Sustainable Energy Systems LLC

Sustainable proposed a string inverter solution. I've read multiple articles that micro inverters are a superior solution in terms of reliability and throughput. So, I rejected this vendor

The installation and operation of my residential unit went great. The unit has been operating for about 4 years now and generating estimated KWH. However, when ever I've reached out to Sustainable energy for follow-up service, I need to installed 'cirtter gaurds' to prevent squirrels from nesting under the panels, they have been IMPOSSIBLE to get a hold of. I recevied an estimate fo rthe work in Decemver of 2022, it is now May of 2023 and they have not returned any phone calls (voice mails) , emails, or submissions via their website.

Now that the work is complete, I am happy with the end product. I received four pricing quotes when using energysage to choose my solar provider. I decided on Sustainable Energy Systems, because they had great reviews, optional in-home battery, local family-owned and were very helpful answering questions. They were the second highest price out of the four, but within a competitive range. Pros: Tara (they should clone her, she is extremely responsive and helpful) she was my main POC throughout. I was happy with the schedule which was complete within 7 months (Contract to Final Inspection). They have also helped with shade studies on adjacent pop-up projects in the neighborhood. With any/all problems I had with field installation (below), I always could count on Tara to have things corrected and scheduled quickly. Cons: They seem to have too many Projects, and are growing so quickly, that their field teams are cutting corners. The general rudeness and disrespect the crew showed at all stages of installation was shocking, field supervisor lied to me, missing electrical material and leaving without an update, destroying flower gardens and splitting a young maple tree (plenty of access on concrete carport and front walk), not installing the conduit correctly on the front side of my row home (corrected by a different team). I also lost over a month on solar production because of a communication problem with an inverter, and they were ‘backed up in the service department’. To be fair, I am sure any solar company would have had things to overcome throughout the process/install, and I did trust Tara and their office team to help and make things right. Which they always did!

We went with Sustainable Energy Systems for solar because they had the second best price we were able to find (out of 5 or 6), and they also had relatively good reviews and gave us some confidence and trust in their work from their quote. Unfortunately for us, there were road bumps every step of the way. Their initial plan was not approved for a permit because they didn't follow certain building codes for Baltimore City. The project lead for installation seemed frazzled and left in a hurry with our attic open and insulation everywhere. They had to come back 4 times to finish the electrical work for installation and then fix various other issues that caused the system to fail to turn on. When it finally was functional, one of their techs remotely turned the system off by accident - I had to contact Enphase to have it turned back on. They repeatedly said we were on track for their 120 day goal set in their contract, but it ended being 268 days in total. They also requested to be paid before the inspection was complete. Their customer support phone line and email is never answered (however they do seem to respond to texts). Our system is up and running fine now, but I do worry that if anything were to go wrong, we would have a tough time getting issues resolved. Overall, I can't say I would recommend them, unfortunately.

The installation went smoothly and I was happy for a few years, but beware of any issues down the line. I have a 16kW system that's been offline 2 months now since their support department is overwhelmed. It could be an installation issue, an environment issue, or am inverter issue, but I honestly have no idea since they won't even answer my support requests. I'm missing peak production months and having to buy grid power during expensive summer months due to their under-staffing. Look elsewhere for solar.

Tara, my customer service rep, answered all my questions before, during, and after installation quickly. The rest of the Sustainable Energy Systems team kept me informed of applications and permitting to the county, state, and local utilities. It truly was a turnkey operation. There was one equipment communication issue at turn on, and the company took care of it before I made my final payment.