Clayco Electric Inc. - Profile & Reviews

Clay visited my home for an on-site discussion of my solar options - Although I did not choose this company I very much appreciated their time and responsiveness.

Clay and his team installed a rock solid system on my home in Solana Beach, and I couldn’t be happier. They’re pricing, speed of installation, customer service, and follow through have been excellent.

Totally satisfied:

Short story:
Best price, prompt installation (2 days), all timing commitments met, got all needed paperwork with the HOA, city (Encinitas), and Electric Company (SDGE) correct the first time with zero issues or push-back. Cleaned up after each work day. Higher degree of expertise saved me thousands (see story below). There were no undisclosed costs or surprises.

Longer story:

EnergySage gave me 4 estimates. Additionally, I got an estimate from Tesla and another from a vendor who installed at the home of someone I know. I was very transparent with all vendors, telling them that they are competing for my business primarily on the economics of the system and that I will give each competitor an opportunity to provide their best bid. I sized the system to cover all my current and projected electrical use needs, but not more.

Of the 6 estimates, Clayco was the lowest (~$15K for 17 panels), but not by much; the nearest competitor was less than $100 apart, and the next one another $100. Tesla, even with their "price match guarantee" still came the highest (about $3800 above Clayco for same system size; while their guarantee is much more comprehensive, I wasn't prepare to pay that much more for a better guarantee).

However, each of the other contractors, when they visited and inspected my breaker box, asserted that it does not have the capacity to handle the solar system as sized. They offered to either downsize the system (to about half), install a new box for me, or have me install a new box myself (except Tesla, whose price included a guarantee that if my box isn't adequate, they will give me a new one at their expense). The cost of a new box would have been in the $2000-3000 range.
The issue was that the 40+ years old box is missing a sticker that would have designated it's "Bus Capacity". Absent that sticker, all the other vendors would only go by the lower "breaker capacity" number which was inadequate. They warned me that SDGE will do likewise and not provide a license to operate if I were to attempt to install a full system without a box upgrade. Clayco, who had a licensed electrician (Clay himself) make the home visit, was able to determine that the "Bus Capacity" is indeed adequate. He had come across identical boxes elsewhere, and had a file copy of the correct sticker. As a way of protecting myself, I asked that he incorporate into the contract that if SDGE fails to give a license-to-operate, he will do whatever remediation -- including installing a new box -- at his expense. Clayco agreed, and we were in business.

Paperwork was smooth. Clayco interfaced directly with my HOA, the City of Encinitas, and SDGE, and got all approvals right the first time and with zero issues.

Installation was also smooth. They arrived and left exactly at the agreed time (took 2 days); and left everything nice and tidy each day.

The final step, the visit by SDGE to inspect and provide the license to operate, happened 3 days ago (2 business days after the installation was complete). I wasn't home at the time, but it must have gone smoothly, because a few hours later I got an email notification that the license was granted. I still don't know if the "Bus Capacity" issue ever came up during the inspection at all.

We have now been producing electricity for 3 days. From the monitoring website and the SDGE website, I can see that we are, in fact, producing more than we are using (which, to my understanding, will build a credit with SDGE; to be drawn down in the winter when we will be producing less than using).

While I'm still new to the process and would like to see my first post-installation electric bill before I declare "mission accomplished," everything looks good right now and Clayco clearly did what they promised they would do.

Vicky and Dan.

We can't thank Clay enough for his professionalism, knowledge and the way he handled all of our initial meetings. My wife and I were not 100% sold that solar was the route we wanted to go. With so many companies offering apples to oranges products, services and costs, it was difficult to understand exactly what you were going to get. Which was refreshing to have a down to Earth, no nonsense, presentation of Clayco Electric's services, the type of product they would be installing and the simplicity of installation with a real time line. The curve ball here was that we also were having a whole new clay tile roof installed at the same time. This didn't phase or affect Clay and his time lines in getting our job completed. In a matter of a couple weeks we were up and producing our own power. This was refreshing when you hear all of the horror stories on TV that talk about solar companies that took advantage of someone, or maybe installed an under performing system, or the shear fact that their solar was never turned on. My wife and I are looking forward to the end of the year true-up to see that our decision was one of our best. Thank you Clay and Clayco Electric for everything!

A great company to do your solar, and reasonable priced

From the first communications through design, and panel choice we worked with clay and his team to d3sign the 65 panel, dual array for our home in cathedral city. Including a redesign when trade tariff rumblings began.
The permitting phase was a breeze. By installation day everything was ready and the panels went on as planned.
We’ve been happy with the look, and power production.
Post install , when a emphase microinverter failed , clayco coordinated the replacement within days.

These guy's installed my system pretty effortlessly and were all easy to talk to with any questions I had. I had no issues with interconnection with SDG&E. I'll definitely be back for any additional panels or electrical work I need.

Clay, the owner, is a very special electrician who treats his customers with respect and a professionalism that is demanded in today's world,, They did a great job on my solar(33 panels roof mounted)... His bid came in $1000's less than the so called big boys.. You won't go wrong by using Clayco for your new solar system..

Clay was quick to install our solar panels. From the time we accepted to permit to install was 8 weeks. We were told by another company it will take about 6 months! It's been a year since install and we are getting credit from our utiliity company since we've been using less than our panels have been generating.
When I have questions, Clay has been quick to respond. Thank you!

I have done three projects with Clayco. I can't stress enough what a great job they have done each time. In addition, they have the best prices as well.

Clay is very knowledgeable about all solar products. He installed what he would install in his own home. His crew is hardworking, very competent and all of them were always cheerful and respectful. The team was Johnny on the spot with each step the company needed to take to get the system installed and authorized.

There are so many solar companies out there. I got bids from seven and I built a spreadsheet to document the different prices, panels, equipment and options. Clayco came out on top.

I'm very pleased with my system, it's functionality and it's appearance. I highly recommend this company.