Solar Optimum - San Diego

Peter T.

One of the best in CA. They have offices all over the state. Knowledgeable reps, great customer service, they deliver what they promise. Phone conversations are clear crystal clear, reps are on time, and reachable. Instalation crews are nice, polite, and very considerate.
Ivan, is the one man show, who knows what he is doing.
Highly recommend him.

Sandy N.

We did a lot of research on solar companies and decided on Solar Optimum because of their panels, warranties, 5 star ratings, and team knowledge. Our sales person, Ivan, was extremely helpful in educating us on Solar Optimum's products, service and maintenance, and no pressure to sign on the dotted line that day. Tons of follow up and the scheduled rolled out exactly as outlined by Ivan. The system is up and running and we can monitor daily production on our computer, as well as Solar Optimum doing the same from their computers. The pricing was better than another company we were considering. I can highly recommend Solar Optimum for your solar energy company.

William B.

We spent a lot of time doing research before we picked Solar Optimum as our solar contractor. They did an amazing job - from my first interactions with Ivan to talk about the process, pricing and schedule to the actual installation, working with SDGE and the City of San Diego for inspections, to taking the system online. The workmanship was professional. The installation looks great and - its making electricity. Only ran for a week in May and made enough electricity to take the bill to zero [we were lucky with the Sun]. I highly recommend Solar Optimum - their guaranties are industry leading, their customer service is excellent [every email returned within a day] and their approach to selling the system was completely without pressure.

Yang Y.

After comparing several solar vendors, we finally selected Solar Optimum to carry out our solar project. We are quite impressed by their excellent work to complete the project from beginning to end and also pleased by the professionalism in the project by our contact Ivan Pinzon and his team guiding us on each step. The panel now work very well just as we had wished for.

Anis H.

Outstanding customer service from Solar Optimum in installing our solar panels! I rarely write reviews but this outfit is exceptional and felt i had to congratulate them on their service--especially to Ivan who was so prompt in answering questions and shepherding us through the whole process. Ivan is an exemplary example of how to cater to clients. the rest of the Solar optimum team was very professional, and completed the whole installation ahead of time. their price was one of the lowest as well! Highly recommend Solar optimum.

Juby K.

Can't say enough about Ivan and Solar Optimium! They were accessible, efficient and thorough! Ivan was clear about expectations and was there through out the whole way. He even takes my calls even after we've been installed for a couple of months now. I'm very happy!

Betsy S.

We worked with Ivan Pinzon
and Solar Optimum to set up our solar . I can't express how happy and pleased we are with the service and quality work Ivan provided! Everything went seamlessly smooth and quickly too. I recommend Solar Optimum and Ivan Pinzon highly. You won't be disappointed .

Joe W.

I yelped first when we Planned to to solar. Usually I don't spend much time on the 5 star reviews but focus on those one or two star reviews
because that's where your concerns are.
Before we met Ivan, the rep of Solar Optimum, we already consulted with a few other installers, comparing to all the factors including price, warranties, equipment and materials... in particular, the professionalism
and confidence presented by Ivan, we determined to go with Solar Optimum. We did a great move! We happened to have the project during the rain season in San Diego but From the beginning to start using the green energy, nothing was disappointed.

Wm. Patrick B.

By the end of 2019, every home owner in CA should have solar, including low users! I am confident in saying this because I am a low electricity user and I am saving between $30-$50 per month, including my loan payment! Call Ivan now! The 30% Federal tax ends this year so call Ivan today! More thoughts: I finally realized that it was time to get solar so I did a lot of research and analyzed 14 of the biggest and best rated companies and their proposals. I'm in the construction industry so all aspects were important to me: price, quality, products, warranty, service and the company's longevity. I decided to go with Solar Optimum for the following reasons: 1) They had the best or very close to the lowest price of all proposals and I had them all quote the same system/products, 2) The quality of the company, salesman, products and installation are fantastic, no complaints at all, 3) I wanted the best panels and inverters and they promote them: Panasonic panels, Enphase microinverters (there are a couple other panels that are just as good/slightly better but more expensive), 4) They have the best warranty available covering every aspect - 25 years on everything! Only two other companies offered this but were much more expensive, 5) Service was top notch from sales, to scheduling, to corporate support, through installation and completion, 6) Company has been in business for a much longer time than most and do a ton of commercial solar which comforts me that they will be around during the next residential downturn or recession. No hesitation giving 5 stars and no complaints.

Sean K.

I initially went with Solar Optimum because they matched the best quote I had, and they used high quality equipment. They were upfront that it was going to be a couple of months lead time to perform the install and I was happy with the sales process. They came out and did measurements and things were going well. I did have to reach out to them a few times to find out when the install was going to start after we received permits because I didn't hear from them, but this didn't seem concerning.

Then came the day they sent Sasan to my house to do the install. I can't suggest highly enough that if you work with them and they send him to your house that you get someone else. He was supposed to come in the morning, and didn't end up showing up until after 10 both days he was there. As part of the install they had to put 38 mounts in the roof. All that is required is to use a stud finder and it is easy to find the roof trusses to mount to. Apparently this skill is lost on him. Of the 38 mounts, he managed to get 17 right on the first try. He then put 21 extra holes in my roof that didn't need to be there. 12 of them completely missed the studs and he sealed them, but on 9 of them he installed the lag bolts either into just the plywood, or they just glanced the roof trusses and stuck out the side. Considering he first drilled the holes before installing the lag bolts, he should have noticed when he was drilling in thin air. My personal favorite when he drilled 3 holes in one place, one to the left of the truss, one through the center, and one on the right. Can you guess which one he installed the bolt in? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't the one in the truss.

It would be nice if this was the end of the story, but it isn't. The installer drew a line on the stucco for the initial setup of the disconnect box with something that wouldn't wash off, which required me to scrape off a layer of stucco to remove. I asked him if this would wash off and he told me not to worry about it, however he never did anything about it. He scratched off the white paint on my gutters where the installer put his ladder directly on my gutters and didn't take any effort to avoid damage. I did mention this to him late during the install and he said something along the lines of ""I didn't know you were going to be so picky"", and that he didn't have any paint to fix it. I found that comment alone to be incredibly unprofessional.

They were supposed to paint the conduit to match my house as part of the install, but he really didn't have a paint for the conduit that matched my house very well, and since he didn't show up until probably after 10am both days to start work, by the time he was ready to paint on the 2nd night it was already mostly dark and he didn't have time to try to get the right paint, so I was forced to choose whatever old paint he had rolling around in the back of his van which didn't even come close to matching.

Then when it came time for inspection we failed because we needed a panel layout placard on the fuse box. He pretended they didn't know they needed a layout placard on the electrical panel. However since the company does business in San Diego this shouldn't have been a surprise to them at all as this is a requirement. When they finally get it and put it on, the inspector wanted them to rivet it to the box. Pop rivets are quite easy to use, but apparently that is also a tool that is too complicated for him, as he installed some of the rivets from the inside and some from the outside so they were facing two different directions! He also cracked the placard at the same time. I'm not sure he could have made the job look any less professional if he tried.

I reported all the problems to the company and to their credit they were very willing to come fix it and apologized. Since I needed to take off work to be home to fix their problems I requested they compensate me for my time, and they did refund some of my money. They wanted to send Sasan back out to fix it, but I would absolutely not allow this to happen. I made them send someone else out to fix all the missed lag bolts, paint the gutters, repaint the conduit and replace the placard. They came, and did the job mostly right, however they forgot to bolt down all the bolts on a couple of the panels so I had to do that myself once they were gone. Also, they didn't bring a new placard, so they said they would send someone down. After not hearing from them for a while and being sick of this whole situation I told them to just mail it to me.

Well just like everything else with this install, of course that can't even go right. The new placard is smaller than the old one so it doesn't cover all the adhesive from the old one and luckily it barely covered the old rivet holes. Since they use a very strong adhesive on the placards, it took a significant amount of time and effort for me to clean this off.

I can't recommend going with them.