Sugar Hollow Solar

They are very helpful either over the phone or by sending a technician, a person if need, they have been great in providing service.

Decided it was not cost-effective.

Very smooth installation and follow up.

Very well. Solar rep arrived promptly with a realistic proposal for solar panels' installation specific to my home's location and sun exposure, We thought the presentation was thorough and well organized. That said, we decided not to pursue a solar panel installation based onthe time it would take to recover the cost.

In a word, FANTASTIC. Much better than I had hoped. Whenever you hire a contractor you're taking a chance they treat your job as a priority. There was never any question about that with SH. In fact, the project manager on my job was simply outstanding, keeping us informed about status, managing progress on the job, being considerate about the overall curb appeal of the system, etc. The non-supervisory workers were also excellent, courteous, and hard working. The only reason I'm not giving SH an excellent rating on Price above is that I'm essentially "cheap", and always believe I could have obtained a better price. Significantly, I had no other contractors with which to compare price, in that I chose SH based on the professionalism of the Staff after the initial visit, and subsequent negotiation of the contract. I would not hesitate to recommend SH to anyone interested in installing a solar powered electric generating system in their home.

From the initial visit to the final wrap up the company communicated well even as they moved the project from one department to another. The guys who did the installation came when they said they would (given the limits of winter weather) and kept the site clean. The panels have performed as predicted. I cannot think of a single negative point.

Sugar Hollow was very professional. They helped us with all the paper work for the electric company. They explained everything to us. If we had questions they were always there to answer them for us. If there was a delay with something the let us know as soon as possible. We were always kept in the loop. All of the people at Sugar Hollow from beginning to the end were wonderful. We would recommend them to everyone we know or if a future customer of theirs wanted to talk and ask us questions we would be happy to do so.

Excellent! Thorough explanation of proposed systems, responsive to questions, professional installation with attention to detail, and Sugar Hollow Solar owner himself inspected the final work! Staff promptly return emails or phone calls post-installation. My electric bill is $13.16/month (Duke Energy service charges only). The radiant floor heating (natural gas) is efficient and toasty warm! I love them both! I highly recommend Sugar Hollow Solar!

Perfect! Phelps Clarke knows his stuff. He was keen to install this then-new technology, and his knowledge, experience, and dedication to the work at hand are exceptional. Phelps had a hand in installing other elements of my solar systems, back when he was working for Sundance Power, and I was always impressed with his commitment to the job. Sugar Hollow Solar would be my choice of provider, the best in the business!

Good people, dedicated and committed to advancing solar power generation

Our system is performing very well and we are most satisfied with the product as well as the services provided by Sugar Hollow. The installation included clear communication concerning installation dates, tax rebates, and the general operation of the system. There were no unpleasant surprises, no mess to clean up. These installers were a pleasure to have around and probably the best overall service experience we've had to date. In addition, their knowledge of the solar power industry is solid, so you can expect dependable recommendations. Superior professionalism.

These fellows know their stuff and they are great fun to have at the house. We recommend them highly. Our system works great and they have always responded promptly to our questions and needs.

Perfect. I was a general contractor all my life and these guys showed up on time, with all the right parts (and I know), got to work, and did a super neat and clean install. Everything started up as it should and we produce power every day. Thanks to them our first month's bill on our all electric 2300 square foot house was $52.62.

Installation went smoothly, however after a couple weeks the newly installed inverter began to fail. Sugar Hollow came out, worked with the manufacturer to fix the problem and eventually got the manufacturer to ship another inverter which they quickly installed when it arrived. The system has been working without any problems for the last 6 months.

Excellent work. On time and on budget. Installers very professional and personable.

We selected Sugar Hollow Solar after looking at 4 other estimates. We felt they offered the best system, the best value, and were the best and most professional to work with. Scheduling work and staying on schedule was extremely good. On site SHS staff were very friendly and went beyond what was specified. We recommend Sugar Hollow Solar without hesitation, and would work with them again exclusively.

I hired them to design and install my first solar system and felt confident all along the process that I could depend on them for quality and professional installation. They always respond quickly to questions and have educated me along each phase of the project. They do quality installation, clean up the site completely and are cordial and friendly during all of their work. I have called them multiple times since they finished my installation with questions; they always call me back without hesitation. I feel like they are the perfect combination of professional and family. I'd hire them again in a second and recommend them highly.

Everything was done efficiently and effectively. They came back to check a shutdown at no cost. Service was excellent.

Slow to get together. They were pleasant and professional, and sent me a quote. There is a big emphasis on the Rebates available, but I do feel that if the rebates were not available, the prices would be much lower.

Went very well. Phelps Clarke, owner of Sugar Hollow Solar, did the work himself, and was the only person in the area who was even aware that this sort of active, but anti-islanding system, even existed. In short, Phelps, and Sugar Hollow Solar, are always aware of the latest technology, are willing to consider novel requests, and only install the very best equipment, and they stay on site until things are working perfectly. When Phelps worked for Sundance Power Systems, before going independent, he also did work on my various solar systems, and I found him knowledgeable, persistent, and willing to go the extra mile to make things work. I have every confidence that Sugar Hollow Solar will do a superb job, and stand behind their work.

He repaired a lot of problems due to improper installation by another company. They were excellent. They cleaned everything up. He laid out a drop cloth so they didn't mess up the house. The communication was great. Everything was excellent.

In early June, 2014, we first learned of Sugar Hollow Solar (SHS) in our initial inquiry from Angie's List for providers of photovoltaic modules for rooftops. Although we had made very preliminary inquiries locally for several years, SG did not come to our attention. At that time on Angie's List they were noted as having done several small jobs with high marks from those who used them in every sector of AL's inquiries. SH was also closer to us than any other company known to us (about 35 miles distance in the foothills of the mountains in Western North Carolina). Phelps Clarke made himself available to come to our home at our nearest convenient time (one or two days). He took roof measurements and used an instrument (common to all in this industry) to evaluate the amount of sunlight expected at any time of the year including the shade which might hinder sunlight from the surrounding trees or structures. Phelps professional background was relatively brief as one of the owners of SHS, but impressive in prior education and work experience: a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Bowdoin College in Maine followed by a number of years working with perhaps the largest photo voltaic business in this area with which he began as a worker on jobs and moved to lead designer of work done by that company. Phelps spent much time on our roof, and even more time in interview with us discussing what we were looking for both now using the portion of the roof most open to the sun and with a view for future plans when we may want to extend the panels to other roof areas. Within a couple of days he sent us by email full diagrams of different possible positions of modules on our roof: different numbers of modules, varying configurations, both for now and possibilities in the future. He included his installed prices and manufacturer's specs of the various options. He sent along his own list of what and why he chose the options. His preferences were for the top rated modules which were fully manufactured in the U.S.A. which gave a 25 yr performance warranty and a 10 year workman's warranty. His initial pricing was clearly competitive with the bids of other companies. However SHS bids were not among those we included as we moved to a final decision, including final bidding. (Explanation below.) Our final decisions, asking for final bids on specific equipment, did not include SHS because we chose modules which were not, at that time, included in their active inventory. We chose to go with those bidders who included in their active inventory modules with the the highest output -- watts per hour -- which were significantly more expensive in the short term, but more cost saving in the long run for equipment with performance warranties of 25 years. However if SHS had included in their current inventory the above modules we would certainly have included them among the finalists from which we chose. We were most impressed with Phelps knowledge and willingness to spend time and fully communicate with us about the various equipment types and the specific way they may fit with our roof and our immediate and longer term plans. He was inventive, energetic, and invited us to think more broadly. He was also very clear and specific about how he would be involved in seeing that each step in the installation would be carefully monitored, and that he would be involved fully in the installation and follow-up of any job they undertook. We think that anyone in our geographic area would benefit from contact with SHS as they consider installing a photovoltaic system.

We were put in contact with Sugar Hollow by Green Energy WNC who do an excellent job of pre-screening contractors and negotiating very competitive rates with them. Sugar Hollow scheduled an appointment with us within a few days, looked at our house and talked with us about our objectives in having a solar photovoltaic system installed. They provided information for 2 systems including performance and financial estimates; and helped us decide which system to purchase. They answered all our questions quickly and understandably. Actual installation took a couple of weeks because of weather delays and a short delay in getting some parts. The longest delay was waiting for Duke Energy to make decisions although we were warned ahead of time to expect that, and they were in fact a little faster than expected. Duke were also very good to work with answering my questions literally within a few minutes of e-mailing them. Phelps, one of the Sugar Hollow owners, Grey our project manager and Eric and his work crew were a pleasure to work with throughout the project. They were all very enthusiastic, obviously enjoyed what they were doing, and went out of their way to keep us informed of what they were doing. It was obvious that customer satisfaction was a critical part of their operation. At the end of each day they cleaned up the site and at the end of the project the only evidence of their presence was a beautiful set of solar pv panels on the roof. It is impossible to predict how well the system will perform, but it is reassuring to know that in the first month of operation we have already exceeded the predicted electric generation.

We worked with Holdsworth and Clark. They came out approximately January twenty fifth. It cost about a hundred and fifty dollars. They just came out and did a site inspection on some solar panels that I had and a quote for additional work. They were very good and they were prompt, they seemed very knowledgeable professional.

I honestly don't think we could have been happier with Holdsworth and Clarke. They are the best in the business. Here's our (long but informative) story of why I say this without hesitation: My wife and I built our passive solar home without a mortgage (yeah, no small task). Needless to say, we tried to pick sub-contractors that would honor fixed price agreements and we did a lot of the work ourselves. We could not afford to do a full off-grid PV system, nor a net zero grid-tied system. We wanted to do something economically wise. So, our house is on the grid, but we used solar systems to take care of the energy hogs. We use passive solar heating, solar thermal for our domestic hot water and we decided to power our Sundanzer fridge and freezer with solar power. In the beginning of the build, I took it upon myself to source out and install the solar panels on the roof and run the power lines (according to code) into our utility room where we would complete the power system. If I could go back in time, and if I would have found Phelps Clarke, I would have hired that part out to Holsworth and Clarke. At the time, though, I didn't know of Holdworth and Clarke. And, even though we're fortunate to live in a part of the country with a healthy number of alternative energy installers, most of them (unfortunately) are flaky. Our system is somewhat unique (hybrid) in that it's small, off-grid and DC instead of AC (no inverter). I asked five local installer for estimates. I stuck with the companies that have been around a while. One told me that they didn't do systems like this. The other priced it super high (without ever seeing all of the specs) and, then, never followed through. One came out, inspected, gave me a lot of unsolicited advice (trying to push us the conventional route), promised an estimate, then never followed through. We paid another to write up a plan, schematics and design the system, but when they were supposed to come back and install, they never showed up and never responded. And the final company never came to their estimate appointment. All of these estimates and contacts happened over the course of a year. I had seriously bad luck and, frankly, felt like I'd never find someone to do the job. I had subbed-out all of the other licensed trades in our home construction with no problems, but the solar thing was only turning up flaky, unprofessional people. That is, until someone (who worked at a local solar installer) gave me Phelps Clarke's name and phone number. My wife and I were very skeptical. We had such rotten experiences with other solar folks and I didn't want to waste more time and money. I spoke with Phelps on the phone and described our system. He had a lot of ideas and was the first to actually grasp what we were trying to acheive within the first minute of talking with him. He asked very specific questions and I sent him what schematics and design plans we had at that point via email. Still, we were skeptical. Then Phelps called back and asked to see our house site (in person) and the pieces of the solar system already in place. Not only was he on time to the minute, but he did a thorough inspection, made notes, took photos, measurements and, frankly, was the most professional of all of the solar folks we'd talked to. He told us the system was very do-able, he liked it and would follow up in one week with an estimate/time frame, if we were pleased. It almost seemed too good to be true. But when Phelps came back with a comprehensive, fixed-price for the system, we were floored. First of all, the price was within our budget. Secondly, he worked out a more robust and efficient system than the fellow we had paid earlier for the system design. And, finally, he called and went through the estimate with us and gave us the time frame for the install if we agreed. We agreed! Phelps and his partner Keith came to our site on the very day he had promised. Both of them worked together so well and explained the system to me along the way. They finished on time and honored the fixed price. The finished product is amazing!!! It far exceeds our expectations in both design and performance. They actually installed a custom-built finished plywood cabinet to house our batteries and charge controller. No one else had planned to do this (beyond the very basic essentials). It looks great and is very functional. We've had the system now for 3 months and it performs flawlessly. Our fridge and freezer are fully off the grid and we have enough spare power to run a small inverter to charge our laptops, power lamps and our TV (if the grid fails). I don't normally write Anglies List reviews this long, but frankly, Holdworth and Clarke deserve it. Holdworth and Clarke were, without a doubt, the best company I've worked with in our home construction. I highly recommend you use them for your solar installation. I wish I would have known about them in the beginning. It would have saved me a lot of fretting and a lot of time and money. They are simply amazing!