EMPIRE SOLAR SOLUTIONS

This was a great experience. They were very professional during the sales process and installation. The sales process wasn't as formal with the quote material as others I received but they answered all my questions and designed the system to meet my needs and concerns (looks were very important). I am very happy. The system looks GREAT and performs right on target.

They were awesome. Great service. Completed on time and the workers were quite friendly and competent. Dane, our sales rep, took his time and provided great explanations and estimates.

Went great overall, over a very long period of time due to the construction of the house. Empire first came out to the site during framing, designed and sized the system, and applied for permits. They provided me the spec for the conduit required from roof to inverter and breaker panel, so that everything could be run in the walls by my electrician...I did not want a surface mounted conduit on my brand new wall! Once the roof was sheathed, they came out and placed the stanchions for the solar arrays...eventually the roofer laid the shingles around these mounts. All the while the Empire folks were very accessible via phone, and even upgraded my panels since Sharp came out with a new model panel with more watts/sq ft. They even accommodated my screw-up when I called them out to mount the inverter before the siding (I mistakenly thought the inverter was recessed) -- then they came back out to remove it until after the siding was up and painted. Finally as the house neared completion, they were back out with the panels and connections. They were very careful as they lifted the panels from backyard to deck to roof, so as to not damage any finish work. Only hiccup was a conduit that wasn't easily fishing the wire through -- I'm sure they were tempted to say they'd have to open the wall, but I wouldn't have let them -- to their credit, they kept trying till they succeeded. Now I produce more power than I consume overall (haven't use much A/C though since summer was cool) so my electric bill is zero and I'm amassing credits -- next step will be to get a Chevy Volt or other plug-in hybrid, run a 220V circuit to garage, and charge that baby overnight using "free" power...imagine no more gasoline for my wife's commute! So, I'm very happy with solar PV and glad I had Empire to walk me through it. Note I had contracted with them directly rather than through my general contractor, but my contractor is now building a house for himself and guess who he's using: Empire!

Nice people, who worked hard to get the job done right. However, they did HAVE to work harder to get the job done right, because it wasn't always done right the first time. They were not able to install things as soon as they said they would, but they knocked $400 off the price to make up for that. The inspectors from the city initially didn't like Empire's wiring, so the owner himself came out and fixed it rapidly. Finally, once things were up and running, they asked me about the electricity production and quickly came out to re-orient the panels when they realized production was significantly lower than it should be. None of these problems would have occurred with an ideal company, but Empire offered the next best thing. Namely, a very responsive and conscientious staff who acknowledged when they screwed up and made things right ASAP. They also gave me a good price (after contributions from my local utility and federal tax credits, my share was a little over $7000 for a $21000 system), and electricity production for the year is running ahead of schedule, so they have overdelivered. Bottom line, I would strongly recommend considering Empire Solar Solutions.

About 4 companies answered me, and while I was in the process of doing that I had a roof leak. When my roofer came over, he recommended Empire Solar to me. He let me know about recommendations. I called them and asked if they were interested, they told me to send it over. They were not the cheapest, but not the most expensive. They came out to do the survey and I liked the individual who came out. Before the project was started as well as before I signed a contract, they gave me references. One turned out to be someone I was in the Navy with and that sold the deal. They did everything in a timely fashion, polite, price was right, and I am happy with the system. There was a mild issue and they came out within 72 hours to resolve it. If you were to ask me who to go with, I would without hesitation say, go to Empire.

The installation was handled smoothly and professionally from beginning to end. We were very please with the overall process. Of course, a key benefit is the savings that we achieved by having the solar panel system installed. During the previous year, we were on a level billing with SoCal Edison, which was costing us apprsimately $450 per month. Since the system was installed last February, our overall cost per month was reduced to an average of $136 per month, amounting to an almost 70% reduction in energy costs/per month. We anticipate the payback on this system to easily less than 8 years, with the added benefit of an energy credit and increase to the overall value of our home. Suffice it to say that we are very happy to have the solar panel system installed, and to have chosen Empire Solar Solutions!

Hans Witten and John Wilson came and reviewed what size system we needed, provided a packet of detailed information about the company and their services and references from previous customers. We worked out a couple of different bids based on the size of system we desired and the size of system we could afford right now. After we contracted with them, Empire Solar took care of everything, all of the rebate process and permitting. We set a date for the installation. The workers arrived and began the installation, for us, just short of three days work. SCE came and installed net metering shortly thereafter. And we all live happily using the sun's energy.