Review for Semper Solaris

Office location: 964 Fifth Avenue Suite 510, San Diego CA, 92101

05/07/2024
M. McLaughlin San Diego, CA

I don’t take poor reviews lightly, but with all that’s happened during our contract with Semper Solaris, I feel like it’s important to bring some issues to light so that others can be aware before they commit. In the end, it took nearly 3 months to have our leaking roof replaced and nearly 14 months for our solar to be installed and operational. On March 4, 2023, we signed a contract for roofing and solar with Semper. We were getting roofing quotes because we had a major leak in the garage but decided to add solar to take advantage of the current net metering tier. We were told many times by Semper that the solar should be done around July/August. I should have known it was all just a push for sales when we followed up in April and were told they were backlogged “but at least you don’t have a leak” (as our garage roof continued to leak profusely). Our roof was not completed until May 27th and there were further delays getting started with the solar because SDGE required our panel to be relocated, which we had been assured would not be necessary. Throughout our year’s worth of follow up with Semper regarding our project, we were told it would be completed “by July or August”, “within 30 days” (multiple times), “by the end of the year”, “by March at the latest”, and “in one to two weeks”; our requests for a cancelation price were dismissed multiple times; a significant portion of our small yard was made unusable and unsafe for our young family for nearly 6 months; and Semper no call/no showed three times (despite multiple confirmations and reconfirmations on our part). Furthermore, in one of our many conversations with the Regional Manager, we were told that “trenching just isn’t a priority for us”. For over 3 months we had an approximately 40ft long x 3ft deep trench through our yard (along with a MASSIVE pile of dirt directly outside our back door and another completely consuming the parking spot next to our garage) at a house with a 4 year old, a 1 year old, and a small dog! The saga continued as our trench failed inspection, Semper was dishonest about scheduling inspections with SDGE, and the trench was completely filled without any compacting (despite the fact a worker had told us there was a note on our account to compact a minimum of every 1ft to create a stable surface under the pavers). In the interim of this mess, someone did show up for a quick fix after I expressed concern to the Regional Manager that because our transformer was lacking support, it had begun to tilt more severely with the rain (toward the trench that also contained our gas line). He realized the workers had widened the trench the wrong way, putting the transformer at risk, and they came the morning after our conversation to shore it up until the work was completed. As an aside, we were told repeatedly that the scheduling issues were due to the rain. However, I strongly refute that. Once the trench was dug and the conduit was laid, Semper didn’t schedule an inspection for two weeks. THEN the trench failed inspection and Semper didn’t schedule workers to return until January 24. The rain and flooding didn’t start until January 22, so truthfully, had Semper delivered on any one of the many timelines they had already promised, the rain would never have had an effect on our project. During this period, rather than receiving the 30% solar tax credit as we should have for the 2023 tax year, we ended up finding out we owed several thousand dollars in taxes. Eventually our system was installed, interconnected, and we were granted access to the app on May 3, 2024. Thankfully the crew that installed the panels, who were not Semper employees but who were contracted to do installations, was extremely professional, efficient, and communicative. Unfortunately we do not know the name of their company, though I wish I did so I could leave them a separate review (I did ask, but they kindly explained they were meant to be representatives of Semper in this case and couldn't provide it). They were the only bright spot in this entire process. As workers came and went from our house over the months we would hear things like how Semper laid off their trenching team and their installation teams and they were contracting the work out. And yet, rather than being honest and forthcoming with us, they continued to tell us our job was a priority and that “we’re going to expedite things”. They made promises for timelines that not only weren’t even close to being met, in most cases we literally would not even hear back from them before their projected timeline for completion had elapsed. We are so disappointed to be in a contract with a company that showed so little integrity throughout our various interactions with them. As much as I hate to say it, I absolutely cannot in good faith recommend Semper Solaris.