Whidbey Sun & Wind

My system of Itek panels was installed by Whidbey Sun & Wind in September 2017. On Wednesday, 9/25/19, I noticed that one of the panels looked shattered, and it was not working as well as the others, per the Tigo app on my phone. I called WS&W and left a message. By noon on 9/26/19, nobody had called me back, so I called again. Patricia said that she “was told that Kyle would call me sometime that day.” Around 4pm, Kyle called to tell me that he was on his way to check out the problem. Kyle arrived about 10 minutes later and said that there was no evidence of external damage. He was going to report to Paul or Kelly. By noon on Monday, 9/30/19, nobody had called me. I called again and spoke to Patricia. She said that somebody would get back to me asap. By Wednesday 10/2/19 around noon, nobody had called me yet. So, I called again. Patricia said that she would speak with Kelly, the owner of WS&W. At 1:44pm on 10/2/19, I got a call from "Brett." He left a voicemail to say that he called John Flanagan, who used to own Itek, about the problem. He said that the company that bought Itek is not honoring any Itek warranties, but supposedly Mr. Flanagan is--maybe. Brett said he would get back to me after he heard from Flanagan. This did not sit well with me. So, I called WS&W back and spoke with Brett. Brett explained that Itek was bought out by another company that is not honoring any Itek warrantees, and they are not producing any compatible panels. He sounded like a politician with his double-talk and “assurances." I was left feeling horrible. Brett said that "obviously" WS&W does not have any Itek panels in their warehouse, but supposedly Mr. Flanagan has some someplace, maybe. Brett said that he had sent an email to Flanagan (before he said that he had called Flanagan), and that he was going to wait to hear back before giving Flanagan a follow up call. (This was a week after my initial call.) Brett would not say how long he would wait before calling Flanagan. I explained that I wanted my array to be working at full capacity because I am still under the Renewable Energy System Cost Recovery Program. Brett's answer to my concern is that the difference in my refund from WA State is "negligible." I have a very low income. Even $5 is not "negligible" to me. I did not mention this to Brett because I got the message that he did not care nor was he listening to me. When I said to Brett, "So, I am just SOL?" He replied, "Yes, that is what I am saying." When I asked him to repeat that, he changed his answer. He then said that WS&W "would get back to me." I heard nothing from WS&W this morning, 10/4/19. I called them around noon and asked to speak with somebody other than Brett. Patricia said she would leave my message. Nobody called back. It is now 11pm, 10/4/19. If you buy from WS&W beware. If something goes wrong, they will drag their feet. If your equipment is no longer being manufactured or under warranty because of a buy-out, they will not have your back. It is all real groovy until something goes wrong.

Its good.

I attended a solar energy presentation from a Seattle company at the Indian reservation. . I learned enough to consider installation but It sounded like a time share presentation. I was encouraged to buy now. A one hour assessment of my house was made and a price of installation was given. I called Whidbey Sun and Wind for a second opinion because it is a local company. The agent was very thorough in assessing our home for solar energy. It is a two story house with an unobstructed view South and a roof with concrete shakes. In a few days I received a very impressive written proposal with several options. We chose the 8.4 kw option because it had the possibility of being paid off by savings in 6 years. The system is larger and less expensive than the system proposed by the first company. Installation began in February and was completed in 5 days despite somewhat rainy weather and the problem of working on a second story roof with slick fragile tiles. There were also cathedral ceilings below the roof that added to the complexity of the installation. The installers were excellent. Neighbors on both sides have expressed desires to install solar in the future. Adam Wundrow supervised the project from proposal to completion and spent many hours solving a computer glitch that was interfering with the monitoring system. I just received my first Puget Sound Energy bill since the installation. The three year average May bill (since we had installed a hybrid water heater) is $243.16. This bill is $93.83 with a 5 day longer billing cycle and 3 degrees colder average temperature than the previous year. I look forward to watching the electrical and tax savings and incentives lead to payment of the original cost of the system. My insurance company did not raise my premium because of the installation.

When I called them about a quote they were nice and efficient.