been waiting for over a week for that call. I would think twice about hiring Semper Solaris to do any work on my home.

Michael A.

I don't write many reviews but feel it is necessary that I provide my experience so those considering Semper Solaris as their Solar Provider will be informed to not make the same mistake I did.

I started this journey as most of you do by researching all the companies in a competitive space to make sure you are making the right choice. I met with Several companies and had it narrowed down to a very well known business that has been in the solar industry longer than anyone else nationally. However; there were some appealing things about Semper Solaris at the time that I appreciated and being a Military Vet myself; that was important to me. I was then persuaded by free Tesla 2 Power Walls as part of the package; that made it hard to turn down and giving back to my military brothers and sisters would have been a good choice so I made the choice to go with Semper Solaris.

Well...I started this project with Semper Solaris in September of last year with the promise that I'd have Solar Panels and batteries before the end of the year last year so I could take advantage of the Solar Tax credit. Here I am at the end of March the following year with nothing to show for. Had the government not extended the Solar Tax Credit for another 2 years, this would have been a huge disappointment as the Tax Credit was supposed to go down significantly in 2021 which was another selling tactic by Semper Solaris, bullying tactic really.

If it weren't for me calling and emailing their customer service; I would have not gotten the information they were sitting on for almost a month...so I was told. They were aware that I was not able to get the batteries and that the State Rebate ran out so now I was left with nothing but a work order to now have to pay another 10K... I'm no business man but I do understand dollars and cents, doesn't take a genius to know that is not how business should be done. The problem was; I was setup for failure from the get go and a design that was over provisioned. That information should have been communicated to me as soon if not within the week this information was given to Semper Solaris. This should have been taken into account if the selling point is getting free batteries instead of designing an over provisioned system that I can only assume was in their favor not mine.

Now...after communicating all of this to customer support, texting the Sales Person whom I would never hear back from and customer support not answering emails and if they did or if I were so lucky to get a call; it was the same old thing, we will talk to the sales person, we will forward the email to the sales person, we are sorry you are going through this experience...we will get this resolved...blah blah blah. I have not seen any action or communication to me on how to get this resolved and that was over a month ago. Remember; I started this project with Semper Solaris in September of 2020 and March 2021 is coming to an end so it's been 7 months and nothing to show for. It has been a complete waste of time filled with frustration and disappointment. I know had I gone with the company I was just about to hire; I would not be in the position I am in today...I have had absolutely nothing done and my neighbors around me who started after me already have panels up and running on their roofs.

I'd give 0 stars to Semper Solaris if I could

My advice to anyone considering Semper Solaris; I would highly recommend you do your research and find another company...don't make the same mistake I did.

Jerry T.

I hired Semper Solaris in August 2020 to install a new roof and solar system to take advantage of the 2020 tax Rebates. The agreement was that the entire cost would be 100% Financed, as it was substantial approx. $45,000 of which $16,000 or so was for the roof alone.
The roof estimate was by far the HIGHEST I received from several bids, but I accepted this as it would be completely financed.
November and December came and not a thing past a design had been completed by Semper. I was getting very worried as the entire decision was based upon getting that tax credit before year end.
I was continuously assured that Semper Solaris would make sure I qualified for the tax credit.
Finally, in January they said they were ready to go, but they could not get through to the city to get the permit.
I called the city myself and in one phone call spoke to the person who was needed and they told me to have Semper call them and it would be taken care of.
Semper finally got the permit that I had to arrange for them and they set the date of work.
The roofers showed up one day in January and began the process of tearing off my roof.
After much of the demo had already been done, a supervisor showed up and told me he was there to collect $11,000 as a first installment and I would be expected to pay cash for the rest. I explained to him that this was not correct and called my representative to find out what happened.
I was told by thew Semper Rep that the financing was never set up by Semper. But that I shouldn't worry that they would set another financing program up. He had informed me that it was ONLY .5% higher than the previous financing program we had agreed to. For 20 years? Bait and Switch?
I told him to cancel the solar portion, but felt like a hostage as I now had no roof.
After much negotiation Semper agreed to take $1,000 off the price of the roof. They also gave me what they called good news as they already inspected my roof deck, and there was no damage and would be no further cost. Still the most expensive roof, but feeling like a hostage I agreed to go forward and the rep was on his way to pick up a check for 50% of the cost.
While waiting for the supervisor to show up and collect, I went up to my roof to take down Christmas lights. It was then that I saw holes and damage on my roof deck. I am not a roof expert so I had the supervisor go up and tell me what those holes were, if that wasn't damage. He told me that that was in fact damaged and the entire area would have to be replaced. I would have another $450 charge. 2nd bait and switch?
We had to renegotiate again.
After having to get the Semper Executives involved, they finally agreed I should not have to pay the extra $450.
They finally completed the roof, but we needed to get final sign off from the city. The brought a ladder and put it up off my front deck to our 2nd story. There is stayed for a week or so as we waited for an inspector. Again Semper was unable to communicate effectively with the city as the ladder went up and down several times for an extended time each time before they were finished. One time, I had to take it down myself as it had been up so long. Finally someone from Semper came and took the ladder away.
They also did a mediocre job at cleaning up. They took away all the large debris but left enough where I had to go around and sweep up, and pick up debris and nails around my house. They also did some damage to my deck and stairs I assuming moving their equipment around.
During this time, I had to fill out the city paperwork for the final permit as the paperwork was lost each time Semper made it available for the city. To finally receive the approval from the city I had to take pictures of the paperwork and send those pictures to my Semper rep to finally get my roof approved.
This entire process didn't end until February! August to February for me to have the most expensive roof of all my bids installed and completed.
I would not recommend Semper Solaris to anyone looking for either a new roof, or solar or both.

Kathryn C.

My solar was installed over a month ago. I was very happy with the process from start until (almost) finish. Crews were friendly and helpful, showed up when they said. I started having issues once I provided them with my final payment. From that time until they were truly finished was over 2 weeks. They informed me that my solar was switched on and functioning. What they failed to tell me is that I needed a new meter from the utility company that was ""solar compatible"". I called multiple times inquiring about if my solar was working (since my meter was still running forward) and each time i was assured it was working and I just must be looking at it during the wrong time of day. At no time did anyone mention me needing a new meter. It took over a week before I finally reached out to the utility company and they informed me of what actually needed to be done for my solar to start generating. Once they switched out the meter to the correct one, I finally started generating.

My other major complaint was that for two weeks after I paid my full balance and my project was ""complete"" there were hundreds of leftover roof tiles and a 30 foot ladder STRAPPED TO THE FRONT OF MY HOUSE FOR ANYONE TO ACCESS. For TWO weeks I worried about a neighborhood kid climbing the ladder and falling off, or someone climbing the ladder that led right to my young daughters room. Over the course of 2 weeks I spoke to 2 people in person, emailed my project manager and called 3 times. Each time I was met with pleasant people who assured me both problems would be addressed immediately. FINALLY when I emailed pictures and promised them that anything that happened with the ladder would be a huge liability on their hands did someone come out and remove the tiles and ladder (the same day- see? Not that hard!) Now of course I don't know if they were short staffed due to COVID or what was going on behind the scenes, but if that was the case, they should just be honest (though I personally think it is unacceptable to leave a 30 foot ladder strapped to the front of someone's house for 2 weeks). All I know is that as soon as I gave them a check, they didn't seem to care about all the problems they created. They did a great job on the project, but I was very disappointed with the customer service. I was hoping for a more positive ending to my project but unfortunately that didn't happen.