Windfree Solar

We came to work with Windfree Solar through the SOLAR SWITCH program that aligned a vetted solar company with Illinois residential projects. We highly recommend the Windfree team for the top-notch professional service they provided us throughout the large solar installation project. Our team lead was Eric Ullrich and he provided excellent customer service! A home update decision of this scope can be so challenging, but Eric was an excellent communicator in keeping us informed on the complex project requirements and the timeline expectations. The installation and electrician crews were also super professional and thorough. The entire project took 7.5 months from start to completion and that included the time for the Village of Wilmette plan review process and required inspections. Finally, we love how the 14 solar panels are installed and being able to track the Enphase microinverters on the app! Excited to see the power of the sun...power our lights on! And in the future, power an electric car!

We just completed our solar install and are up and running!!! Having Windfree and our project manager Eric was a real blessing. He helped and advised us every step of the way. All questions were answered and there was excellent information offered to make the best decisions for our project. Communication was excellent! I was very comfortable with Windfree and their experience in the field. They know what they are doing!!!!!

December 21st, 2022 - Agreement for 17 Q Cell panels signed. Told that the project would easily be done by May and potentially earlier if the weather cooperates. February 23 - Told our garage can only hold 4 panels instead of the 17 originally quoted. We request cancellation of project March 23rd - Windfree reaches back out and garage can now hold 12 panels. Project back on and new contract signed April 11th - Windfree sends application to We-Energies (why did it take over two weeks? I don’t know) May 9th - Receive invoice for ordering of panels per contract. I request an itemized list of what will be ordered. I find out they switched out the panels from the requested QCell panels to the REC panel. To swap out a major component without notification is EXTREMELY bad business. May 23rd - wiring diagram/one-line sent to We-Energies May23 -June 23rd - We-Energies denies MULTIPLE versions of Windfree’s wiring diagrams and includes notes of what needs to be changed. Windfree seems to ignore the notes that We-Energies includes with each rejection. June 23rd - wiring diagrams finally approved August 15th - Windfree attempts to add $2600(20% project increase) to the invoice to cover the cost of a dual meter pedestal We-Energies had required from the beginning. We do not agree to pay this additional fee. August 28th - solar panels are mounted September 18th - Meter wiring takes place (Windfree subcontracted it out) October 3rd - System fails inspection. Wiring that took place didn’t match diagrams. November 3rd - Another Full month of generation lost. Meter wiring takes place….for the 2nd time.(Windfree subcontracted it out). November 10th - System fails inspection….for the 2nd time. ANOTHER month of generation lost November 21st - We request a discount on the final invoice due to lost solar revenue….no response from Eric, Ashley or Mark at Windfree December 12th - We-Energies schedules their meter installer to be on site with the electrician (Windfree subcontracts it out) December 12th - System passes inspection. December 12th - Home power now on, but basement lights do not work (disconnected in breaker box during the day's work) December 12th - My wife notifies the electrician of this basement issue as he is preparing to leave. He spends more time to correct this problem. Had she not tried the light switch, it may not have been known or fixed. December 13th - Final invoice received from Windfree UPDATE: Eric went the extra mile before, during and after project completion. It was their first time working with We-Energies which made the project more difficult.

We found Windfree Solar very easy to work with. Dan Green recognized that we had done our own research, so did not over explain in answering our questions. Jack and the install team are very kind and responsive, checking in every step along the way. The crew that came to do the install let me know exactly what was going on and was cognizant that I was working from home. We feel like we got a good deal and know we got great service.

First I explicitly asked if they used their own employees to install. They assured me they only use their own employees. They sent a third party company to install. That was the first small lie of many uncovered. They wrote in the contract that they would install bifacial panels and Enphase IQ7A inverters. When the items were delivered the day of install, they did not deliver bifacial panels and they sent IQ7+ instead. They then informed me they do not sell bifacial panels and cannot source them. This was a specific requirement I had and they reassured me multiple times, in writing and in the contract, that they would provide bifacial panels. These issues combined and dropped the AC system size by roughly 2.5 kw and decreased DC system output by at least 2% per year. To their credit, they did comp an extended warranty on the battery in compensation for the breach of contract. They installed wire that was too small between the ground mount system, solar combiner box and the system controller resulting in voltage rises large enough that the electric company revoked my permission to operate. By this time the final installment had been paid and Windfree became unhelpful and unresponsive. Thankfully their 3rd party company did come out and rewire to get me permission to operate again after months of back and forth. They moved the solar combiner box that includes the Envoy Gateway during the rewiring for voltage rise but ever since then I had errors in the system including the app reporting megawatts of both usage and production which is not possible. Enphase informed me this could be dangerous during an outage because the batteries rely on those CTs to be accurate in order to determine how much to charge or discharge. My first power outage lasted more than 48 hours and was during a record heat wave. The load control panel failed because they did not use the transformers required by Enphase and I was without AC and our garage for nearly the full outage even though we had full sun and plenty of power. We had a freezer in our garage and we have an attached apartment with a refrigerator and freezer that we had to limp along with a small standalone battery and inverter. Temperatures inside the house swelled to over 90F with high humidity. The county had to open shelters for those without AC. After months and months without a response and without fixing the problems the third party company told me that Windfree stopped paying him to complete the work and he couldn’t keep coming out to fix the issues. I took the Enphase University classes required to make me certified to work on my own system. What I found with Enphase’s support is they used wires that were too small to extend the production CTs. I had to replace the wire myself at my own cost as well as disassemble the solar combiner box and replace the Envoy circuit board. I also had to fully rebuild the load control panel at my own cost using the transformers recommended in Enphase’s documentation. This rebuilt load control panel worked perfectly as expected during the next grid outage. 1.5 years after the original installation date I finally have a working system no thanks to Windfree. I am very disappointed in EnergySage for putting me in contact with this company. Don’t trust Windfree unless you want to rewire and finish the job yourself with lesser grade equipment than is in the contract after 1.5 years of struggle and hassle.

After considering various possibilities, we chose Windfree Solar to complete our solar project. They provided clear explanations about rebates, the installation process, and kept us informed about each phase, resulting in the project being completed within the initially communicated timeframe. Since February 2023, my house has operated solely on solar energy, with only comed base delivery charges to pay. I highly recommend Windfree Solar to those interested in adopting solar energy in Illinois.