Southern Energy Management

Work has been scheduled for early in 2019, but they could not have been more helpful and professional in explaining our options, how our home would get the most out of the panels, and how much we are likely to save. They were explicit about costs and available rebates. We were instructed to apply for a rebate from our local energy supplier and they literally walked us through the time specific rebate procedure. We made some minor changes to their standard contract and they accepted those changes without question. I can only assume their work will be up to these standards when we do the actual installation.

We had a 17kW system put in back in February of this year. It has been amazing coming close to 100% renewable energy for our house. And the panels look awesome. The crew at Southern Energy (Thanks Kelley, Graham, Brinson, Davison and all the other folks we worked with!) did a great job installing and making it look like the panels belong there. I’m looking forward to the day when the roof is the solar panel, and it has the same or higher efficiency as what we just had installed. I can’t recommend Southern Energy Management enough!

This was my second highly positive experience with SEM. I used them on a previous house in 2011 and didn't even consider a competitive bid this time because I am such a fan. They did a great job, very professionally, at a reasonable price. Highly recommend these folks.

We chose to go with another company based on delivery & price, but it was a difficult decision and a close call.

The installation of the system went well. Once the system was installed, it took two weeks before the system was actually turned on. I had to call them to ask why the system was still not operational. When I did, they told me that I needed to turn it on myself. About two years after the system was intalled, the monitoring system quit working after a severe thunderstorm in our area. It took 4 months, constant follow-up on my part, several appointments that were broken by their staff, and more aggravation than I have ever experienced with poor customer service before the monitoring system was finally restored and operational again.

Very well, everyone was professional, the work was done on time exactly as described and the yard was cleaned up!

The installation was very prompt and well coordinated.

I first got mirco inverters which did not go well. Southern Energy Management came out a couple of time, and then gave me new larger inverts.

We started with a free consultation with Southern Energy Management over a year ago to evaluate our options for solar power. The specialist, Graham, came to our home, analyzed our roof size, angle and view to the sky with a special camera and satellite photos. After answering all of our questions he left and later sent us a full report via email and an offer to come back to our house to talk it over. Graham returned to our home and after much discussion we decided that it didn't make financial sense due to our roof and electric usage--even Graham said he didn't think it made sense and he did not push us at all into a contract. He left after giving us some tips for lowering our electricity usage.. One year later, after replacing all our light bulbs with LED's and changing a few behaviors we decided to call the company back again to reevaluate. Graham returned our call and came back to our home almost exactly one year after our first visit. This time we decided to move forward with the solar installation. We feel strongly that solar power is one way for us to reduce our impact on the environment so we were excited to get started. Our HOA took a bit longer than planned to give us approval, but once that was done SEM went to work on permitting, engineering and ordering of materials. They also helped us sign up with our power company on their solar program. Kelley was helpful in giving us regular updates on the status of the process. At this point there was some kind of delay in the ordering process for our panels from SunPower that added two more weeks to the process. It seems it was some complication with a new online ordering portal from the manufacturer, but the team at SEM kept us informed and apologized for the delay. Installation: Our foreman, Gordon, was great and explained exactly what his team would be doing and minimized the impact on our lives for the week of installation. Unfortunately there was rainy weather for several days during our scheduled installation, but they were able to finish most of the interior work while the rain persisted. And even though they couldn't finish the installation during their planned schedule, they put us first on the list for the following week to finish up. We had two issues with installation: --One incident led to a broken solar panel, and the regional manager who was on-site said that this was the first broken panel they've had in two years. They ordered a replacement right away but it took several weeks to get and have it installed (The panels we were using were not as common and not kept in-stock). --The second issue was that early on in the process we had asked them that if they could fit more panels on the southern facing roof than the preliminary measurements indicated, we would want them as well. Once installation came around, they found they they could indeed add an extra three panels to that roof. However, it turns out that they would need to order the panels, draw up new plans, get new permits and it would be a while before it could be done. We were told that in hind sight it would have been better in our case to do the final measurements on the roof very early in the process so they could have avoided the delay. I'm sure they will improve this process in the future and they did apologize for the confusion a number of times. Once the system was installed (minus the replacement panel and the three extras) we had an inspection from the City of Raleigh and I'm sure we caught him on a bad day since he cited us for two very minor issues. SEM promptly corrected the two violations and a week later we had a second inspection that passed. If you are considering installing solar panels be prepared for the waiting, because after the inspection we then had to wait 2+ weeks for the power company to come out and swap our meter for the solar, bidirectional meter before turning on the system. This of course is not the fault of SEM and they did tell us at the beginning how long each step would take. Once they swapped out the meter we turned on our inverters and we were producing solar power! Of course it was just a trickle since it was cloudy and rainy, but still exciting. The next week SEM sent out the orientation specialist, David, to explain the system and it's workings in fine detail. He did a very good, thorough job explaining the ins and outs of the system. He also helped us to understand how our new electricity schedule from the power company worked--it's a time-of-use plan rather than a flat-rate. As of right now we are just waiting for our final three panels to be installed which has been scheduled for the end of the month. Throughout the entire process the whole team at SEM was friendly and professional, and Graham was (and still has been) available to answer our questions. Even with several issues that caused delay, we highly recommend Southern Energy Management as their team is wonderful and they all were enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable. Thank you!

I tried to get them to come out to my house and discuss doing work before the end of the year to qualify for both the federal and state tax benefits for solar energy. The responded to my text only and never called. They just lectured me in their next email, even though I said I would not be calling them again, that I need to plan with expediency if I want them to put in a system for next year. They are so arrogant , now I wouldn't use them if they paid me!

Great so far. Early on in the installation process.

A very skilled crew completed the custom installation in two days. The system has been operating daily since then with no problems.

They really went out of their way to sell me exactly what was needed for my home and my family's needs, not some cookie cutter boxed setup. Everything was completely custom and personal. They stayed in contact and even arranged for a roofer to repair some storm damage before service was completed. Made us feel like we were their most important customers.

It seemed well. They did a good job. They were very professional. They came in and did what they needed to do. They told me what's going too happened. They cleaned-up after themselves. There were kind of a few companies who were kind of doing it; they were up to twelve so I kind of choose them because of that. The manufacturer of the panels that end up with problems bringing the panels here, they upgraded us to a different one with a minor cost to get a better value. It didn't have to do with them. They were on time.

It went great. The cost was unique to my install.

Their service was excellent. They did a great job. They provided a lot of information. They were always on time and they came when they said they'd come.

They are great. They did a good job with the communication for kind of setting up everything. Because it’s like an eight-week process, so they prepare all the logistics behind what you want. They do good follow-up on emails.

It was an excellent experience! The SEM team took care of everything from start to finish. They created a PV system that fit my needs and budget. They sent experts who ensured the project was done correctly and in a timely manner. We were given one contact person who always answered our questions and kept us updated with the project's progress.

They explained everything very well and they very clear throughout the process. They handled all the paperwork and regulations for us. They came out to do an assessment to see if the solar panels would work first. The work took about 5 months total to complete.

Their work turned out fine. They have been good to respond when I call. They were good with working with the contracts. I was not happy with the energy part of it that Duke Energy gave.

This review was solicited from me by Angie's List at the request of this business: I did not have a great experience, in spite of having known this company for a few years. I scheduled in December, a quieter month with some time to set aside. I chose year end in order to receive tax refunds quickly to pay off short term financing of $11,000. The crew were all very nice and personable; however once the panels were installed, they did not know how to turn them on. The panels did not get turned on for about two months after the installation. During this time, I got into deadlines at work, I had to submit taxes plus the new solar forms, and needed to travel out of state. Then I had this frustration, how was I supposed to solve. I had been told at the time of accepting the quote that I was "locked in" to the NC Green Power incentives (REC's) which offset the cost of the panels over five years. But I was not told there was a contract and did not receive it at that time, so next I was told I was flat out $1400 which I had carefully considered in my investment costs. I had to ask what "locked in" meant, when no expiration date had ever been mentioned. Once I saw the contract it said something to the effect of "we agree to pay you $0.xx for every kW but we don't have to pay you anything at all if we don't want to and can stop these payments at any time." I did research on the REC's market on my own, to find that while Southern Energy's experts in charge were still promising me primo REC's, they did not seem to know the REC's market was closing. For instance, other states that had been purchasing NC REC's, had just stopped accepting out of state projects. I also learned that incentives are offered before the panels are installed and only offered to new projects; once the panels go up, good luck finding anyone to buy them. Most offers occur at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year most polluters have met their requirements and are no longer purchasing REC's, so December is not the best shopping month. One dark winter evening when I was packing to leave at 4 am the next morning for a flight, Progress insisted I spend an hour on the phone going over the terms of the energy purchase agreement which had never been mentioned to me. They tried to talk me into agreeing to selling them decades of energy at low fixed prices for their benefit. No way! Still I did not have good options at that point but to sell my energy at a low ball price to a big energy company that would be reselling it to me at the same location for a significant upcharge. This is the unsavory side of solar. The suggestion I was given at solar information events was to sell my energy at the peak time of day while I am at work, and buy it at a low rate in the evenings ... sounds like a great idea but sorry, this was nowhere near a true story since energy prices are only lower during sleeping hours (roughly 10 pm to 6 am) and only if you agree to that reverse clock program. Southern Energy ended up settling with me for the $1400 but they did put up a big fight. In the end, I have quality solar panels on my roof and they are my flag for my beliefs which are truer than anything I have ever bought. I would encourage anyone making this kind of investment to be sure to have all of the incentive contracts in hand before signing any quotes or agreements; make sure the quote spells out the incentives promised; and do not make payment until all of the agreements are clear and signed. Think twice about selling your power if you will have to repurchase it at a higher price to get your REC's. Make the polluters pay as they ought to, invest some of their profits in clean energy, as that is what REC's are supposed to be about. Secure your REC's as early in the year as practical. And GO SOLAR!

My experience was great! They worked efficiently and got the job done on time. The communication was pretty good. They had to come out three different times to get everything set up and installed. They were able to help with financing and worked with us and the bank.

We were very pleased with them. The process went fairly quickly. It took about 2-3 weeks to complete the work. They have been in business for a long time which is why we chose them.

This is one of the best crews I have ever had. They cleaned up after themselves every day. They were here on time every day. They were very professional and they were very helpful. They answered all my questions well.

They failed to connect 1/3 of the panels. They had to come back out to fix it 6 months later. Everything else turned out fine. They were professional, courteous, and they cleaned up well after themselves.