AEC Solar

ALL FOLKS LOOKING TO INSTALL SOLAR PANELS BEWARE! PLEASE READ THIS. First off, let me explain my rating. We had AEC Solar/Energy install solar panels on our home in 2020. Everything the salesman told us was TRUE! We stayed negotiating with them (after a lengthy search of solar companies) in April 2020 with installation in December 2020. During our negotiations, we had concerns about the roof as we had purchased the home just two years prior and had no idea as to its age. We were told not to worry that they had an EXPERT who inspected the roofs because they would not put panels on a roof that would not last for a minimum of 20 years. We questioned at that point as to what would happen IF we had a problem with the roof. Our salesman assured us that the inspection of the roof would be sufficient, he contacted the office to be sure and told us that if we did have a problem that we would be allowed a one time only fee of $1,000 to remove the panels, stack them on-site along with the rails and put them back on. Skip ahead to 2025, and all of the rain we’ve had, all of a sudden we had our roof fail. So we start calling roofers to come and repair the problem. Lo and behold, EVERY roofer that came told us that the roof was at the end of its life! That it was 25-30 years old. We had no reason to inspect the roof, not that we’d know what to look for, so they took photos and showed us the “nail pops” that had been covered in tar all over the roof. These would have been there when AEC’s roof inspector looked at the roof prior. The roofers also went into the attic to show us the leaks that were there from the nail pops. The roofers said that we would have to have the panels taken off. Of course we said “no problem, we have an agreement to remove them for $1,000 and put them back on. I call AEC and they said that they never agreed to that and wouldn’t be able to do it for the original price. I quickly called the salesman (who now works for another solar company) and I asked him how much it was to remove and reinstall the panels, he said $1,500, I said oh, ok, having remembered it wrong. AEC claimed it was NEVER their policy! They continued to quote me $17,000 less $4K or $5K for a previous customer discount. Everything that we had saved over the past five years would have been gone and then some. The salesman contacted AEC directly and said “Yes, that’s what I told them, if anyone had asked, that was the fee”. In the meantime, I went back and forth with the folks at AEC and they said that the lowest they could do was $8,000 to remove and reinstall the panels! I said that I was going to write a new review simply telling the FACTS of what happened, they asked me to wait, which I did. Weeks later actually a couple of months, I believe. I have continued to be strung along, so I decided it was time to ALERT ALL SOLAR BUYERS! Apparently the rule of thumb is NOW $400+ PER PANEL TO REMOVE AND REINSTALL THESE PANELS! I asked if they AEC was telling their customers this, unless you ask they may not convey that information.

read more