Scott | West Stockbridge, Massachusetts | 06/28/2021
Overestimated energy savings
Has any CTEC customer achieved their expected annual kWh savings? For the second year in a row the panels installed will generate less than 90% of the engineered design. CTEC guarantees as low as 80% of designed production. The system seems to be designed to generate between 80-90% of the guaranteed annual kwh. Given this design the financials for solar power using CTEC don’t appear to be worthwhile. When I inquired about the shortfall last year I was told that the panels do better in the second year. I’ve spoken with neighbors who installed the Tesla system and they’re over achieving their contract.
Turbo-BAM | Cromwell, Connecticut | 05/09/2020
Excellent design-build service, post-install support untimely
I am the proud owner of a large ground-mounted home solar system designed and installed by CTEC Solar. It has completely improved my large family’s carbon footprint, and has largely brought me independence from purchasing fuel and energy at fluctuating commodity prices. My home is my fuel station, yet my 96-panel solar farm doesn’t dominate my property. I planted a line of arbor vitae in front of it, which will further reduce its visual impact. It has been a few years since the initial build, and it’s been an excellent investment overall. Yet my relationship with CTEC Solar is complicated. First, the good. As a design-build partner, they have been utterly fantastic to work with. Everything from working with the town and the electric utility, to providing detailed system as-built drawings and specifications were handled with a minimum of effort on my end. The consulting process was terrific, and they went out of their way to build my system in two phases, as it took me time to transition more of my home systems to electric. Coordination and scheduling of the work was excellent and reliable, and their people have been true professionals in every encounter. They even stepped in, to facilitate a problem I was having with the finance company. For all of this, their service has been top notch. It’s hard to imagine anyone doing better than them. The downside has been quality of communication and service, post-installation. Surely, they don’t make money when solar panels fail less than three years into their life, but honoring the 25-year warranty has been a long-term effort on my part. It took more than six months of documented communication with CTEC, including escalating to their president, to get the first failed panel replaced. They would always answer that they were working on finding a new panel that would match the failed panel, and I had even recommended buying spares to keep on the property, but that is not how the warranty works, I guess… the warranty seems hard to honor, as I’ve been told that parts are out of production. That’s just reality, but compromises have taken months to execute with CTEC. I e-mailed CTEC again recently, when nearly a dozen panels/inverters dropped offline on a sunny day, to provide data and ask what happened. No response, and I’ll probably re-send to them biweekly until they respond, as multiple pings are now SOP with CTEC. I don’t think my expectations of them responding to e-mail are unreasonable, but that is what has been going on, post-install. Overall, I can attest to CTEC’s technical competency and level of customer care in the build-out of my home solar system. I’ve gotten to know some of their staff, and they are professionals with excellent customer service on the phone and on-site. I truly wish I didn’t have to mention their post-sale responsiveness, but if it weren’t for that, I’d be their cheerleader forever.
George Acker | New Hartford, Connecticut | 02/16/2019
Outstanding Experience with C-Tec Solar
A few things I really appreciated about the C-Tec team:<br /><br />1) The Wetlands Commission in my town threw us a real curve ball and asked us to do a "study" that costs $2000+. Edwin from C-Tec met with them several times and personally attended their monthly meeting to explain our plans to them in detail and give them the confidence that a study wasn't necessary. I know most people wouldn't do that -- they would have told me I have to pay another $2k and called it a day.<br /><br />2) Landscapers we hired clipped the ethernet line running from the panels to the house. A C-Tec Electrician came within a day and spliced the wire back together without hesitation or asking for money. I know many companies would nickle and dime on those little things that were clearly not their fault.<br /><br />3) I checked in with Nick (our Site Manager) several times a day to stay up to date on what was happening. He always took the time to walk me through and physically show me what was being done, what challenges he was running into, and what was projected to be done by the end of the day as well as any impact to our schedule. We did have a few delays in the project that pushed our target date back about a week or so, but I knew in advance that might happen and never felt in the dark on anything. I never had any doubts the team was putting in 100%.<br /><br />I truly felt C-Tec was there as a partner, not a vendor. They were always looking out for my best interest and making sure I had a great experience. When I look at getting more panels in the future, I already know where to go.
Jeff in WL | Windsor Locks, Connecticut | 12/16/2018
Horrible
Started with salesmen lied about rebate. Was told the Government would send a check. Not true. Then the solar panels arrived and I had to unload them. Guys were late !!. Then the electrician spilled glue in my basement and used my material to clean it up.The same guy left material all over my yard. I was mowing and a piece hit my wives car. She was upset so we raked up the area where he was working so nothing else would happen. I was told I need extra support above my garage and that wasn't the case so I wasted a day off. I was told I would get a gift card for all my aggravation. That didn't happen.Very wrong choice thinking this company would be professional and stand by there words and install with pride.
Peter Wagner | New Milford, Connecticut | 09/24/2018
Super happy with our solar install
We were super happy with our entire experience with C-TEC. We had met with three other installers, and a friend recommended we speak with C-TEC, glad we did. They wound up being the least expensive and each person we met with was a pleasure to work with. The install is so CLEAN with no visible conduits anywhere (which was a BIG concern for me since the panels needed to be on the front of our house). I wish I could upload a picture. Highly recommended!
DDDEMS | South Windsor, Connecticut | 01/04/2018
Very happy with my purchased system
C-TEC was excellent throughout the process. Results for installation, price, rebates and performance were as promised by the sales person. They provided a lot of information without pressure to buy.<br />I was happy to see South Windsor choose C-TEC as their preferred provider for the Solarize Connecticut program. This confirmed that choosing C-TEC was the right choice. I had two other solar companies try to sell me a system or lease but they could not give me clear answers to my questions. I had to do a lot of research on my own and it wore me out reading the contracts. C-TEC very clear and straightforward.
johnboyst77 | Monson, Massachusetts | 01/03/2018
Quality Craftsmanship
I must admit at this time my system is not online yet. The process with C-TEC was a good experience. I can be a tough customer as I myself am a licensed electrician. The guys were friendly, knowledgeable, and kept a clean work site. The support from the office was also a good experience. I tend to do email most and my project manager Abigail was great to interact with. It took me many years to finally pull the trigger to get a solar installation and I am very pleased with my decision. We had a ground mount installation because I was not interested in placing panels on my roof, C-TEC was more than willing to meet my demands.<br /><br />They also have a referral program. I reached out to a few of my electrician friends and suggested to them they should also take advantage of the solar program and use C-TEC. Out of 4 close friends only one chose to do an installation and he told me he was also very happy with dealing with them.
JohnMarquis | Manchester, Connecticut | 12/27/2017
Exceptional Staff, Products and Results
We interviewed six solar companies before deciding to move forward with C-TEC Solar. This was the BEST decision we could have made! Not only was their pre-sale technician amazing (smart, intuitive, responsive even on weekends, thorough, and down-to-earth friendly), but the team installing our array was exceptional! Polite, neat, cleaned up each day, respectful, and did an outstanding install of our 59 panels. Bottom line, with the exceptional work of the pre-install technician and the work of the installers, we now have a solar array that has covered 99% of our electric usage in our first year! We could not be happier! As for the "behind the scenes" C-TEC Solar was the ONLY company that offered a 20-year lease option WITHOUT an annual increase in price. This is just one other facet that sold us on C-TEC Solar. As an ending note, the install from signing to energizing our array, was 3 months! That is OUTSTANDING! The other companies we interviewed indicated it could take as long as 6 to 8 months to complete. C-TEC Solar is THE company to work with! You will NOT be disappointed! Just outstanding!
JeffPipes | West Haven, Connecticut | 12/27/2017
Exceptional Service
C-TEC Solar does what they say they will, installs quality products, has local electricians and workers that treat your home like their own, go the extra mile to hide conduit and make things look neat, and stand behind their workmanship. They also underestimated my production and the system they installed is saving me even more than their conservative estimates! What a great decision we made to go with C-TEC Solar!
BonBou | Suffield, Connecticut | 01/15/2016
Installation of a tracker
Very nice crew. Good work. We cannot yet know if the savings promised will be real. Need to wait for a year. Installed system is 6.762 Kw but never produces more than 6.1 Told me that this is normal. The only complain is that they never make sure that the trench they dug was properly filled up.
