Central Florida Solar Inc

The entire project went very well. The technician was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Connie in the office was very pleasant and communicated with me. Any questions I asked the technician were answered and he stuck around while we waited for late afternoon clouds to clear so I could see the entire function of the pump. I have gotten so used to contractors doing the bare minimum, this company was a welcome escape from those kind of companies. I would recommend them for people looking for a one and done kind of company.

I would have been significantly more impressed overall if the guys had avoided walking on my panels, both on the ground and on the roof, particularly once I had noted the practice. Not interested in how it's never caused a problem, or that the panels are super tough, it's just a very poor practice. A couple of mounts appear to have needed re-locating along the way, so my new roof now has an extra hole or three sealed with a glob of goop each.

Awesome job! From start to finish, Central Florida Solar was top notch. The salesperson, office staff and the technician who installed our system were professional, helpful and genuinely interested in making us satisfied with our new solar system. We felt that the salesperson did not try to oversell me and provided the best package required for my pool. When onsite the technician was very diligent in taking off the old system without any damage and left our home immaculate. The technician seemed very proficient, professional and a pleasure to work with He arrived as scheduled and completed the project in the estimated amount of time he anticipated. The water temperature is amazing and we are back to enjoying our pool. I will definitely recommend Central Florida Solar!

Both experiences were great. Ryan did both projects. Very professional, both office staff and Ryan.

f(/When the solar company came to my residents , they removed my solar panel ; which weighed over 200 pounds ( using two men ). They carried it down a latter and broke the top glass do to the weight of the panel. One of the men said it broke when it was changed out. I explained that it was never changed out. They departed that afternoon and left the anti-freeze valve on the roof uncapped and over night water leaked from the valve into my house and damaged my drywall by causing a two millimeter drop and causing a 15 sf dark discoloration from the water. When I called to speak with the owner about the fiasco I was informed that he was on a conference call.They did over $3,020 worth of damage. I would like to add that the left side of the solar panel is resting on the roof of the house and diging into my shangles; which would cause a roof to leak. They did not follow the code.

I had a solar pool water heating system that was dismantled when our roof was replaced. The old system was not worth salvaging due to the age of the panels and fittings, so I called Central Florida Solar for an estimate for a new one. I had previously gotten an estimate from another company so I had some idea of what to expect. The estimator was prepared when he visited and had already obtained a satellite view of the old roof and the previous solar panel layout from Google Earth. He measured the pool and calculated the number of panels needed, which was fewer than the old system. He pitched two different panel types and I specified the higher performance ones with a longer guarantee. The estimate was a little less than I expected. A week later a single worker came out and installed the system in about 5 hours. He was on-time and professional. The new panels and piping were connected to the old solar valve controller and was working when he left. Since then I've had no problems with the system and it has been doing a good job heating the pool.

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I had a chance to interview a few installers of the major solar pool heater brands. I found Aquatherm and Heliocol to be very similar in quality and price. Hi-Tech and Fafco concerned me from a quality perspective. When speaking to Jeremy at CF Solar, he said he spends most of his time on service calls replacing Fafco systems. Bill came out to the house within 24 hours of me inquiring with Michelle, who was very polite and professional on the phone. Bill was very helpful. He spent a good amount of time answering my questions and gave me some good things to consider. The install was scheduled for 2 days later and everything was done very efficiently and as described. We had a minor leak issue that was caused by the release valve. I called Bill and he had it fixed the next morning. This was not an issue with the panel, rather the positioning of the release valve, which had to be altered. Our installer had over 20 years of experience and you could tell he knew what he was doing. Bill told me that if we have a leak in the future that they don't fix the leak but will replace the panel. We had cloudly weather for 4 days after the install, but as soon as the sun came out it took approximately 3 days for the pool to make it up to 84 degrees (this was in mid April). I should note we had our panels installed on the north roof and they were not put on rafters. The surface temperature of the pool prior to install (1-week prior) was 76 degrees. We've now had the solar heater for a month. The pool reached 89 degrees yesterday and we have been in the pool every weekend with the kids. We hated our pool before, but now really love it and it feels like a mini-vacation in our back yard. My wife and I are Floridians and are wimps about cold water. We couldn't be happier with the results. I was nervous about the north facing solar panel, but the performance has been great. I expect we should have no problem getting well into the 90s if we want during the summer, which is more than enough.

I called Central Florida Solar to conduct a maintenance inspection of my solar panel system for my pool. One of the tubes to a sensor had developed a leak which I had tried to repair a couple of times, but unsuccessfully. So I hoped Central Florida Solar's tech would be willing to repair the leak when he came to do the inspection. He initially said he would, but by the end of his brief time here, not only changed his mind, but said that our whole controller system would need to be replaced and gave us an estimate for $725 to do the job. I held off doing anything further until April, when I subscribed to Angie's List and called some of the A-rated solar panel service providers for estimates. I asked each one to give me an estimate on the purchase and installation of the same controller package that Central Florida Solar had recommended. I did not play one against the other. Everything Solar offered the same package, installed, for $485. I set up the appointment. When the Everything Solar techs arrived and inspected my system, they not only repaired my leaky tube right up front, but completely checked my system out and told me that, yes, it was older and parts were no longer readily available for it, but it was fully functional. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with Central Florida Solar's unresponsiveness (unwillingness to repair a leak which was easily repaired by the Everything Solar tech in about 3 minutes) and by their estimate which was 50% higher than that of Everything Solar (and again, I did not pressure the estimator in any way). Such treatment does not elicit confidence that Central Florida Solar cares about the customer's interests.

We are so pleased with the job that Central Florida Solar did for us! We dealt directly with the owner, Bill. He was extremely professional and easy to talk to. I'm one of those people that research large purchases to death. So anytime I would read something or hear something from a competitor, I would call to ask, "Well what about this..." and he would always be able to answer my concern in a way that continued to build my confidence in this company and product. Mike was our installer, he did a great job as well. Hard hard worker! Up and down the ladder a zillion times with tons of equipment, it made me exhausted just watching him. Got the job done within the day, as promised, and gave me a nice detailed run through on how everything works. We've been in the pool starting about 4 days after installation, even though there were still frequent cold snaps. We're very happy with the decision we made to use this company.

The experience was wonderful from the initial presentation with Bill Park to the final installation completed by Ryan and Jeremy. Additionally Michelle, Office Manager, is equally outstanding. Bill and his team are ethical, accountable, knowledgeable, responsive and treat you as they would family. The experience continues to exceed our expectations.

I spoke with the president of the company after my previous experience trying to get an estimate for work on an existing solar system and we have come to a good understanding. The president said he wants all his customers to be 100% satisfied with their service. He agreed to work with me and still apply the $79 tune-up fee towards repair/replacement after I get estimates from other companies, should I decide to use Central Florida Solar. I also agreed to write a new favorable review based on my current and future interaction with Central Florida Solar.

Excellent work, no fuss, no muss. Made a selection, items installed the next day, works as designed. Only issue was I had to do a little programming on my own for the automation as they didn't enable the "Solar Functions". Took about 5 minutes when I pulled out the manual. All in all, great work, very reasonable and very timely.

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I initially saw the Central Florida Solar company's trucks in the neighborhood servicing one of my neighbors pool equipment. When I looked for a vendor to replace the first two leaking old panels, I looked on line as to what choices were available.I did call some of CFS's competitors and recieved verbal cost estimates (I did find that they were all about the same panel cost-wise) and ultimately decided to go with CFS. I was promised a visit within few days and was pleased that they called prior to arrival and ultimately showed up per agreed upon time. I found Ryan to be extremely competant and informative. All dealings with Ryan have been absolutely professional. I have to say right now before I forget to mention it that you won't find a harder worker than Ryan. He has that "knack" to be productive, innovative, perform excellant quality work, punctual and just a pleasure to do business with. While I am on the subject, I also met Bill Park (the owner) and Austin (his son). Bill came out when there was a minor programming glitch with the new OnCommand heater control scheme and worked it out on the phone with Hayward tech support. Quickly, might I add. Bill has been around pools - no question. This house probably never had a properly working heater system for the built in spa. After the new heater and controls were installed, all sorts of issues (of no fault of CFS) arose. Literally every check valve was identified, removed, checked for proper function, etc until that small piece of PVC was found hanging up in one of the valves was found. That cured the pool's issues and truth be told was no fault of CFS's. It was a piece of a skimmer door, not PVC pipe. Bill stuck with me on this until the system is now working properly and probably working correctly for the first time since the pool was originally built. No one took the time to diagnose and look for the problem prior to this phase that Bill and CFS helped me with.Bill even got me sorted out on the air bubbler for the spa which had never been right since day one from the house being built 13 years ago. On that second visit to replace the panels #3 and #4, I asked Ryan if they could do a heater/control upgrade. I had already been in touch with the local "Squeeze-a-penny" group and got pricing. Needless to say that Ryan spoke to Bill, presented me a price that was very competitive and offered some Haywood incentives that tipped the scales in thier favor. I said OK, but it needs to happen soon. Ryan said "Sunday, OK?". I about fell over. Yes, I agreed and the rest is history as they say. With a system of this magnitude, one always expects to have some issues that arise. I did have two minor issues and the CFS response was superb. On time, timely and fixed easily. I actually can not say enough good about CFS. They are good at what they do. They have a great staff and the company is well run by a veteran pool supply guy. Kudos! BTW, the final three panels were replaced this week. Ryan had predicted that 16 months ago. I told Ryan when he left, it will be a while before I see him. He's done. I am happy.

From our first meeting to completion this company met and exceeded our expectations. The owner of the company, Bill Park, personally met with us and took his time answering all of our questions. He was only one that came to our home and presented his product and never once put down or spoke badly about other companies product. The installation crew was on time, professional , cleaned up and reviewed the system with us. It has been 3 months since we had the solar put in and we are very pleased with the product and are thoroughly enjoying our pool.

I needed immediate service on my pool solar pool heating, but the company that installed the system had gone out of business. I called Central Florida Solar after having 2 other companies come out, be it late and one on the wrong day. Central Florida Solar not only gave me a written estimate, but also had the best price, and the rep the time to explain in to me in detail the issue with the system and how to resolve it and prevent the problem from happening in the future. The technicians responded within 24 hours, were on time, professional and cleaned up. I highly recommend this company.

Great experience all the way around!

In quick summary, we paid $79.95 for what appears to be an attempted con. In detail, our solar system has had all warranty repairs and service done by Fun in the Sun (FS), who originally installed it, and there has been excellent service since coming under their current ownership about 5 years ago. We received a letter several months ago from the panel manufacturer that all warranty repairs now had to be done by Central Florida Solar (CFS). When a panel developed a leak, we scheduled an appointment. Ryan showed up, ipod in ear audible to me as we talked, I showed him pictures of the leaky panel and he asked for our warranty card. I said we never had a warranty card. He said he would go on the roof and get the date off the panels. He came down, said the panels were out of warranty since the date on them was 2000. I said I have plenty of documentation of installation in 2003. He then said the warranty was void because it wasn't plumbed properly when installed, that the manufacturer required pictures of the whole system for warranty repairs and they wouldn't honor the warranty due to this plumbing (pipes went higher than the system and no relief valve to allow water to escape when expanding with a freeze), and that his boss won't take a chance on having to "eat a panel". He then said that 2 or 3 (the number changed during the discussion) panels were "beading", showing white spots, which was a sign that they were starting to leak and a major leak was imminent, that they would be leaking within a week and that all the panels would be bad within a year, so we needed to replace the entire system, which would cost $7227. I asked why we had no leaks after last winter when there were many more freezes, he had no answer. He also said the entire flat part of our roof where panels are was soft due to wood rot and was not safe and would need replacing. He wrote on the estimate that it was not safe, which I figure was possibly a set-up for a liability suit, but at the least was to try to put urgency on the situation to get us to commit. The system was originally installed by FS, but at that time it was owned by Bill Park, who currently owns CFS. When he owned FS, we had several warranty calls for plumbing leaks, each of which cost us a service fee, and inevitably there would be another leak a short time after they came out, we suspected perhaps they were loosening one thing while fixing the other, and when the plumbing warranty expired at 1 year and my husband started repairing pipe leaks himself, there were way fewer leaks. Since FS came under its current ownership, we have had excellent service. I asked Ryan, since the system was installed by the company owned by Bill Park at the time and he says it was plumbed wrong on installation, would there be some consideration for that in the price, he said he would check with the boss and call back. He called back a couple hours later and said that they would do it for half price, $3600, which actually made us more suspicious. Once they replace the system we would have to use them for warranty repairs for years and possibly deal with the problems of before, so it's worth it for them to discount it up front. Shortly after that he called again and asked if we wanted him to come out the next day and rip down the panels so that we could get the roof fixed, my husband said "no". The next morning my husband and I went on the roof, couldn't see anything that was like this "beading" he described, and the roof was solid. Where the big, flat shingles connect to the sloping part of the roof they aren't flush with the wood so it feels soft, but that is only at the edges of a large flat area and is obvious by looking at it - Ryan said the entire flat part of the roof was rotted and soft. Just to make sure, my husband went in the attic and the wood is fine, no signs of water damage or intrusion. Since CFS wasn't going to honor the warranty and we were suspicious about the entire situation, we called FS who came out and plugged the leak, no new panel need, and they also inspected the system and said it was fine. The charge was only the minimal service charge, $80. If you have to use Central Florida Solar for a warranty repair and they say you need any other work done or that your system is going bad, do not commit to anything without getting a second opinion.