Oscar Ahumada | Oceanside, California | 05/07/2024
Great experience
I have four year with the solar panels and I love the experience..Mckay is my sale team he was super helpful with any questions I had..best decision I made
Sandy | Carlsbad, California | 05/03/2024
Positive experience with KOTA solar install - great inside reps!
KOTA installed my solar system toward the end of 2023 and they were fast, efficient and right on schedule. When my outside rep failed to respond I talked with Tyler Valet in the Carlsbad office who connected me with Kieren, a wonderfully responsive KOTA rep who took the best care of me and my neighbor who also wanted solar installed. I received personal guidance and great customer service from Kieren. Be sure to ask for him. I give Kieren and the KOTA company 5 stars!
Nicole G. | San Diego, California | 05/01/2024
Professional
I hired Kota after firing another solar company that had not taken action for five months. The company I fired told me we had to upgrade our electrical panel, which also required moving the panel's location. They delayed the lengthy permission process even further by not responding to the simple e-mail questions from the electrical company for months. Not to mention their lies and sleazy sales talks. With Kota, it was on a different level. Kieren from Kota was my contact, based on a friend's recommendation. He approached the problem differently by suggesting adding a Span Smart Panel as a sub-panel rather than spending thousands of dollars on upgrading/moving a half-century-old panel. He was very professional and did everything he promised on time or sooner. My first meeting with Kieren was in December 2023. They installed the Solar Panels, Span Smart Panel, and Tesla battery at the end of January 2024. It took a couple of months for our electrical company to permit to operate. It took four months from the first meeting with Kota to start using our solar panels. Everybody involved with our panel installation was professional, timely, communicative, and friendly. I highly recommend them.
Victim | Hemet, California | 04/30/2024
Thieves
Stay away! They will promise things and never follow up! Waiting for class action lawsuit to start so we can jump on board. Terrible customer service and never respond!
Cesar Hurtado | Camarillo, California | 04/25/2024
If I could give a negative number, I would!!!
Kota told the previous owner in 2022 that to install the solar panels the house needed to be reroofed! Owner did as suggested but in 2023, less than a year after reroofing the owner had to call because of a leak. Kota came and claimed they found the problem and supposedly “fixed” it. I purchase the home late 2023 and for the 2024 storms I find the same location where the original “fixed” leak was, water was leaking but now it’s stronger and spreading. Called Kota and customer care basically said, your problem, we’ve fixed the original issue. I gave up and fixed it only to find out what a shotty work was done on the roof. Now I find out that back in 2022 when the work was originally done, it did not pass city inspection. I’ve called and emailed with no response. My advice, “DON’T USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!” You’ve been warned!!!!
Anthony B | Escondido, California | 04/09/2024
Clarity, Professional, Tidy
I decided to start my solar project with KOTA Energy Group after I sat down with one of their reps during November of 2023. They are straight up with me about the steps of the process and they delivered. We agreed upon 12 panels and it is paired with a battery made by a company Enphase. The app they have is where I can check whenever the kWh production of my system now. Tate was really great and professional. He was here with me during the roofing and solar installation. Great installation and the piping is very neat.
Peter | Vacaville, California | 03/26/2024
Buyer Beware: Kota Solar Installation Nightmare
I'm writing this review to warn potential customers about my horrendous experience with Kota Energy Group. While the salesperson was friendly and persuasive, the problems began soon after the solar panel installation. Just three months after installation, heavy rain caused water to leak from the ceiling in our master bedroom. Kota supposedly sent their "top roofer" who claimed the leak wasn't caused by the solar panels but found another issue he "generously" fixed. Unfortunately, the problems worsened. A section of our ceiling collapsed, prompting us to hire an independent roofer. Their inspection revealed a disaster zone: broken and improperly replaced tiles by Kota's crew, with one even missing entirely! The independent roofer could not repair the damage because it required removing the solar panels which would void my warranty. Our insurance company's independent roofer confirmed our suspicions - Kota's shoddy work was to blame. Not putting tile back correctly and their "repair" attempt involved gluing broken tiles with the same sealant used on the solar system. Getting Kota to take responsibility was an ordeal. It took a month for them to send someone to assess the damage, and even then, they tried to cancel the appointment at the last minute. The Kota Roofer deemed the job too big for him and promised a team. Weeks of daily calls (8 hours a day, 5 days a week!) yielded no response. Finally, a team arrived, removed the panels, and shut down the system. Since then, silence. Four weeks of further calls have gone unanswered. This fiasco has cost us a significant sum: • Tarp: $800 • Removal of damaged materials: $3,000 • Bedroom repairs (drywall, roof, painting, carpet): $7,500 Beyond the financial strain, the stress and inconvenience have been immense. Our bedroom is unusable, and we're left with a non-functional solar system. Avoid Kota at All Costs!
N Rud | Berkeley, California | 03/25/2024
Terrible communication, terrible timeline, impossible to contact
I highly advise anyone to NOT use Kota. We were charmed by their salesperson, and signed up with financing for a panel array in Feb 2023. Panels were up in April but not turned on until October. This means I was paying for the panels without them being any use to me. Kota continues to be impossible to get ahold of, non responsive and how I am needing new roofing work that they did not advise us of during their inspection. I cannot get ahold of anyone to help remove the panels. All around a terrible experience.
Tricia Roth | Oakland, California | 03/19/2024
Incredibly Unresponsive and unprofessional
I live in Oakland, CA and Kota did my install 6 months ago-to date it has not been permitted by the city of Oakland. I have had numerous people from Kota come to my house to take pictures for their design team telling me the installer did not follow the plan so they had to come and take pictures. They did not call for an appointment just texted me in the morning that they were showing up. Since then I have had 5 separate Kota people people come out- one wrote which in sharpie what each of the switches on the panel were for, another came out and said the switches needed to all be the same brand, someone else came otu and changed them..inspectors from the city came 3 times and did not approve. The last person who came said that the panel would never pass inspection and would need to be changed. That was 3 weeks ago and despite contacting my "project manager" Travis Keller and writing to the Founder of the company on Linked-in I have heard nothing from them..they are absolutely unprofessional and now I am thinking they are crossing the line into being fraudulent...would never recommend them to anyone and am at the point where I am planning on contacting the Attorney Generals office to file a complaint. Anyone else have a similar experience?
E Shapiro | Berkeley, California | 03/19/2024
Absolutely terrible
I signed a contract with Kota in February 2023 for the installation of solar panels at my duplex in Berkeley, CA. When the solar installation was scheduled for August 16th, a full six months after signing, Kota began but was unable to complete the work. My loan was initiated in August, interest began accumulating, and Kota received payment despite their unfinished work and inoperable system. This is an unethical business practice that left me paying for a system I could not use. I sent many emails and made many calls imploring the Kota team to finish the installation before the city inspection date they scheduled. This did not happen. On September 28, 2023, the scheduled city inspection could not be conducted because the job was still unfinished. When I reached out in frustration, I was again assured by Kota staff that the repairs would take place immediately. Another five weeks went by with no communication. On November 7, 2023, after informing Kota I would file a BBB complaint, I received contact information for Chance Bender, Senior Project Manager. I was promised that the job would be completed within a week. It took a month. On December 5, 2023, four months after installation began the solar system finally received permission to operate. Yet again, this was done incorrectly. Only half of the panels generated power and our monitoring accounts were not set up correctly. On December 18, a partial fix was completed. I have received no communication whatsoever from Chance Bender or anyone else at Kota since January 11, 2024. It has been 13 months since I signed a contract for my solar system, more than 6 months since I paid in full. I have spent many hours asking Kota to install the solar system I paid for, and then repair the work they failed to complete properly. I am left with a system I do not have faith in and no way to monitor its functioning or performance.
