Southard Solar & Construction

The people working for the installer were friendly and seemed like they did a good job. However like many other reviews state, the company is not following through on completing the installation or responding to emails sent to them. We struggled for months to get any sort of response or follow-up from the team with many times people just showing up at our house out of the blue saying they needed to do something. A huge delay in the project we had was the installer doing something that wasn't approved by our electrical company then they proceeded to charge us extra to fix their unapproved mistake. In addition, when we requested an updated estimate part way through the project to prepare for payment, they did not respond. Then they completed the project and demanded immediate payment. To make it worse, I had to remind them about our deposit and asked for a couple days to transfer funds. They deposited the check near immediately ignoring this request. Do not go with this installer. Look elsewhere. This was a pathetic installation experience and I am quite sure any sort of labor warranty with them is forfeit because they do not communicate.

Southard did a repair for me in 2021 and I was please with their work and did an upgrade of my micro inverters through them in 9/2021. That is when the trouble began. My system has never been fully operational for more than 2 weeks since. The customer service is awful. So many unreturned calls, emails and texts. I finally got the owner's number and he has apparently ghosted me. I am ready to report to Better Business Bureau.

After a generally positive installation experience, we've had a problem with leaf accumulation under the panels due to critter guard issues that Southards promised to address, but they haven't followed through. So, we're up on the roof trying to fix it ourselves, and at the end of the day I just feel like they aren't able to support their customers. They can do installs, but they aren't able to service them. It is likely difficult to be a smaller installer and I feel for them, but if you are looking for a long term partner who will honor your investment, I can't recommend them.

I've been very frustrated with the communication - it can be difficult to get a call back, emails seem to be ignored, and it has been very hard to get timeframes (such as when the panels on my roof for a few months will get turned on, or when other work will actually be completed). I understand delays and issues with Xcel, but I feel like I've been left in the dark a lot of the time as to what actual timeframes look like for things to get done. I'm now - after a few months asking- being told possibly 4-6 months for my panels to get turned on after install. Install crew left trash all over my yard and cigarette buds by my front door - I've never received a response to my email where I explained my frustration with this (I've got dogs - so roofing nails and candy bar wrappers could mean an $$ vet trip...). There are lots of other options out there.

I cannot recommend Southard Solar due to their lack of communication and professionalism. It’s been a very disappointing and frustrating experience over the last year. Almost exactly 1 year ago, I had a site visit to scope and quote my project. I showed them the house, garage, and wellhouse and explained how we wanted them to be powered and backed up with solar panels and a battery. The contract showed up with various repeated errors which I had to continually correct. Shortly after signing, installation began – they must have had a solid understanding of the project from the site visit, I figured. Alas, nope. The house is powered but not the wellhouse and garage, meaning our water supply is not functional in the event of an outage. A single conversation could have ensured that we were on the same page, but they’ve never made that a possibility. Despite months of outreach, they’ve given me the runaround, and when they offered to work on getting the system fixed to function as we agreed, they now won’t answer any questions about how much we would be expected to pay for the remedial work. As a cherry on top, during the install, they showed up in our house one morning when my wife was home alone. They insisted that “Chris knows we’re here,” but that was a blatant lie. If I’d expected them, I would have let them know not to come since my wife was home with COVID. To their credit, Gabe the installer and his team did a great job. They were communicative and clear, and if the rest of the team functioned like him, I’d be happy to recommend them. The whole experience has been frustrating due to their lack of communication and honesty. The price might be tempting but it’s not worth the headache. Find another solar vendor.

I have had 1 year old solar panels offline for over a month and have not been able to reach anyone. I have a 25 year warranty that is worthless