STI Solar

Kristi M.

We installed Solar with STI Solar and Devin and it was one of my biggest regrets! First of all Devin answered every text, call, email before installation, which made me feel optimistic! But then once we had the panels installed he was no where to be found. We've now had a system for years roof full of panels with battery back up and we've only seen a 20% decrease on our utility bill. Friends of ours have a similar system through another contractor and have an average of $10-30 utility bill. Ours is still in the hundreds! We've reached out to Devin hundreds of times for him to take no responsibility! Please save your money and your self respect and go with anyone else but him!
Apparently he can delete google reviews since I wrote one there and it's now gone. Only leaving his 5 star reviews up.

Marjie W.

I bought a very expensive solar a/c unit (solar panels too). The AC stopped working in the first few weeks. STI tech said that they had a problem with the Japan company, but eventually switched out a faulty panel. Said they would reimburse me for huge electric bill. Never did. The Japan company was going out of business, they never told me that my warranty was worthless.
AC stopped working after a dozen uses. No apology and weak offer to replace (thousands). I had also given several referrals and even had potential clients to my home (referral $$ promised). Not one penny came my way.
Please stay away from this company, there are more family owned companies on this island that care and will give a senior citizen consideration

Michael L.

Grid went down for half the day in Hawaii Kai but we did not miss a beat and were continuously up and running with our STI Solar installed solar panels and battery backup system. Our investment in this renewable energy/grid independent system became doubly/abundantly clear when the grid went down. Thank you STI Solar for providing not only a competitively priced system but more importantly, always delivering responsive/superior/personal customer service.

Jennifer P.

I'm writing this review in the hopes of preventing anyone else on island from using STI. Working with them has been a terrible experience. We made the mistake of using them to install a solar array on the campus along with multiple air conditioners. Everything they have installed has had nonstop problems that are too many to list. The equipment is cheap and too often you feel that they don't know what they're doing. One example: I had to figure out myself that their ""solar powered"" air conditioners were actually not configured to draw power from the sun, they just drew it all from the grid. Solar powered air conditioners are a joke, by the way. Probably three times more expensive than normal and they don't actually work to produce what they consume. We've had normal split-air ACs installed by another company since these from STI (use Cool It Kauai!) that consume less electricity than these solar-powered ones that supposedly produce what they use.

The owner of STI is unfriendly and doesn't have a clue about customer service. He complains about how expensive it is for them to repair their own mistakes/faulty equipment. Our system is only a few years old and there literally has been almost no time when there hasn't been something wrong with it. Even now there is an optimizer out but I'm waiting to call them about it because I know I'll have to bug them for months and I might as well wait until there are more things wrong before spending my time. (I won't have long to wait for more things to go wrong.) It can take months or even years to get them to fix things, then they act like you're inconveniencing them. They will verbally promise things to try to make up for their mistakes, but then not deliver on those things either. For example, they made a serious miscalculation when touting how much money the system would save our school, and offered to make up for it by installing all LED light bulbs in the school. That would have been good customer service if they had actually done it, but they didn't. Dozens of emails and requests over a TWO AND A HALF YEAR period later, they finally sent a guy who didn't know what he was doing to install a few lights; one of them immediately shorted out and a few hours later started a fire. It would have burned the building down if nobody had been around. To date, they haven't even had the decency to pay for the repairs, or pay for the cost of bulbs so we can install them ourselves. This is the tip of the iceberg folks, and I'm not exaggerating. Terrible company, take your business elsewhere.

Ashley W.

In 2017 I bought a solar hot water unit from this company. Since the install I have had several issues pop up in just two years of owning the unit. In every instance the owner of STI Solar refused to come out to the house and diagnose the issue - passing the responsibility on to a plumbing or electrical issue. After much frustration, I contacted the salesperson who sold me the unit - he has since left STI Solar because of their shoddy install work and lack of accountability. Unfortunately I am stuck with a unit whose warranty does not cover a shoddy install. My bad luck.

Clark D.

The system was well designed and fit my two-story roof. The crew was great and did a good job working on my roof. With a metal roof extra care is needed so as not damage the roof yet properly install the panels. Today July 23, 2019 the system is turned on and is working. Today is cloudy yet generating power. There is a unit to mount in the house so I can monitor the system. Chris and STI are working with me to make a good system even better. Time will tell but when switched on it is working. I am a chief engineer and can tell you how many systems I have worked with that I had to fix after they were installed. The electrician did a good clean install so time will tell. The company was great and worked with me to be sure I was happy before I filled out the forms to get them paid. After a test month to see the rate due I will know more. Here on Kauai do it right and talk to KUIC Solar guy, Macanie so you get it right.

Mark A.

Don't trust this company they're a bunch of lairs. My Electric bill hasn't lowered, in fact it was more. After only a months we wanted a refund, they kept trying to buy time and try to fix it, but knowingly their tech doesn't know what the hell they're doing. They will try to pass time to avoid you at all cost. They will say one thing then say another. A bunch of lying fools. If anyone has information to sue this company please contact me what they're doing is wrong and just stealing people's money on kauai. If this company is reading this, be warned I will sue your company.

Ron C.

Last winters storms on Kauai had some powerful winds which ripped many shingles from my roof. I submitted an insurance claim and it was approved. This being Hawaii the claim amount was nowhere near enough to get the job done. After numerous searches for roofers who would accept my claim amount I found only one who would take the job for the insurance amount plus deductible.

STI Solar Kauai. The company representative, Chris Reyher, explained to me with a calming assurance that they will accept the job for the insurance amount. The only action required by me during the whole process was turning over the insurance check and signing the contract. Chris handled everything after that.

There was a delay in starting the roof repair. Not STI Solar's fault. Many roofs in my area were damaged by winter storms and contractors were backed up due to rainy weather conditions.

When the crew arrived (Ohana Construction) they were very polite and professional. My roof was completed in one day. As they prepared to pack up and leave, they cleaned up efficiently and walked the property with magnets on rods to capture any nails that might have dropped.

STI Solar met and exceeded all my expectations. If your roof needs repair and your insurance company tries to settle with a small check, call STI Solar. Recommended with 5 stars plus!

Kanani R.

Easy to contact, fast to remove panels we had on roof for a roof replacement. When they reinstalled the panels the guy asked my mother in law for the check, but u hadn't gotten an invoice so ask for a check?
when I got the invoice it listed about 3 weeks for due date, my mother in law was admitted, so we were spread a little thin, and getting a check in the mail was the last of my worries, especially knowing it wasn't due till the beginning of the next month. they txt and emailed me, and txt and txt for the payment. Kinda shady and unprofessional

Ozzy O.

It took them over 8 months to get it 'close' to right. They went with the lowest bidder to install the equipment and they turn out to NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. It took the third or fourth tech to find that all the solar panels were installed incorrectly! STI then had to subcontract the job out to another AC company because ALL the ACs were not working at all or with errors. This company found all kinds of installation errors and leaks in the lines and the welded areas STI had done. I had to hire a wall guy to come and repai all the damage to my walls because the initial installer shot gun the openings to the wall units to find the lines (STI's insurance paid for the cost of repairs; at least). The large 18K unit in the LR knocks at night and since May of 2018 STI and their 'expert' techs CAN'T figure out why.

While in contact with the owner about all the issues he kept mentioning to me how expensive the installation to my house has become for him. I don't see how that's any of my concern when he went with the lowest bidder to do the job in the first place.

Don't trust this company! I have to turn the radio station now every time I hear their advertisement.