Review for StraightUp Solar

10/06/2023
Tom and Patricia Jacques Belleville, IL

Straight Up Solar are straight shooters

We recently decided to take the solar plunge, being 70+ years old we knew we’d never recover the cost of the investment even with the current incentives available in Illinois. For us, the prime motivation was Energy Independence/Security. After contacting five solar companies we chose Straight Up Solar (SUS) what struck us was their no-pressure presentation by Mr Dixon and ensuring all our concerns and needs were addressed on the spot. We got down into the weeds with in-depth discussions of the equipment being suggested and any options. After discussing system performance and our needs we opted to oversize the PV system (scaled to cover 125% of our annual average consumption) as Phase 1. Phase 2 in 12 to 18 months when we’ll add whole house battery backup. The extra capacity will support the batteries. SUS was easy to work with and has a great reputation in IL/MO. They worked with me revising our system many times and once we had a design that met all our needs both today and into the future, we selected them. Once the project was about to start Mr Melton was assigned as our Project Manager and was instrumental in pulling this all together while entertaining our last-minute changes and myriad of questions to make last-minute changes to our system design. That ensured a successful project. The SUS team did everything, all we needed to do was provide info as requested and sit back. Their installation team came from Mid-America Electric and Eric, Steve, and David were detail-orientated craftsmen. I show off their handy work to all my neighbors. Seeing their electrical work both inside and outside our home is a pleasure. Neighbors have commented on how good it looks and were initially concerned about what the end project would look like based on their past experiences. I joked they should have autographed one of the junction boxes they installed. In addition, they were never too busy to answer our questions and show us exactly what they were doing. Drilling holes, making complex electrical connections, and climbing all over a new house are stressful, they eased our concerns. Their work passed all the required inspections without a single issue or question. Liam from Straight Up Solar was the on-site supervisor and was a pleasure to work with and we felt comfortable leaving our home in his hands. Our system was commissioned on Sept 20th, and to our surprise we received our Permission to Operate (PTO) Certificate the very next day from AMERENIP. That has to be a record. We did have an issue post-commissioning with incorrect Consumption data production being reported via the Enphase app. Liam stepped in when the issue was identified made two visits to correct the issue and even continued to monitor our system that evening remotely to confirm all was well. That is customer service above and beyond any expectation. In conclusion, the entire process from Straight Up Solar exceeded all of our expectations. It's been a pleasure working with this team. We've enjoyed getting to know all of you and would be pleased to use SUS for our whole house battery backup project next year. Tom and Patricia Jacques USAF Retired Swansea IL