Review for Future Energy Savers

Office location: 10481 Grant Line Road Suite 125, Elk Grove CA, 95624

11/19/2024
Bill R Vacaville, CA

Positive Overall

I’ll admit I had some preconceived notions about solar as a legit value proposition but the sales and engineering team at Future really helped to see it as a viable option. The missing piece of the equation was incorporating battery storage into a system. This allows for complete self sustaining power without pulling from the grid at peak hours and when there’s a power outage. As a pool owner, I assumed there’s no way panels could drive the pump, A/C, and appliances simultaneously. Turns out they can. I had previously installed pool solar on the roof and assumed that there wasn’t enough space to get the number of panels to make it worthwhile. Turns out there is room and the engineering team did a great job piecing that together. I also didn’t fully understand the tax credit and that it applies to the entire installation cost including the battery—which gets you 30% back if you itemize. The entire installation process went quickly from start to finish. Future takes care of all local permitting and paperwork with your city. The physical installation of panels/battery storage and electrical wiring for backup circuits only takes 1-2 days. After that you’re at the mercy of PG&E to get scheduled for inspection which is needed to become an authorized seller of power back to the grid. Unfortunately, this process moves very slow. I basically gave a full month of power away to the grid and got zero credit from PG&E. Although my experience has been positive overall, there are some issues that should be mentioned. First, there’s no transparency in pricing. They basically price by size of overall system. You won’t find any itemizations for panels, inverter, batteries, etc. And there’s no way of knowing the parts vs labor breakout. I found this very frustrating. Second is service. There are basically 2 techs on staff to service an entire region. Just getting on the schedule is a chore. Communication is poor and unresponsive at times and Reception has no visibility to the schedule. They pass the request on to the service dept and then you wait. If you’re lucky they’ll have a slot in 2 weeks. Prepare yourself for the realities of the new PG&E NEM3 solar pricing schedule (EELEC) plans which reimburse at a fraction of what they charge you from the grid. While Future has no control over this, they should fully study this new pricing structure and the impact on the expected pay back period. Despite producing more than I use, I haven’t been able to achieve net zero cost on my electric bill. Future modeled my ROI based on an outdated NEM TOU pricing schedule that is no longer available to solar customers. Although I’ve been able to reduce my electricity costs approximately 50%, I was expecting more based on information provided in my consultation with Future. Overall, I’m very pleased with my installation and the service Future has provided. I have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone in the market for a renewable energy solution.