RGS Energy

Fair. Couldn't seem to get a straight story from them. Project took well over a year to start and then, I came home from work one day and my backyard was dug up to place panels that were not approved. I currently have a router to report how the panels are functioning that has not worked since February. The company says they will come out to fix it for $200. It only worked for 9 months. I would not recommend this company.

I requested for a solar PV sytem quote from RGS. I got prompt reply and was scheduled for in home visit. the person arrived on time. He was not well prepared for the visit. he was unaware of all the incentives available to me. Also didn't know about the NYC fire department rule of leaving some space in the roof from the edges. So the design he had was not following all these rules and regulations. Also he didn't collect enough information over the phone prior to his visit which he needed for the design. so in effect, the first visit was basically waste of his and my time. i ended up not picking them.

This went well. The salesperson gathered information from us and from aerial photos. The company then created a design and an estimate of the amount of power that the system would generate, given our location (trees, orientation, etc.). They also prepared a spread sheet projecting our costs over time and the savings, year by year for 25 years. There was never any pressure or manipulation during the sales process. Even though the actual installation only took a week or so, the entire process takes several months because of the various permits and inspections required by the town and the utility. Our installation took place in March, with snow on the ground and on the roof. The installers managed, clearing the roof and ground area below. It would have gone a little quicker at another time of year -- but weather can have an impact at any time. The finished installation looks very professional, and it works as promised and anticipated. The cost reported below is the total cost. The net cost to us will be reduced by more than half by the various rebates, incentives and tax credits that apply. Be sure to understand how these will apply in your situation. Some of these incentives are in the form of tax credits, which will depend on your tax situation. The incentives situation is always changing, so work with current information.

Pricing was fair. Negotiated in good faith. Walked me through the process and helped me to understand the sizing of the system. I like the materials and workmanship. They install quality products with solid warranties.

I called them for a consolation in October. They promptly sent a salesman out that talked to me about what potential of Solar in my home. Within a week or so they emailed me a plan. We did some minor tweaks. I put a deposit down and then waited for months for my Town to approve the permits. For me the worst part of this was my Town. Every chance they got they took their sweet time to get things done. RGS was on top of the job when things got approved. The install took 2.5 days. The install crew was great. There were on time and worked with me about scheduling since we were still trying to nap my daughter at that time. Once the system was installed I had to wait almost a month for the final inspection due to my lazy local town inspectors. I am very happy with the system and the service that RGS provided. I had 3 companies come out and give me bids. RGS was the lowest. Normally I am worried about the lowest bid because usually you get what you pay for in that respect but RGS did a great job. I would recommend them,

Outstanding job of the whole team from sales to installing. Also very good and reliable after-sale service.

They were on time, worked in difficult weather with no complaints, answered all questions professionally and kindly and it looks great. Too new to evaluate if there any performance issues.

I requested a site visit via their website. A woman named Victoria Werckle called me within a day to ask me some questions regarding the type of system we needed, our energy usage etc. She told me available time slots for a visit in the next 7 days. We found a time at 5pm on a Friday 3/22. Early that day - Len Armer, who was coming to visit our house - sent an email saying that their was an emergency and that he would be unable to come to the appointment. I emailed back saying that I understood and that of course we could reschedule. I emailed Victoria to ask for another appointment time. She emailed me back for Saturday 3/30 at 9:30am. So far - so good. I arrange my life to be ready at 9:30am on that Saturday. By 9:45am when Len hadn't arrived, I called Victoria and got her voicemail. I then took a look at my email, and saw that at 1am Len had emailed me to say that he would not be coming. He attached two incoherent plans for solar systems, and added that he had come to my house the previous Wednesday to look at it and make assessments. WHY oh why didn't he just tell me he would be at my house on that Wednesday? Why did he email me at 1am to say he wouldn't be there in 8 hours? How about a telephone call? I sent emails to both Len and Victoria - asking these questions. And also saying that I was a member of Angie's List and I wouldn't be able to give them a good review - at the moment. To date - 4/3 - I have not received a reply from either of them - or from any representative of the company. If that is indicative of their customer service - I don't want to deal with this company.

I have always been interested in having solar installed and was very impressed with Real Goods Solar. Len the sales rep was very knowledgeable and took the time to answer each and everyone one of our questions. Jenny the project manager was very polite and always followed up promptly if I left her a message. James"Chris" the project foreman and his crew were extremely friendly, polite and professional. Easily the most professional company I have ever worked with. Excellent customer service top to bottom. The work they did on my house looks great. I'm waiting now on a private inspector and national grid to swap out my meter so it will still be a few weeks before I can get the system turned and running but I'm excited and can't wait. The whole process took several months due to planning, designing the system, waiting on the tax credits from NY and the Feds but they did all the work in getting building permits from the town of glenville so there was very little I needed to do. They kept me updated on how everything was progessing so there were no surprises which I really appreciated. Very happy with the entire experience. Thank you! Also I put $0 in the amount paid as I don't start paying my solar lease until the system is turned on. So far I have not had to pay anything out of pocket.

Very good service from start to finish. Stuck to their quote even when extra visits and work was required. Local inspector commented "best electrical work by a solar company he has seen"' . Very pleasant and professional. No matter what contractor you use, make sure they let you know if and which trees need to come down. Shadows from trees, even without leaves, severely impacts production. I had to have more than trees taken down than anticipated, fortunately they were on my property.

Satisfactory - we asked for a quote, and were pleased with the response

They did very well. They were very conscientious and did the work in a timely manner. This company is under new management and the old company which was Alteris Renewables did a great job with the work. I know nothing about the new management but the prior experience was a good one.

It turned out very well. They were excellent to work with. I cannot say enough good things about them.

Solar Works was very good when doing the work. They took care of everything. The guy who I worked with on the project did a very professional job and everything is working flawlessly. Having this work provided is very beneficial to the homeowner and the world at large.

They had to come back twice for leaks in the roof and the install was provided by Alteris Renewables. They were very pleasant, punctual, and they explained everything that they were doing. Aside from the leaks, I have a very positive opinion of them. The solar panels have been great as well.

Some of the guys that we worked with were absolutely wonderful. A couple of the guys on the team however we had trouble communicating with them. One of the issues that we had was they were not great at communicating with the vendor who did the concrete and the trenching work. The contractor we hired for the concrete and trenching work had to work 12 hour days to get the work completed as Real Goods Solar did not communicate well. I thought they would have taken more initiative on the project but they did not with the preparation of the build. After that trouble the guys who came to do the install really knew what they were doing and if they had any questions they would check and get the correct answers. They were very neat with the work and they answered any questions that we had. Overall we were pleased but it could have started out better.

They were really good. The company was competitive with price. They were very professional and did a great job. They took care of everything with the electric company. They had very good follow up and maintained a relationship after the work was completed. They were clean with the work as well.

We are very happy with the product and the insulation. They have changed the company name a few times since the work was done. The crew that provided the work were very tidy and did a very nice job with the work. Any delays were due to the arrival of the products for our roof. It has definitely cut down on our electric bill. The equipment is gauranteed for 20 years. The product is well worth the investment as it a great money saver.

The installation was good. They do however owe me $247.50 and they have not reimbursed that at this time. The system is working fine. It took three months for them to get the change order for the price. It has been another four months and I still have not received the refund.

The work was done fine. There were a couple of issues afterwards that we called them on and they have not responded to that. They were not accurate on the tax rebates so we paid more than we thought we would as the rebates were taxed. They packed the electrical wires tightly and we were concerned about that as well. Overall the job was done well. They did the work when they said they would and they were timely as well.

It turned out excellent. It was very good. They cleaned up everything and it has been very beneficial. It reduced our electricity bill. We had a big snow storm one month and they were covered up so that was not a month where it saved but other than that it has been great.

It was very good. I would highly recommend them to anyone. It was a very positive experience.

It was awesome. They were very good. It didn’t cost me anything and it saved me money. They were very nice and prompt. I have recommended them to couple people as well.

It was a long process. We had to wait for the garage to be finished. They did good work and it looks good. There were some holdups due to communication issues. I would use them again if needed.

They were great. The workers were fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about them. My electric bill has been significantly lowered.