Solar Optimum - Northern California

Deborah W.

I had my solar added to my roof about a couple of months ago, and was incredibly impressed by the professionalism of the company, Solar Optimum. Since I just got a new roof, I was a bit anxious about having workmen work on it. Not to worry with Solar Optimum! They did an exceptional job and when there was a part that wasn't working properly, they had it ordered the day after the installation. (I just figured it out after receiving the software to monitor it.) Once swapped out, things were perfect! Once I received my first bill for two months, I compared it to the prior one before solar. Without Solar my bill was $538. for two months. With Solar Optimum, it was $40 for two months that were comparable in weather, sun and temperature. Between customer service and the results of the solar panels, I am more than pleased. I would recommend them to anyone considering Solar.....and please, tell them Deborah W. sent you.

Sarah R.

We had a mixed experience with Solar Optimum, the main downside being poor communication and the main upside being the work of the installation crew. 

We started the process in April 2022 and the panels were installed in July 2023.  Our project was delayed, in large part, because of PGE hoops we had to jump through (most significantly, our gas and electric meters were 6"" too close).  That said, as soon as we signed our contract, Solar Optimum became extremely uncommunicative and unhelpful in moving the project forward past these issues. We had to do extra research ourselves, talk to several outside electricians, and badger the folks at Solar Optimum something like 10 times before they finally put together a plan that moved the meter to comply with PG&E's rules.

As we worked towards this solution, it was never clear who our main contact was - we kept getting passed along to different people at the company, with no clear roadmap of where we were going.  After deciding on a design for our system, our contact quit and no one told us.  We were waiting for a response from him for several weeks.  His voicemail still worked.  I finally reached out to customer service find out he left and I had to be proactive to get assigned another representative.

Many times, our emails would go unanswered.  We'd get random invoices with no explanation or details.  We'd also get numerous automated emails at weird times that made it seem like our project was moving forward when it really wasn't.  Or we'd get emails like 'Your Final Inspection has been scheduled' with useful information, but we'd receive them several hours after the inspection had already begun. We'd get called by people who clearly were not familiar with our project and just wasted our time being unable to answer our questions.  

There were two competent communicators (Nataly the Permitting Coordinator and Jairo the installer). Thank you!

When we finally were ready for the install, there was a family emergency and the install had to be cancelled (it happens, we weren't upset about that).  But the poor communication within Solar Optimum meant they delivered all the equipment at 7am without telling us that would be happening.  We don't have a garage or secured area, yet they were going to let that equipment sit out until it could be installed, which would occur at an unknown time, likely weeks in the future.  So we had to call and ensure they picked it up and hold it for us in the warehouse.  

We also found out that Solar Optimum did not communicate the change in plans with our city inspector.  So he showed up on the day and waited around to realize no one was home and the installation was not going to happen.  

Once we finally came to installation time, the crew was excellent.  They went out of their way to ensure things were set up the way we wanted.  They communicated regularly and clearly about the schedule and what would happen next.  And so far, the system is working great and we are finally mostly free of the PGE headache.  The price for the overall system was comparable or less than other companies we got quotes from.  

Solar Optimum - thanks for helping us go renewable, but please work on your communication for future customers!

A O.

Solar Optimum gave me a contract price so I signed up with them to qualify for NEM2. Then they came up with this roof reinforcement that was necessary for before installing the system on my roof. They have a roofing division that does roof related work.

Other contractors were able to install without any roof modifications. The contract price with this change went up by roughly 50%. I switched to another party and asked Solar Optimum to give me access to the application so I can still have my NEM2 status. They did not.

Solar optimum is a terrible solar company to work with. They will change the contract on you and will suggest expensive roof modifications you wouldn't need (but their roofing sister company needs). They also subcontract their work.

You have been warned!

Rich C.

With the conversion from NEM 2.0 to 3.0 staring me down, I beat the rush and signed up for solar on Jan 5. My panels came online on March 9, weeks ahead of what I expected. Everything went flawlessly and the crew that did the installation was outstanding. I will say that as we got into late February it took a bit longer to get replies to a couple of inquiries (nothing super important, fortunately), but I completely understand that right now everyone and their uncle are signing up to beat the NEM deadline and the solar providers are swamped. Props to Juan for taking the lead. I highly recommend Solar Optimum. With NEM 3.0, the break even point will be a bit longer, but with the right arrangement it is still a good economic and environmental decision, and Solar Optimum would be a good choice.

Kevin A.

Got my system installed last September. Initially reached out to them in July, installed late September , with PTO granted by PGE in October. Crew did a good job. There was a hiccup in getting the hardware delivered so they had to come back the following week. Had to stay on them a bit and called a few times to make sure everything went smoothly but they did always get back to me in a timely manner. Had a good experience, so ended up recommending them to my parents and a neighbor; and so far we're all happy with our systems.

Ran L.

This company needs to improve its efficiency. I have received my first solar design blueprint on Jan. 26. There is a $1500 additional charge for 125 A subpanel charge because my main panel doesn't have extra circuit breaker. I have decided to upgrade my main panel using my own electrician; therefore the 125 A subpanel is no longer needed. It took them almost two weeks to revise the blue print (remove the subpanel in the design). On Feb. 8 I received a new design. I found in the comment area, it still said ""ADDITIONAL COSTS: $1500 for a new 125A sub panel."" even the 125 A subpanel has already been removed in the design. We have clearly aligned that the 125 A sub panel is no longer needed. I have contacted the company so many times by emails, phones, etc and got no reply. And they have been sitting on my design for a week without doing anything. I don't understand why it takes such long time to just delete a sentence in the comment area. The only efficient thing they did is to charge me $500 dollar for the deposit. After that, everything went extremely slow. Given the company such low efficiency, how can I trust them in the whole project?

Michael J.

Contacted these guys for a quote back in early October 2022. Quote was good and they promised install would be completed before the end of the year so I agreed to proceed. Things went smoothly at first until it came down to installation. Contractors came by on schedule for the install but they left so suddenly leaving incomplete job and no word whatsoever. Only thing they did was put the frames on the roof. I got a call the following week that installation will need to postponed until next year because contractor is not available for some unknown reason. The battery and the panels were left outside the house and have been exposed to the elements since before Christmas. It's been raining hard these past several days so I'm concerned that water has affected them. I asked solar optimum and haven't gotten any response yet but Manufacturer documents say that unconnected electronics shouldn't be expose to moisture as this may void warranty. I'm disappointed to say the least and I don't normally write negative reviews unless things get really bad. I hope Solar optimum can correct this. Will update...

Meg M.

Solar Optimum installed solar panels for us-- twice! The first time, they came out and did a great job, putting in both panels and a Powerwall. Because they are a certified distributor for Tesla, we didn't face any delays with getting the Powerwall. We decided to increase the number of panels on our house so we could increase our reliance on renewables and decrease natural gas usage for heating, and we went with Solar Optimum again because of the good service and price. The only reason we're going with 4 stars instead of 5 is that sometimes the communication between the office side and guys on the ground is a little slow-- we are waiting for one more CT in order to monitor our non-backed up loads.

Peter v.

I used energysage.com to get quotes from a few contractors. Energysage is a great resource and contractors can use online tools to provide a detailed quote without taking up 3 hours of your time in your home. I got a good price for purchased solar from Solar Optimum when they were still operating out of LA. They have an office in Benicia now and should be more efficient at delivering the finished system.

My install was in 2019 before covid but I experienced the delivery of wrong parts on two occasions, numerous delays and failure to show up for scheduled building inspections. My understanding is that they have worked out their process since then and product support post installation has been good.

Gordon C.

Responsive and good communications. Start to completion was just a little over 10 weeks. Scheduling is often influenced by regulatory and PG&E issues. Solar Optimum quickly did their part. Recommended!