Sunrun

The guys that they sent out took three days to set up the panels. We had a backyard that we never used. We also have people that live behind us and there's always a privacy issue with us so we put the solar panels up in a south direction to get full sun from 8:00 in the morning until the sun goes down about 7:30 to 8:00 at night. We couldn't put that many on the roof because I have a new part of the house which would only take four panels and the in the old part of the house, the roof isn't solid enough to carry that weight so we did the solar panels in the back. They came in, they dug the holes, they poured the concrete. got the panels set up. They ran the electrical under the house right into the PG&E box and we were up and running and generating power. And they were all nice and knowledgeable. They showed my husband how to read the meter outside. Everything just worked perfectly.

The way this is set up is Sunrun owns the solar panels. They're responsible for the insurance. We do have to do the maintenance of keeping the panels clean and stuff, but if anything goes wrong with the solar panels, they will send somebody out to fix them. All we're paying is a monthly fee which is a hell of a lot less than we would have paid if we stayed with PG&E and it took all of that off our shoulders about having to get a loan and all of that stuff in order to be able to do it.

I'm very satisfied going solar. In the winter months, we were able to run our heaters more than we normally would have because PG&E is so expensive here, it's just outrageous. When March, April, and May came, it started getting nicer and we had everything off. My true-up went from $480 something down to 200. I figure, by the time we get to October for our true-up, we're gonna be even so I'm getting enough solar to offset at a cheaper kilowatt rate that even on the flat fee, we're gonna save probably about $6,000 over the year. It's awesome.

The rep got our last two or three years of kilowatt consumption and billing costs from PG&E downloaded into a spreadsheet and then they base their monthly rate on an average for us, but it was an average that was cheaper than what PG&E would have cost us. We went through all the figures and the kilowatt usage, 'cause I'm always trying to be careful with PG&E anyway. We stuffed as much insulation in the walls as we could. We had already replaced with thermo-insulated windows all through the house and we redid all the sheetrock on the inside of the house and insulated the attic, the walls, and the flooring, installed an attic fan and were trying to make the best ‘cause there's one room that gets really hot and that happens to be the living 'cause it gets full sun all day.

So, our PG&E bills were running $200, $300, and $400 a month in the winter, depending on how cold it got. In the summer, because the walls are so thin, this one room gets really hot, so we were running an air conditioning unit a lot. I never had a bill lower than $170 to $200 a month even in the summer. But now, I'm getting zero from PG&E and my true-up has gone down to $200 and something. By the end of the summer, we're gonna be even and it's already saved me a bunch of money. Sunrun was really great. I've already recommended them to my neighbor. I gave him a copy of this business card for the contract rep because he was interested in solar too. And if anybody asks me, these are the people I'll recommend.

I got a friend in Denver, Colorado and when I went there, it was all solar panels and that sparked my interest. Tony was the one who reached out to me. I made him talk and he gave me the whole Sunrun deal but all I needed to know were how many panels, where they were gonna put them and when I was going to get a battery pack. We have our storms and that was my main concern because my house is all electric. So, with all of the home improvements, AC, insulation, windows and all of that, solar was my only option because nobody's doing wind yet. If I can have a wind turbine, I'd put that on here too but I can't do a generator because we don't have gas in the neighborhood. So, I would have to store gasoline in my garage and hope it doesn't blow up.

I’m trying to save energy and for my peace of mind, I’m trying to make my house as environmental-friendly as I can. I even have a water filtering system. So, with the hurricanes and storms we get in Texas, I never know when we're gonna have to boil water. I'm good with water but I'm trying to get electricity. I'm trying to get off the grid in the city. I asked Tony to get me a great package deal on some battery packs. When we have hurricanes here in Houston, I wanna have electricity. Here, we would be without lights for almost a week. It depends on where you at and how bad it is, so I need some off the grid power. I’m waiting right now on Brightbox because I’ve got the solar. I need the battery packs or a good cost on the them. When our lights go out, I need energy because of my wife's health. Generators would have been good but no gas. So, solar is my next option.

Enrolling with Sunrun was very easy and I understood some of it as far as the billing but I was trying to understand again as far as me having a bill from Sunrun and then me having a bill from Think Energy. It depends on how much energy I produce to save and at the time when it was installed, it was more during the winter months where days are shorter and more clouds. So, I'm looking forward now being the summertime to where it's hotter. I know the solar panels absorb heat in the sun, so I should be producing good for the next winter.

I was using Stream Energy which was one of the cheaper ones on the market and on the average, in the summertime, my bill would be somewhere in the ballpark of $190. In the wintertime, it would be somewhere in the ballpark of 160. With Sunrun, it would be 132. The first few months I had with Think Energy, the highest I paid was $76 so, I was still kinda within that range. However, just last month, I got my bill from Think Energy and it was $7. So, I'm on my way.

Enrolling with Sunrun was very simple. Ron oversaw everything and he was a good contact. Also, Sunrun is the provider of solar over at Costco where I work, and Ron was repping there at the time so if I had anything, I could just go and talk to him. Then the people who did the installation and subsequent repairs were fabulous. I always treat anybody with respect. So when they were here, I would ask them if they’d want something to drink, and they always seemed to be appreciative of that. Also, we were informed of every step of the way on the installation. However, we’ve had a little difficulty with the follow-up afterward.

The Sunrun reps have been right there to take care of the follow-ups. But the communication wasn’t there. The first time we had a bad cell, a tech gave us a call and then it took another four weeks to get a cell, which went well. Then recently, the second cell went out and the Sunrun rep said that they would be replacing the battery. But there was no contact and then a gentleman just showed up unannounced to look at the cell. We were lucky that we were at home. After he confirmed that the cell had gone out, he said that Sunrun would be in contact with us, but no one did. I had to keep calling to ask them what was going on. They said that they had ordered a new battery for us but when I asked when it would be here, they didn’t know and asked me to call them back some other time.

In the customer service aspect, they ought to be saying that they will notify me. But I’ve had to call them every time. It needs to be the reverse and they need to call and let me know any updates. Also, they told me the arrival date of the battery, but they said that it was if the battery did come in. Then when the battery came earlier this week, they said that they would call me on Friday to make sure that I was still set up for the Monday schedule. Other than that, we’ve been very happy with Sunrun.

We were just hoping to lessen our electric bill, and we didn’t think we would see a tremendous reduction financially. On top of that, we added a salt water spa outside and we told Ron about that. We had the option of adding additional panels or not. But we’ve been very impressed by the efficiency of the Sunrun system. Our bills were usually about $200 to $250, and now the average bill has been anywhere between $20 or negative $20. With the cost and with all of the incentives, it was a great deal. And if people ask us, we always refer them to Sunrun.

It was easy enrolling with Sunrun. It was just the waiting process, which I know it wasn't Sunrun's issue. It was the town who will give us certificates. But other than that, the process was easy. However, the utility company screwed us because they were still charging us. I showed Sunrun the information that we were available and open and we even waited for them to say it was okay to use even though we could have used it before the timeframe. And then, they finally gave us credit for the timeframe.

I got multiple information of different people who were helping me. But my go-to person who I would talk to only had preliminary kind of information. So when I would go and talk to them, they'd give my number to someone else. The rep only gave me information to tell me when they're coming out, but they should also let us know who I needed to contact first. That was the only issue.

I enjoyed going solar. I already told my rep that I want the battery. When we had ours installed, they just installed the first pilot without battery. So, I'm waiting for their approval so we can put the battery. The main reason I went solar was the power that I can still use some power from the sun, and I can't do that without battery. So, I'm waiting for the next stuff. I'm seeing what the next procedures are for that. Right now, I'm leasing it and I'm waiting for the next five years. The rep told me of what the prices would be after five years for the option to buy.

However, if I go fully into the solar panel, I'm still gonna get a bill from my utility company because I can't completely be off the grid. So, if I am not making enough of solar panels, then am I allowed to buy more panels to cover that amount that I'm getting? That's the only question I'm not sure of. Because the point of solar is to be able to cover and if they tell me that I can't cover, then I should be able to get enough to cover everything. If I wanna add things to my house, I wanna also be able to now go over. If I wanna switch all of my appliances that uses gas to use only electric, then it's gonna use a lot more, so I need more panels. So that's the question I have, if that's available in the future.

Furthermore, when we did the payments, for some reason, when I get on the app, it would tell me different numbers of what I owe. I have my monthly plan and that's set. But my wife didn't make it automatic until five months later. So, we would miss about a day and we'll pay it. But then it'll show for that whole month the missed payment even though I paid it. So, if I went online and looked at it, it was perfectly updated. But it wasn't through the app. So, if we can look at it and say, "No, I paid it. Why is it showing that? Why is it showing those past due? ", and then I paid again, it'd still show the odd number. Other than that, everything is perfect.

On the day that I was supposed to turn the electricity on, Sunrun told me that I was supposed to go in the garage and turn the levers on. I did that and it worked, but it scared the hell out of me. I wanted them to do that and I couldn't believe that with a $20,000 system, they couldn't send somebody to my house to turn it on for me. Then, after everything was done, I called up and told Sunrun that I saw two doves die from electrical shock. I asked them how do we address that and in the end, I had to go find another firm to do the critter guards. I wish Sunrun talked to me about that and had that as part of their system. Also, there's no way to clean the panels and I have to go find myself a way to clean them if they get dirty. So there is no follow up service plan with Sunrun.

Sunrun's reps were very good though when I called them up in a panic because initially, I didn't understand very well why on a cloudy day, my production went all over the place. So, I complained to some of their people. But one of them told me that since I bought my system, I was no longer their concern. I found out who’s the head of that company then I called right away and told them what I was being told. I made this big investment and it's not like I could call my local electrician or plumber about it. And out here in California, PG&E has been trying to help solar people but they’re such a mess of themselves right now that we don't have them behind us to help us.

Another thing that's still very unclear to me is how to get a new panel if one of my panels breaks. Aside from that, I got my system done in June and when Sunrun came out with this battery, I wanted it but they're telling me that I can't have it because I'm an old Sunrun customer. So I'm not able to have a battery where my extra electricity would go into and if the power goes out, I don't have my own battery there to back me up. I also heard that people are having struggles with the one bill that they get at the end of the year. Depending on how many panels you have, your bill could be 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000, and it would be hard to challenge your end bill. Plus, the electric company is supposed to be buying back my electricity but that's very foggy, too. I've heard that they'd pay us 5 cents a kilowatt and they charge 45 cents a kilowatt for people to use our electricity. That's why I'm really big on wanting my own battery.

And because PG&E is having such a grid problem when they wanna do their growing turn-offs during the terrible summertime, I would like to have my own electricity from my battery to back me up when the lights go off. But Sunrun told me that the box wasn't compatible with the solar panels and it made me feel like they dumped their old inventory on me without telling me that those people that got installed in July were gonna be the only ones to have the battery.

Apparently, all of Sunrun's money and resources are going into getting people up and running and they do that very well. But when it comes to aftercare or even explaining it, they need to put some smart people there who'll be able to talk to customers because people get scared. Other than that, Sunrun's product is amazing and their service all the way up to the installation of the panels was fabulous. In fact, the people I had on the roof who put the critter guards on said that the panels look very good. I've also had electricians work on other things and they said the panels look amazing.

Then the production is not what we thought what it would be. I tried just for giggles and kicks at 3 o’clock in the morning. I opened up the computer and looked at what generated the day before and I had 3 kilowatts. Now, we’re just starting into the winter and I’m very disappointed at the production level. So, we pay $33 a month and we’re getting 100 kilowatts. We have 10 panels and we’re getting up around 12. However, since the middle of the summer or so, we get a little just a shade over a kilowatt per panel. I hope it should have more production. But it is what it is.

From SolarEdge Documentation: “Low Bandwidth (BW)- This mode utilizes a data plan for low-cost monitoring. In this mode, the data is sampled every 15 minutes and the server connection is established every 4 hours.” “Export+Import: The meter is installed at the grid connection point and reads pulses from both directions - export and import energy. “