Solar SME, Inc.

SUMMARY Do another solar system install—doubtful—30% tax credit key motivation. Use Solar SME again—NO WAY—support abysmal. Extra $$$ spent other contractors trying to fix their work. SYSTEM SE GA | design 12kWh | 30x RECOM panels with individual Tigo TS4-A-Optimizers | Sol-Ark-12k-P inverter | EG4 lithium battery backup Power company November 2024 Permission to Operate DELIVERY Solo Hispanic driver ran straight from Texas, the two of us—my limited Spanish since he spoke no English—had to unload the above equipment using my dollies since the truck had no handling gear. INSTALL Solar SME permitting coordination with power company and homeowners association effectively handled. Actual installation by contractor based in Ridge Spring SC required four onsite visits from late March thru end of August 2024. -Solar SME plan based on overhead photos applied wrong panel sizes so contractor had to move several to unplanned sections of roof and lacking needed material not delivered. -Contractor stated that he should have conducted site assessment rather the Solar SME substituted solar-unqualified home inspector actually sent. -Complicated wiring included contractor frying two stereo units. -Contractor cabling through power company meter failed interconnect witness test September 2024 requiring another visit to correct and long postponement of connection approval. POST INSTALL Obvious PV under-generation required expensive visits by two other consultants—since Solar SME did nothing—with changes to inverter wiring and settings, and found panels connections not made or which had come loose and when corrected dramatically boosted total solar generation. A consultant concluded that one or more Tigo optimizers were not functioning but Solar SME did not respond to telephone contacts on this issue. At review date still trying to fully optimize and fix system. SERVICE Calls to Solar SME main telephone get only prolonged up-sale pitches—Aaron, prefer to get current system in full operation! NO Solar SME responses to several queries since installation—except recurring emails on referrals—which they actually may not want passed to others given experience noted. System contract provided for third party insurance in addition to component supplier warranties but apparently Solar SME did not register these with manufacturers; Tigo has no record of our installation. Inverter registration done by us.

I am very disappointed with this company and would not recommend them to anyone. The work for this project started in July of 2025, the panels were put on the roof in December of 2025. The electrical work failed to pass inspection of December 19th 2025, 64 days later as of February 21st 2026, the panels are still not operational. It has been over two months, I have had useless panels on my roof. Every week, I contact the project manager for my my project and every week they tell me the electrician will be out to complete the work. The electrician has yet to come out. Do not contract with this company for your solar installation.

The short version is "Avoid Solar SME at all costs." I had Solar SME add an EG4 backup battery to our existing solar panel system. From the first day of installation, what they claimed would be a two-day job took 143 days and four failed city inspections before the battery was commissioned and the system turned on. It still doesn't work properly. In addition, they shut down my existing solar panel system to install the battery. As of today, my solar panels have been shut down for 156 days. They claim an optimizer failed and their shutting down the system had nothing to do with it. They claim they will have somebody replace the optimizer when they get around to it. They claim a lot of stuff, and I no longer believe a word they say. The following is my original review for the installation of my solar panel system in 2022. Things have certainly changed at Solar SME. From first contact, SME communicated clearly and promptly. They helped plan an 8-kW system appropriate to our needs and desires (Aptos panels with optimizers and SolarEdge inverter). From contract signing until final city inspection of the completed project, they kept things moving as quickly as city and power company bureaucracy allowed. We signed our contract on August 5. The city completed its final inspection on March 17. Five of those seven months were spent waiting on the city of Irving, Texas, to issue a building permit and then inspect the completed system. We even received PTO in December, more than three months before the city finally approved us. The city inspection was frustrating because the inspectors who came out didn't do one thorough inspection to provide a single list of things they wanted changed. Instead, they came out four times, with two different inspectors requesting different changes the first three times before finally approving the installation on the fourth visit. SME gets five stars for service. The city of Irving, Texas, gets only one.

I did not end up choosing Solar SME, and my experience with their sales practices is definitely a reason. The level of harassment was overwhelming. I received repeated phone calls, often back to back, even after I clearly stated that I was not interested and asked to be removed from their call list. The sales representatives were extremely pushy and sounded like they were calling from an offshore call center. It reached a point where, even if they offered the best product and service available, I would refuse to work with them solely because of how aggressive and irritating the sales experience was. It became almost comical in its intensity. I have never encountered a company that attempted to push a sale this hard. It was genuinely frustrating and incredibly annoying.

Would not recommend. Was willing to leave this be after contract cancellation, but Solar SME continues to contact me after directly asking multiple representatives to remove me from their contact list. Several months after the quoted install date Solar SME still did not have Enphase or city design approvals; failed to consider component communication distances in design; even suggested installing batteries in the bathroom or master closet. Advertised as a local installer with offices in your area, design and support are well outside of your zipcode. Fulfillment would have been completed by contract workers and no SME staff. Did not even have the courtesy to close their city permit request. Suggest finding a business in your local listings, familiar with all considerations, certified electricians, and staff willing to address your questions.

I signed a solar contract with Solar SME to try to mitigate rising costs of utility bills. When talking with their sales reps, I told them I had EMF sensitivity and was concerned about possible impacts from EMFs from solar panels. They informed that EMF is caused by the inverters and wiring, and they would mitigate the risk by using shielded metal conduit. Their estimate was not the cheapest compared to other local solar installers, but I decided to go with them because the sales reps seemed knowledgeable and willing to support my requirement to mitigate EMF. Worked carefully with the sales rep and project manager to identify a low-risk solar installation solution in the design plan, putting panels only on the highest points of the roof to maximize distance, and avoiding panels anywhere near the bedrooms. However, the installation team did NOT use shielded metal conduit specified in the design plan (it appears they used Southwire Ultratite Nonmetallic conduit), and fed the wiring along the floor of our the attic directly over our bedrooms, which was not expected for an installation designed to mitigate EMF. They also made other installation errors including leaving the critter guard around the panels disjointed and a mess, leaving the PV switch in the On position after testing it (it is not allowed by the power company for the system to be left On when system not approved for go-live), and never provided access details at any time on how to access the data from the inverter DTU unit. I developed major health issues immediately post-installation, including broad muscle spasms, insomnia, severe anxiety in the chest, breathing difficulties and stomach cramps/spasms. When in the room directly under the panels, physical symptoms would steadily worsen the closer i was to the panels. When within a few feet of the PV wiring (indoors or outdoors), I felt chest buzzing/palpitations and felt like collapsing; I also got minor electric shocks multiple times when touching the conduit with an EMF meter to take a reading. The main power line from the grid that feeds into the home did not trigger me like this; these symptoms started specifically after the solar conduit was installed. Most of the physical symptoms would lessen after being away from home for a while (or sitting in a sunroom extension at home which is further distance from the panels), and symptoms would return when in the main areas of the home. I reported the installation concerns to the project manager a day after the initial installation, and multiple times after this that my health was negatively impacted in the home. He set appointments on four different occasions over the next 1.5 months for installers to come out and fix the issues. The installers *never* showed up on any of those occasions to try to correct the issues, and no advance notice was given that the installers would be unable to show up either. Eventually came to an arrangement with Solar SME to have the entire system removed, because a) of how much my health had deteriorated post-install, and b) lost confidence in their ability to fix the system or honor their warranty after so many missed appointments. The uninstallation team they sent did a MUCH better job than the installation team; the uninstallation team explained to me they were doing, talked about particular pieces of the mounting equipment that they needed to leave on the roof to avoid widespread roof holes (I are working with a separate roofing company to fix the remainder of the roof), and provided some temporary patching for the holes in the wall from the wiring removal. Most of my physical health symptoms improved within a day of the system uninstallation; the physical anxiety and sleep improved, and can now be close to the home electrical box again without feeling like passing out. Although to date, the stomach spasms that began post-install have still persisted, several weeks after uninstallation.