06/02/2021
Solar Topps is Tops!
Mesa, AZ
After an initial consultation, recommendation and estimate with a Costco-affiliated nationwide solar company I conducted further personal research on household solar energy solutions. I reviewed various manufacturer’s solar panels, and their interface devices such as string inverters, power optimizers, and microinverters and their pros/cons. I used energysage, other online resources, as well as reviewed others review comments. I reviewed SRP’s (my commercial electrical provider) website and its solar dedicated webpages and took note of its preferred installers. I then felt confident to contact three local preferred installers for a recommendation and bid. After significant discussion effort and resultant bids with two of the companies (both well regarded, one recommended a string inverter system, the other power optimizers and a 345W panels system) I contacted Solar Topps through its website for my final comparison. Tony Porter reached back to me for our over-the-phone consultation and I informed him of my efforts up to that point. After our discussion (which included a battery backup capability) he followed up with the recommended system and pricing. After further equipment refinement and pricing I decided that Solar Topps was the best company to accommodate my desires, including devices, pricing, warranty (25 years on the entire system), and installation timeline. Oh, and with no undue pressure, which I can’t say for others. My solar system (consisting of 20 REC 370 W solar panels, Enphase IQ7+ Microinverters, and interface panel) was fully installed just over three weeks from contract signing (15 Oct ‘20) and two weeks later (with Solar Topps intervention) SRP came out to meet my Solar Topps technician on 3 November to inspect the system, install a new solar-compatible meter and activate my home’s connection to the power grid! My electric bills have been 1/3 SRP’s monthly historical price since, the system generates more daily power than we consume, and we export excess electricity back to SRP for credit on our monthly bill. I had one system malfunction (detected while using Enphase’s “Enlighten” app which was quickly resolved after contacting an Enphase web support tech who determined the error to Amazon Cloud outage at the time. Working with Tony Porter and the entire Solar Topps team was a pleasure. I am not only satisfied with our installation and performance, I am ecstatic! I have since highly recommended them to our many nearby communities neighbors through the”Nextdoor” app. I was also able to claim 26% Federal Tax Credit of the total bill on 2020’s tax filing. I intend to add a battery backup years ahead when that technology is in its next generation.