Sunrun

My panels were installed on the 22nd of February last year and the system was actually activated the 26th of March. So it took approximately a month for Commonwealth Edison to get off their butt and approve the connection. From then on, it has worked great. I'm extremely satisfied. I go out and check how much I generate every couple days and just say, “Whoa, wow. Look at this.” Then I check my electric bill and see. There was actually a screw-up on my April bill last year but ComEd overcharged. They disregarded the fact that I had solar panels. They just charged me an electric bill but I got that back.

In my first year, summer was absolutely great. In December, I paid one and a half month’s electric bill. January was a two-month electric bill because we had a lot of cloudy weather and I have the Sunrun cost plus ComEd. So even though I have a lot of panels, they didn’t generate sufficiently through the cloud cover. But I expected that and my summer electric bills more than made up for it. I was between $16 and $18 a month, which is a connectivity fee with Commonwealth Edison. I can’t get away from that.

I was also there during the entire installation and I took pictures. There was a four-man crew and they were extremely efficient. They wasted no effort. There was a first crew that came in and sistered the joist inside the roof because Sunrun demanded that. Their engineering team wanted the additional support. But the four people that were on the roof were installing the plates that go between the shingles. They installed the standoffs to hold the panels up. One did the wiring and one did all the piping. It was a total one-day installation and they installed 26 panels on my roof plus the inverter. They also connected it to the box inside, through the meter standard. Everything was all very professionally done. They were quality people.

They did an extremely good and efficient installation, and it worked immediately. The Village had somebody come out and inspect it. He was going to fail it and I asked why. I happened to work for an electrical contractor at one time and I told him to look at it again. It was connected properly. The Sunrun rep was there too. The person from the Village asked me what I knew about it so I told him. Then he said I was right. Everything was connected exactly the way it was supposed to be.

You're supposed to have one survey of your house, your roof and property, and the first person who came out looked at our house. We were having the panels put on the garage but they didn’t check it so they had to come back out. Then, the second person they sent was new and he messed up at every appointment he had been to that day and he didn’t do everything he was supposed to do. So, they had to send a third person out. I was a little disgruntled about having to have people constantly come back out because we have dogs and it was a hassle. But they gave us a gift card to make up for it, so that was helpful and it made me feel better. So, enrolling wit them wasn’t really hard. It was just the fact that it was only supposed to happen once and it happened three times. Finally, the third person that they sent out did a good job, checked everything and was thorough.

We had a couple of things in our yard that we kinda had built in, like a playground for our kids and things, and where Sunrun wanted to run the lines, the second person who clearly didn’t know what he was talking about, told me that they would have to run it through there. I said that we couldn't tear that up and he said that he didn't know what I could do. So some of that was a little bit upsetting. We've already signed everything. It all worked out but if they were a little more careful of making sure people were either trained, that would be good. But other than that, it wasn’t bad.

We met with Sunrun mid-August and they installed them the first week of December. As of December 26th, the electric company had signed off on us turning them on and we started making electricity right away. This time last year, I would not have been sure if I had made the right choice. I recommend not to start the process where they're gonna turn on in winter because we were paying Sunrun and then we were also paying probably $100 to the electric company. Also, on January and February, it was gloomy and the sun was not really out. So, that caused me to panic a little because it was more than what we were paying with just electric. But now that we've had them through spring, summer and everything, we pay our fee of 117 for the equipment to Sunrun and then, we pay $16 a month to the electric company, which is actually a fee that they add on your bill. So, we're not paying them anything for actual electricity.

At first, when the installers came on installation day, they were gonna have to run it in some really cockeyed way that it was gonna look terrible on the side of our farmhouse. I ended up talking with the installation manager who was overseeing it that day and I told him that I didn’t want that run like that. He said he would think about it and he would see if he could work something else out. It took him 15 minutes and he figured out a way so it’s kinda hidden in the metal pipe through the attic that's not even in my way and it comes out the other side. It’s not ugly on my house. I ended up having to handle the situation and if I would have been a person who would do it however they want, I would have been unsatisfied with how it was installed on my house.

After they left, there was a spot where they put the box in the side of your house or garage. The wire comes down the side of the building and then they put almost like a cap over it, so it's protected and they put it in and then they moved it over a couple of inches. Where they had taken it off, there were little, tiny screw holes in the siding and you couldn’t really see them but then, throughout winter, they got brittle and it busted out a little part of our siding on our garage. I contacted them, and it took a month or so in order to get someone out here. But they made that right too.

You should make sure that going solar works for you. People should ask questions, specifically how they’re gonna run things through because our sales rep was nice and answered a lot of our questions but there were some things that he was kind of quick on. He said he would be here on installation day but then, he never was there on any of the surveys or the installation day because of some personal things going on, which I could understand. But on the other hand, I didn’t know what I was doing. So, it would have been nice if he would have been there.

I called Sunrun and they said they would look into it. Considering the circumstances of our rocky start and that we produced well below the guaranteed amount that we were supposed to be getting for that first year, they were going to somehow fix it so they would give me a credit. And that way, it would offset the $400 that I owe Edison. The rep said she would look in and by next Tuesday, they will know more about if the people that reviewed this would say it’s okay that they’re gonna take care of it this year or if I have to wait till next year. It would be really nice if they could somehow reimburse us.

Everything was officially turned on about February 19th last year, so we missed all those months of production, but we still had to pay our contractual monthly PPA agreement. So we were kind of in a poor spot at that point. Things were finally ironed out and it was through patience and consideration and really nice help from Sunrun. They were very nice. Every step of the way, they go, “Oh, so sorry. We’ll try to fix that.” But it was through no fault of anyone. It was something about the way that things were set up.

I picked Sunrun because I did the homework and I found out that they were one of the leading proponents of renewable energy and they had a pretty good record. We talked to Matthew and he was very nice. We sort of talked it over and came to an agreement that we would do the PPA. We are glad we did that despite all the problems along the way. But even from the get-go, the workers came out and said they were gonna put in 21 panels. But I told them that I was supposed to have 19 and a battery. So they had to go away and they didn't come back out again until weeks later. And then they finally got it all set up. I’m glad we are solar because it’s nice to know that we’re saving $75 a month.

The design of the system is perfect. It suits our home and it gives us the energy we need. But I did have a problem and I did my due diligence. We had no electricity over half the house. The washer, dryer, water heater, air conditioning, heater, and Wi-Fi were all out. Sunrun told me that I had to call an electrician to diagnose the problem to verify that it wasn’t the electrical in my house. He didn’t touch any of their equipment but he went through everything. The person on the phone couldn't understand the scope of the problem and how big it was. It couldn’t wait until they could get it checked out here 13 days. We have four adults in this house and two big dogs, and waiting two weeks for them wasn't gonna work.

The electrician talked to Sunrun on the phone. He went through the process that they were telling him to shut it off and turn it back on. Shutting the entire system down and going back on the grid didn’t fix the problem. I had already done that twice. He kept telling them that the problem was in their equipment. It was a long day on the phone with them. There are people that pick up the phone and they’re just going by a book. They’re not really listening to the scope of what is going on in your home. As the homeowner, I did my due diligence to identify the problem with the licensed electrician. If I didn’t know how to get ahold of the tech that came and helped me with my system when it was first set up directly, I would still be sitting here without electricity in my house. Basically, the solution was just locating the inverter switch where the only person that was supposed to go in was a certified technician to flip that switch back on. It was a matter of flipping a switch.

Sunrun is a good company, but they have some internal process things they need to work out and they need to train their internal employees better. In order to get a problem solved, you have to be the squeaky wheel and I’m not one to just sit back and wait for things. Plus, my situation was pretty big. I can’t run on a house without hot water or heat or air conditioning or a lot of things for two weeks because they can’t get a tech to me.

Sunrun is selling these big systems that cost a ton of money and they need to back it up with support. When you have a problem and you have to go through their customer service to get a tech to your house, that’s the downfall. They're supposed to get the right person to you. But they don’t know what they’re doing and they’re not listening to the problem. Their customer service people are not trained and not knowledgeable. If it wasn’t for the sales guy and the tech guy, I probably wouldn’t have been with Sunrun. Also, the equipment, the setup, and how it serves up in our home are wonderful.

The enrollment was a simple process of getting things signed up. They did as much for me and I had to do very little. I’m sort of retarded when it comes to that kind of stuff if it gets technical, but they took me through it pretty much. The gentleman that was coordinating always sent me an email or phone call saying, “We’ll do this,” and then, “Here’s what's next. Here’s what they're gonna do.” And even down to the city inspection, even back to the guys who’ll be there in such and such a date that worked on the roof, they always knew where I was. So, I was truly impressed with the communication. I’ve been a customer service rep or salesperson my whole life, and I know what it’s like to have a good PR with the public, and they had it. They're just good and I made a good choice.

The first bill I got sorta surprised me. It was higher than I thought it would be. It was like $100 and I wasn’t sure why. 125 to 150 was my normal bill. But even if I had the rental of like 79 bucks and then I got a $100 bill, the next month was 50, and then the next five was free. It apparently caught up and I was getting ahead on the energy. And the first bill I got was 17 cents. So, you pretty much had to get it too before and beat the smile off my face. We’re in a season now to where I’m starting to see some bills, even with the contract with Sunrun, but 30, 40, 50 bucks is still below what I was paying so I’m really happy. And anyone I can talk into it, I’ll do. And the nice thing about going solar was getting a credit card with a $350 bonus on it for referring. They haven't turned it on as they haven't got the final inspection, but it’s all done and the lady is quite thrilled. I recommended them to about 20 people and even posted it on Facebook.

When I started seeing high charge from SDG&E, I called Sunrun asking why my system is not producing as guaranteed, there we go again, more bogus excuses and I was passed from one person to another. A week later 2 guys showed up at my house and said I needed more panels and the monthly fees would therefore be higher. I said "HELL NO, until you fix your system or get it off my roof". They left promising that Sunrun will contact me about my complaint. NOTHING, NOBODY CALLED. MORE BROKEN PROMISES.

I called Sunrun again multiple times, I finally met a decent representative who asked me to send a copy of all my SDG&E bills for them to re-evaluate my system. I sent them in the next day, waited for 2 weeks then called the rep, she told me that she had passed (again) my email to another "SUNRUN GHOST" to re-evaluate them and would get back to me. UNTIL TODAY, NO RESPONSE. How long does it really take a person to do the evaluation.

Today folks, based on Sunrun record, my system generate roughly 5000KWH in 2019 and I pay $1308.00/year that is $.26/KWH instead of $17.00 in addition to a total of ~ $500.00 from SDG&E. I used to pay an average of $100.00/month with SDG&E alone. This is totally absurd and ridiculous. I am beyond an unsatisfied customer, I am a mad customer who want Sunrun to remove its worthless system and stop lying to its customer. I seriously not recommend Sunrun to anybody. In fact, my neighbor who knows about Sunrun business conduct has refused to talk to Sunrun rep. Message to Sunrun.. DELIVER YOUR PROMISE OR REMOVE YOUR LOUSY SYSTEM OFF MY ROOF. It is at the very least an ethical act to do.

(Fun fact: the previous home owners were 89&90 years old and had a family member sell them solar. THE 89&90 YO HOMEOWNERS DIDN'T EVEN SIGN THEIR OWN CONTRACT- the family member selling them the system signed their name. I have a copy of their original Sun Run contract and have their signatures all over our house sale docs so this can be easily proven.) Fast forward I buy the house anyway and now, I have been trying to get a cost savings analysis completed for 13 months. I have 13 months worth of documented communication attempts, dating back to September 2019. After escalation, a report was finally promised to me on October 9th but yet, here I am on October 30 (13 months) without anything. I know my solar system does not save me money. In fact, it has stopped working in the middle of summer twice the past 2 summers, which dispatches a customer service tech.

The techs have been kind & respectful while on the property but scheduled appointments are always weeks out so the system sits idle for 7 days to 2 weeks in the middle of summer when it should be producing the most. (2 weeks to a month of no production because it happens twice.) And let me mention, we actually replaced the circuit breaker ourselves when a tech couldn't figure it out after his second visit. The customer service team is absolutely horrendous. I don't think there is one. I am very reasonable. I have waited 13 months without complaint but this is outrageous and I am now considering legal options since this has to violate terms of service on their end. One of the perks of a lease, versus outright ownership, is that Sun Run agrees to maintain the system. Well, being able to get a hold of the company is an integral part of maintaining the system. TERRIBLE SERVICE.