
Vivint Solar
A SunRun Company


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About Vivint Solar
Vivint is a home technology company that offers a wide array of tech-forward devices, including solar panels for various homes and budgets, in partnership with Freedom Forever. Together, the two companies offer a smart energy system equipped with Vivint’s Essentials Kit for comprehensive home security. Its panels include a 25-year production guarantee.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Owned by Sunrun
- Three financing options
- Free security system included
Cons
- No transparent pricing info
Bottom Line
Vivint Solar sells residential solar panels along with smart-home systems through Freedom Forever. The company doesn’t disclose pricing and specs for its panels, but you can call and get a free estimate from one of its representatives.
Featured Reviews
The customer service reps were great and very informative. They helped me get my answers and what I needed. They were easy-going, very informative, and what they promised was what...
Read full reviewEverything is great with Vivint Solar. ... [The representative] talked in detail and explained to me everything, and I understood. He was very precise and understanding, and a nic...
Read full reviewVivint Solar panels and equipment
Vivint’s solar panels are made of photovoltaic silicon semiconductor cells. Its panels are Tier 1, which means they adhere to the highest industry standards and offer high efficiency and long-term reliability. Vivint also offers a 25-year production guarantee, which ensures your system produces a specific amount of energy during that time.
The Vivint Home Energy app also tracks your energy production and consumption, which helps you better understand how it’s working and when your system generates peak energy.
To learn more about Vivint’s panels, contact a representative directly. The company doesn’t share any information about specs, efficiency or ratings online.
Vivint Solar installation
Vivint offers professional installation. The cost to install your system varies based on several factors, including how much energy it produces. Before installation, a Vivint professional visits your home to review your equipment needs and finalize your system design. From there, its team handles everything from permits to the actual installation process.
Vivint Solar services
Vivint Solar offers bundles that combine solar and home security services. The bundles include a Vivint smart hub, security cameras, a smart thermostat, home automation devices and 24/7 monitoring. You can track both your solar and home security devices through the Vivint app.
Vivint Solar cost
The cost of a solar panel system can vary widely based on a number of factors, including sun availability, the size of your system and home, and the materials you use. The company doesn’t share general cost information, but its representatives can provide a free estimate.
There are a few tax incentives available, such as the federal solar tax credit, to help cover some of the costs of going solar. Your city and state might also offer incentives; a Vivint representative can help you determine if any are available.
Financing options
You can pay for a Vivint solar energy system with a solar loan, solar lease or cash purchase.
- Solar loan: Vivint offers solar loans starting at $0 down, and some loans have no prepayment penalties.
- Solar PPA/lease: With a solar power purchase agreement (PPA), you pay for the power generated at a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour. Installation and setup are usually included at little or no cost to you.
- Cash purchase: You can pay in full upfront and own your system outright.
Vivint Solar warranty
Vivint Solar offers a 25-year production guarantee, which is fairly standard among solar industry leaders. This guarantee promises that the system will produce a specific number of kilowatt-hours of power annually. For more information about the equipment warranty, speak to a Vivint representative.
Vivint Solar FAQ
What is the Vivint Solar app?
The Vivint Solar app lets you access your accounts via an iPhone or Android device. The app features billing information and details on your home's usage and energy production. It also shows performance data for your system.
How does going solar with Vivint work?
To start the solar process, you’ll need to speak directly with a Vivint representative. This person will help you navigate your options, design a customized solar energy system and establish a payment plan that works for you.
How does a Vivint Solar PPA work?
Vivint’s solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financing option that lets you go solar with little or no money down. You just need to pay a specified price for the power that's generated. Ideally, this fixed rate is lower than the cost of local utilities.
Where are Vivint Solar panels available?
Vivint Solar is a subsidiary of Sunrun, which operates in the following states as well as in Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
Is Vivint Solar legit?
Yes. For those who want a smarter, more tech-forward approach to solar energy, Vivint might be a good option. Each solar energy system includes a free Vivint home security system kit and access to the Vivint Solar app.
Vivint Solar Reviews
ConsumerAffairs has collected 2,489 reviews and 423 ratings.
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Reviewed April 27, 2023
I started my solar journey in May/June of '22. Our solar was just installed in Feb of '23. This has been a grueling progress. I'm still unsure if the fault lies at the feet of my city or with Vivint's team. In the beginning we were sold on the idea of not relying on the grid, in an event of a power loss we would have the battery to power our house overnight and during the day the panels would produce what we needed. We live in FL so our PRIMARY purchase decision was based on the fact of having A/C in the event of a grid outage. We were told some stuff about being locked into some deal with the city electric for 15-25 years for getting some sort of better rates and other things that have proven untrue.
After SEVERAL months of conflicting information and getting closer to buyers remorse came the install date. Freedom Forever nailed it, they were on time, super polite and did a great job installing everything. FF's electricians informed me that my AC, Stove and Water Heater were not on my battery that I purchased. Upon learning more from that electrician I found that I would need a second battery to operate the AC during an outage.
This is the literal reason we decided to go solar, and upon more conversations I found that in the event of a grid outage, the solar would ONLY power things linked to the battery even during the day. So not only were we sold on the fact we would have A/C in an outage, we were sold on the fact that we wouldn't need to rely on the grid unless we overused our panels/battery. This turns out to be completely false. In the event of an outage ONLY breakers linked to the battery will be useable AND the panels can't power non-battery linked devices during daylight if grid is down.
The sales rep claims "Your power will work, the main thing that I always tell people does not work on a battery is the air conditioning, so that’s something I would have gone over with you regardless of whether it’s on a separate breaker not, typically batteries are not going to power an air conditioner as they draw way too much power, it keeps the important things on like your lights, Wi-Fi, fridge, etc." I know this is not true as we would have full stop not made the solar purchase if we knew there would be no A/C in an outage. Living in FL that completely defeats the entire purpose of solar for us.
I reached out to Vivint regarding this and they pushed me off to Freedom Forever in regards to essentially being lied to and not being given the items needed that we were sold on. Freedom tried to be helpful however there is nothing they can do as they are just the installer and they agreed Vivint needs to supply us a 2nd battery and FF will gladly work to have it added onto our system. Freedom told me to contact the Regional Sales Manager regarding this lack of transparency and poor sales tactics and we are going on 3 weeks of no answers or callbacks from this Vivint associate.
The most devastating aspect of this whole scenario is that we've had Vivint Security for over 6 years now and they have always been good to us, anytime we have any device issues they are very helpful and great to work with. When we found out Vivint offered Solar my wife was excited stating that she TRUSTS Vivint to not rip us off like you hear so often about solar companies taking people's rebates and then filing bankruptcy to get out of warranties. So we were very glad to be going through Vivint and after this near year of issues and the end product not even what we signed up for leaves a very bad taste about Vivint in our mouths. I have stopped recommending friends and colleagues to Vivint Security as well due to this entire issue.
I do not recommend Vivint Solar to anyone and for anyone looking to Solar companies, get what you are expecting in writing and read EVERYTHING they give you prior to signing. Vivint makes you sign a form that essentially claims you are buying solar because it is what you want and NOT based on what the sales rep is telling you what you will gain. Had I noticed that in the beginning I would have walked away. Very shady tactics and willing to withhold information for the sake of a sale. Vivint is not the company I thought they were.
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Reviewed Jan. 20, 2023
I worked with Josh ** to install solar. He told me when he came to do the illustration that if I signed on that day, I'll not pay electricity for the first 12 months. Now, he is backing out of that. Very unprofessional and not trustworthy. Once the deal was signed and I had follow-up questions, he disappeared and was not responsive. I said I'll delay the process until I heard from him and my questions answered. I was worried that my number of panels will not be enough to provide coverage for my 300 sq ft home. He eventually got back to me after 2 months... saying I'll have to pay for additional panels out of pocket. While I pushed back on that, he disappeared again.
I decided to forge ahead with the 13 panels as originally installed. Now I have to make a payment to Mosaic, my system is not turned on and the free electricity for 12 months cannot be fulfilled. I sent an email 2 weeks ago asking why Vivint isn't honoring the free electricity... After prompting, making calls to Annie with Fasttrac who claimed she'll connect me with Josh's manager... he came out of the woods to respond and say they'll lose money if they gave me that deal. That's not my fault. Don't lie to me just so that you can get a sale when you cannot deliver.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2022
I had my solar panels installed last year in July 2021. Everything had been going well and my energy bill had averaged $13-$15 a month. Until I received a bill at the end of Sept 2022 in the amount of $429 from NV Energy. I reached out to Solar Edge the monitoring system and they stated that something was wrong with the inverter and they needed to send a new one out. Since June 27, 2022 I had no solar production due to this issue, they stated that they could not help with any compensation as it is not covered under the warranty but they will be sending the new inverter out and another 3rd party company will be installing.
I reached out to Arcadia Solar and they said they are not liable for any compensation as well as it not covered under the warranty. I reached out to Vivint and the shared in email and over the phone that any compensation would come from Arcadia or SolarEdge. I've been given the runaround and because of this issue I will be having a bill upwards of $800+ for over 2 months. I've barely had my panels for over a year and I'm having this issue and need help in resolving.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Eunice. We'd be happy to look into this for you and we will be sending you a private message requesting additional account information so that we can assign a Specialist to assist you directly.
Reviewed May 16, 2022
Everything went well until we filed our taxes and found out the salesman here in Henderson, NV lied about getting the $10K back from the government. You don't get the rebate in cash like he said, you get a credit. Also said I would have to pay the $10K to the loan company to keep my monthly payment at the same rate or it would go up. Being retired and not paying taxes on it, the credit is sitting at the IRS and I will never get it. My CPA said to either win a bunch of money or get a job to get the credit from IRS. Not amused.

We are sorry to hear this, Don! Please send us a private message with your service address, and we will have a representative reach out to help resolve your concerns. Thank you!
Reviewed April 21, 2022
I just had a top notch roof installed when Vivint came to my door. I mentioned that as a concern for having panels installed. The salesman assured me that Vivint would take care of any problems with the roof should any arise. A few years later and right after one of their equipment service calls, I have a leak. Reaching their customer service wasn't easy but I finally got through to them. They said they were sending me an email and to attach pictures of the leak to the reply. I did not get an email. I then sent them an email explaining my problem and still nothing. I definitely do not recommend them. They're playing name games now Sunrun Vivint. They are not an upstanding company. The contract that they have you sign is thicker than phonebooks were in 1980. I was suspicious of them from sight of the contract and the first issue that I had they confirmed my suspicions.

We are sorry to hear this, Rick! Please send us a private message with your service address, and we will have a representative reach out to help resolve your concerns. Thank you!
Reviewed April 19, 2022
Was convinced by Tyson ** Vivint solar salesman to go solar in July of 2021. Complete disaster. It’s April 2022. Solar system not online. Nothing has been done in over 6 months. Work I paid thousands extra for not even started. The big $14,000 I was to get back on Taxes (Tyson ** even had some fake paper that had this on it) was only to be $1,000. Every contact that lied to me has now ghosted me. City inspector has been sent to my house 2-3 times for final inspection and of course it does not pass. Recent email explaining to me that a mechanics lien is on my House. Due to loan company not paying for system. Contract clearly states no payment until work is completed. I’ve sent email after email explaining I want nothing to do with this company and they ignore that part. I do not believe there is one ounce of truth or integrity in Vivint and especially Tyson **.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Lonzo. We are so sorry to hear about your experience. Please send us a private message so that we can gather more information and look into this. Thank you.
Reviewed April 13, 2022
I've had a roof leak causing water damage to my ceiling since Dec. 2021 (over 3 months now). Customer service reps are not able to get the Install team to take ownership and repair the leak. I'm sure mold is starting to form at this point. I've emailed to request tickets with no luck. You'll see a repeating theme across 1 star reviews where the company does not remedy issues/damages. New Mexico's Attorney General sued Vivint for Deceptive Practices and settled in 2021; California probably needs to do the same. ** The Vivint (now SunRun) CEO's email is: **. For California, you can file complaints with the Contractors Board: **.

It looks like you currently have a case open with our Legal team. We have reached out to the individual handling your legal concern(s) and they will be in touch with you or your attorney within the next five business days.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2021
I'm very disappointed and regret I signed up with VIVINT SOLAR part of SUNRUN. The project started in end of August 2021. I'm still waiting for the Net Meter to install. The installation was quick but after that I've been waiting and waiting for months no progress or any update what is happening. I had to called National Grid my utility company and town inspector to inquire what is the hold up. 4 days into 2022 and I just called VIVINT SOLAR and they told me there is no project manager assigned to my address. I'm not surprise but still can't tell me what is the hold up. The salesperson was the worst experienced. Make sure you don't work the salesperson named Alicia **. Every time I called she would not answer. If I sent a text she would give me excuse "I can't talk or either I'm in the Church or I'm in the hospital" but never return my text or phone call.
Reviewed Nov. 5, 2021
Installed solar panels April 2021. Quick install is the only thing that went well. End of June I am being told that PG&E is backed up. This is why we have not gone live just yet with the new panels. I reached out to PG knee and they said that at the beginning of June they reached back out via email to the contractor stating that the wrong forms were filed and Vivint has not responded. When we started this project we were 200 projected true-up and by the time we finished and we’re alive we were 900 projected true up. I called emailed requested management to reach back out to me to discuss and have never received any phone calls or email by any manager. Installed and April finally went live during August. 120 days to go live on solar miss the entire summer. And increased my true up almost $800. I requested to have the solar panels pulled off and no one would entertain my conversation or respond to emails.

Oh no, Raymond! We are sorry to hear that the preparation process took a long time. Please send your address and review to online-reviews@sunrun.com so we can look into this. Thank you.
Updated review: Oct. 12, 2021
Vivint Solar has responded that I do not have a solar system with through Vivint Solar. The Vivint employee that came to my house said he was from Vivint Solar but it turns out that guy was affiliated with Vivint Smart Home and not Vivint Solar according to some recent communications. I have no idea why the home security wing of Vivint would be getting involved in solar. I find this very confusing and since I’ve been lied to for weeks now by various people, I don’t know what or who to trust. It seems that this was on Vivint Smart Home and not Vivint Solar so I am closing this review and will open one for them instead. I would advise people to contact their utility companies themselves and not trust anyone that comes to your home.
Original Review: Sept. 27, 2021
We were excited to go solar and initially we had a pleasant interaction with the sales rep. We were told that the net metering rate would be 1:1 and that the cost for the loan would offset the standard electric bill we were used to paying. However, we later found out when receiving our bill from the utility company that they do not have a 1:1 net metering rate and instead it is around 40%. This is causing us to pay way more now as our electric bill is still 60% of what it was before and we have the loan amount on top of that. We tried calling the rep and he initially answered saying he was unaware of that and that he was going to contact the legal team. We have made several attempts to contact the rep since then and he hasn’t responded to any calls, texts, or emails. He is ghosting us and the customer support is giving us the run around.

We're sorry to hear this, Curt. Savings will vary widely based on your usage, location, etc. but we definitely want to make sure you're getting the most out of your solar system. Please send us a private message with your full service address and primary name on the account so that we can look into this for you. Thanks!
Vivint Solar Company Information
- Company Name:
- Vivint Solar
- Company Type:
- Public
- Ticker Symbol:
- VSLR
- Year Founded:
- 2011
- Address:
- 1800 Ashton Blvd.
- City:
- Lehi
- State/Province:
- UT
- Postal Code:
- 84043
- Country:
- United States
- Fax:
- 801.377.4116
- Website:
- www.vivintsolar.com