10/16/2018
Anonymous
Sherman Oaks, CA
Crown solar is outstanding, better than the maximum stars allowed.<br />When I first decided to go solar, I discovered this is not a mature industry - in fact it's a jungle that reminded me of the aluminum siding salesman of several years ago. Within almost moments of a first call (to Tesla which I mistakenly thought would be the most mature company) my phone began ringing and didn't stop; these companies obviously share prospects and I received at least 50 calls. Most had already Googled my house, taken the screenshot of my roof, and threw quotes at me even though some were on the other side of the continent. Thoroughly confused, but determined, I decided to do due diligence and I accepted about 30 quotes. Only two actually offered to come and visit the location, and only one showed up: Omar, the owner who actually brought a licensed electrician and project engineer along to ensure that the quote would be accurate and that there would be no hidden costs - it was Crown Solar Electric which is located here in Southern California. They were meticulous, inspecting every aspect of my electric facilities including my electric panels, grid feed, and meter. Notwithstanding this, I was at first unsure of them because the quote was almost half of the big companies (after tax credits which they computed correctly) and I wondered where they were cutting costs. So I compared the proposed equipment (the identical panels to those offered by the expensive quotes of the big companies) the conversion process (the same micro-generators, one per panel that the bigger companies offered) the roof guarantee (the industry standard twenty-five years) and the relationship to the LA DWP (which was superior to everyone else's). Still expecting something might well go wrong, I closed my eyes and leapt into the water anyway.<br />They made me feel like a genius. They arrived on the day appointed, finished all the work in one day, with the same project manager (Jeremy) who had originally inspected the house, and assured me the system would be large enough, which was important to me since this is a big 6000 square-foot home. The day after they completed their work I had my customary roofer come and inspect what they had done to my flat roof. As one might expect, he had some quibbles, but notwithstanding the guarantee, Jeremy returned within 48 hours and corrected anything the roofer had noted even though they assured me they were not significant. This alone would've been enough to say that they lived up to their word completely, efficiently, and with courtesy and extreme care. But it got better: as so often happens, the LADWP were slow in changing my meter and attending to their side of the installation. Melissa and Audra handled them completely and at no time did I ever have to contact LADWP or become involved in their bureaucracy. In fact, Crown Solar even offered to cover the cost of my electric bill during a delay occasioned not by their work but LA DWP scheduling. As soon as the system was up and connected to the grid, CS took care of connecting me to a monitoring service which provides me daily reports on the condition of my panels and the amount of power they produce.<br />In this day and age when old-fashioned service is so hard to come by, and too many suppliers are happy to collect the last check and consider their commitment done, Crown Solar is a reminder of how customer service and job commitment should be. I had no prior knowledge of the company and no one recommended them to me - I hired them strictly on the basis of my own due diligence and comparing some 30-odd quotes. <br />This is an outstanding company and I could not be more delighted with their commitment and effort. I give them six stars out of five. If anyone reading this has any doubts that this is a totally unsolicited reference, I have given Crown Solar permission to put them in contact with me directly.<br />if you're thinking about solar, be very careful of this wild West industry. But Crown and its people are truly outstanding.