Swan Solar

My husband and I do not make a practice of complaining or trashing businesses. However, we feel that we have an obligation to warn other consumers about the practices of Swan Solar of Lake Forest, CA. This company has no customer service–they did not show up for scheduled appointments on multiple occasions, were uncommunicative about project status, broke assurances that were made during the sales process, attempted to complete unpermitted work, attempted to complete work they were not licensed for, misrepresented their business practices, exceeded timeline by months, and ended up costing additional money by causing damage to our home that they refused to cover. All damage to our home was a direct result of the admitted poor planning of Swan Solar. This company was not pleasant to work with, and we would advise other consumers to think twice before using them. Both my husband and I deeply regret working with this company and have an overall dissatisfaction for the project we spent our life savings on. We received 3 quotes from solar companies and 3 quotes from roofing companies. We chose Swan Solar in order to support a local small business that seemed to have amazing customer service. The sales representative from Swan Solar paid a lot of attention to our project and met with us on 5 separate occasions beginning on March 18, 2013 prior to signing the contract on April 4. The meetings included a review the project, our requirements, and the product. Throughout the sales process, we explained the special nature of our vintage home including the fact that our city may consider the home historical. In addition, we clearly walked through the roofing process and spelled out in all meetings that the solar company would be responsible for coordinating with the roofer to ensure that no damage came to either the roof or the solar during the projects. We were assured this would not be an issue and that this was a normal business practice for Swan Solar. On March 28, my husband met with the Sales representative and ‘head electrician’ Carl Gaw—who was actually the owner/project manager—to walk through the electrical work, roofing process, and solar project on our home. During the sales process, we were assured of the following from Swan Solar: that they would hold a pre-construction meeting with the roofer, Swan Solar was fully aware no damage or penetration could come to the roof after installation, Swan Solar would review the solar installation plan with us prior to installing the product (we were concerned about maintaining the aesthetics of our home and ensuring the solar was not visible from certain areas), and that Swan Solar would maintain and efficient timeline of the project. After we signed the contract, all means of customer service received from Swan Solar ceased, and none of the above promises were kept. Once the contract was initially signed, we continued to communicate with the sales representative via email. We were told via email on April 8, 2013 that Swan Solar would be “going to permits shortly.” We provided Swan Solar with the information for the roofing company and advised them that the roofer could begin as early as April 22, 2013. At that time we asked Swan Solar for a timeline—having no idea what it would be—so that we could coordinate demolition of the existing roof in preparation for the Solar project. After following up on our own accord on April 10, we received an email response stating that Swan Solar would be ready to install solar mounts on April 22, and that Carl Gaw would be in touch with us prior to that date. As of April 16, 2013 we had heard nothing back from Swan Solar and attempted to confirm the solar project timeline so the roofer could also be scheduled. Swan Solar had not initiated a pre-construction meeting or contacted the roofer, as we were assured. We advised Swan Solar we did not want to incur additional costs for constantly re-scheduling the roofer. In a reply on April 16, 2013 we were advised Carl would be on-site to install the solar mounts, electrical conduit, and to install a new electrical panel that was included in the contract. Upon hearing this response, we reviewed the City of Orange permitting department website, and found that no permits had been pulled for the electrical work to be completed on the house. On April 18, we contacted Swan Solar and advised that roofing demolition would commence on April 23. No response was received. We had expected Swan Solar to arrive on April 22, as stated in their prior email correspondence. Swan Solar did not show up to our home on April 22, nor on April 23. On April 23 we received an email in the morning stating that Swan Solar would be on-site later that day. They did not show up. We emailed Swan Solar on April 23, 2013 around 5pm stating that the crews had been a ‘no show’ for the prior 2 days, and questioned the status of the permits needed to complete the required electrical work, as they had still not been granted by the city. Swan Solar finally arrived for the first time after signing the contract on April 24 and installed a few solar risers but completed no electrical work. My husband inquired with the on-site electrician about the additional electrical work that Swan Solar was contracted to complete, and the contractor had no knowledge of any of it. They also had no idea about coordinating with the roofing project. On April 24, my husband had to cease installation of the solar project and personally call Carl in order to schedule the pre-construction meeting with the roofer. A pre-construction meeting, which was organized by us as homeowners, was held at our home on April 26, at which Carl Gaw, my husband, and the roofer were in attendance. The roofing process was clearly explained to Carl, as was the thickness of the product—and the solar company was advised to get taller risers in order to accommodate the roof. Carl suggested placing risers on the roof in order to run the electrical conduit required by the project, stating “we won’t damage the roof that way,” even though both my husband and the roofer offered to delay the roofing installation to have all electrical work completed. Swan Solar did not feel this was necessary and assured that no damage would be caused. All parties agreed this would be acceptable and the roofing project could continue after the solar and electrical risers were installed. Swan Solar completed their “pre-electrical” work by drilling—what they advised were—the necessary holes, and installing the risers. All of their work was still un-permitted at this time, which is probably the reason why Carl chose this route. On a May 2 pre-installation inspection of the roofing by the City of Orange, the inspector stated that there should be an inspection of the solar risers prior to the installation of the roof. The city inspector also stated he did not see permits for solar pulled for the property and advised us to check with our company on the status of the permits. It had not been nearly one month since the contract was originally signed with Swan Solar. Again as homeowners, we had to initiate communication with our vendor and contacted Swan Solar to see if we could, in fact, proceed with the roofing installation or if an inspection was needed first. Swan Solar stated they had “never heard of this” inspection and advised to proceed with the installation of the roof. It took an additional two months for Swan to finally obtain the required permits and to complete the installation of the project. In the process, they gouged a hole 10 inches in diameter in the roof and cut two through-and-through holes in the roof for additional conduit to be installed. Upon completion in the project in early July, we obtained a quote for the repair of the roofing damage assuming that Swan Solar would cover the cost of an adequate repair. Swan arrived on-site on July 9, while Edison was on-site re-locating our above ground power lines. In that meeting, Swan stated they felt the quote for the roofing repair was “out of control” and offered to repair the roof on their own using a product called M1. Swan Solar advised they always complete roofing repairs on their projects as it is a requirement of installing a solar system. We asked if they had any licensed roofers, or if they had any recent experience with new flat roof insulation products—the answer was ‘no’ to both questions. Carl Gaw advised he would send us product information they would use. He also advised he would try to get the solar system turned on by the end of the week—this did not happen for three weeks, and my husband had to contact SCE independently to learn about the process. Information was never sent regarding the roofing repair. After researching the M1 product online, and finding it to be a caulk, we felt it would be best to restore the roof to its new condition and scheduled the licensed roofer. We felt it was important to restore the warranty on our roof that had been voided due to the damage by Swan. Swan Solar had not communicated with us in writing since mid-April, as if they refused to document their horrible processes so nothing could be traced. On July 25 we initiated contact with Carl who advised he “had no idea” we were waiting for a response and that he “assumed” Swan Solar would complete the roofing repair. After much heated back and forth about the repair, Carl reluctantly agreed to pay for half the repair. He stated that he felt the roof was “existing” at the time of the installation of his project, and that working with the roofer was providing “an accommodation” to us. Carl stated they would not cover the full cost of the repair, even after admitting that his company did not plan properly for their installation. He stated we were “being difficult.” It was apparent Carl had these types of conversations with customers in the past. In the end, we felt bullied into agreeing to the offer of Swan and lost $750.

While Swan Solar was not the least or the most expensive I believe they were far and away the best value. Tristan's professionalism, the courteous of the installation team and just overall knowledge of everyone we dealt with made this a great experience. By the way, our electric bill went from an average of $210 per month to actually a slight refund of 76 cents for the first seven months, and that was with the short days of winter. We can hardly wait for the long summer days to generate even more electricity!!!

Went well.

This is the second time I have used Swan. The first time was about 8 years ago to put in my pool and remodel our back yard. I got interested in solar after hearing a commercial from Verango Solar. I had them come out and then I had Swan come out as well. After listening to both companies it was obvious I wanted to go with Swan Solar. Let me tell you I was not disappointed. They never pressured me, design a complete system, then redesigned it when I asked for a modification and were professional and respectful throughout the whole process. If an issue came up they handled it and had all the work done in a timely manor. Don, Jana and Tristan took very good care to listen to my needs and concerns and made sure I understood everything. My solar is in and I'm excited to keep seeing this $30 p/month bill forever.

We purchased our system March 2011 and the experience was quite pleasant. The system is out performing Swan Solar's original estimate. The sales process was great. I found other companies with "cheaper" systems but they were not quoting the same SunPower model we got. We ended up going with Swan Solar because they seemed more knowledgeable and professional than some of the other companies. They are very thorough and also extremely responsive when it comes to my questions and filing for rebates for me etc. They did everything they promised and we are very happy with our purchase.

My family purchased an energy system for our home (Sep. 2010) through Swan Solar and have been very pleased with the results. In addition, the sales staff was knowledgeable with regard to their product, the installation process, the tax credits/rebates, and were extremely patient with us as we deliberated over our decision. I highly recommend Swan Solar for anyone looking to enter the Solar Energy market.

From our first conversation with Bill, the Swan Solar Designer, to the final installation of our solar panels, everything was handled quickly, professionally and with no complications, Everyone who worked on our installation was professional and friendly. They arrived when scheduled and cleaned up every night before they left. They were more than happy to answer all my questions and keep me current on what was happening daily, and still completed the installation right on schedule. We highly recommend the crew from Swan Solar. They put up with this high maintenance woman and still got the job done for us economically and on-time.