I'm am a VERY happy customer and I get happier everyday!!!!
Okay, so I'm not big on leaving reviews, but I know people out there are still on the fence about solar, and how it works, and how it's installed, etc...so here's my experience, I'll attempt to be as brief as possible.
Firstly, I had been researching solar and it's costs and potential and quality for 8 years, I'm a 40-year-old dad with a family of 4, with an 1800 sqft home in the suburbs of New Orleans, and I had a dream to create a home that runs on Clean energy. Turns out it was no problem!!! I purchased a beautiful home that had not been updated since the 70's and it had window units for AC. I had the whole home foam insulated and added a low energy use 4 zone mini-split HVAC system from Daikin. I also went with appliances with good energy star ratings but note these are all things from Home Depot or Lowes.
I knew to have round the clock clean power I would need both the Solar Panels and the Battery, and if I had the battery I would also have back-up power in a grid power loss situation, which are not irregular in the New Orleans area. From my years of research I knew that Sun Power Panels and Tesla POWERWALL were the best of both technologies. I do not have the largest roof surface, and I know Sun Power panels gave some of the most power generation per panel, and are the most robust. That's what led me to South Coast Solar and their CTO Scott Oman. I left a message expressing my interest in solar on the South Coast Solar website and within the our I was on the phone with Scott, and he was sitting with me at my table the next day with satellite picture of my home, and several schematics of solar potential that he was able to calculate using other satellite imaging...Friggin' Awesome!!!! We discussed a lot of options for types of systems, longevity, schedules, electrical offset, cost etc.
...And Scott is so chill and knowledgeable, it was a complete no pressure meeting, super educational and fun.
Needless to say...we got the ball rolling, some techs came out to measure the roof, and the parts were ordered. I went with a 4.7 Kw panel system and the Tesla Powerwall 2AC (13.5Kwh storage.) To keep the labor costs down I agreed to wait for both the panels and the Powerwall to arrive. Sun Power can ship their panels right away, but this was right when Tesla was getting their new delivery system online so we waited about 40 days for the Powerwall, but now Tesla is delivering their product much faster. The whole system was installed in a day and a half, and it would have gone up in just one long day if it hadn't rained the first day around 2p (don't want to be on a roof with lightning around.) 5 fantastic technicians were involved with my install in addition to Scott Oman the CTO. Two polite and incredibly knowledgeable electricians named Mike and Jared, who where great on-site problem solvers, and were kind enough to indulge my curiosity as the install progressed. Then there was the panel team who remind you of both mountain climbers and spelunkers, the crew chief was Bo (awesome sense of humor) and his co-installers Charles & Dylan. These guys were working hard on ladders and the roof with full safety gear in the hot sun so I was diligent to say out of their way, but I couldn't help but notice the excellent communication between them, and their full awareness of the specifics of the work in front of them.
The install was followed by 2 inspections (electrical & city) & the re-programming of my utility meter, none of which I was present for. My system has been up and running for 6 weeks and has been flawless. I am able to track it's operations via the Tesla AP on my phone, through my Sun Power account, and with a 10 year labor warranty I know South Coast Solar has a portal to check the status of my system from their office and let me know if anything is out of sorts.
The TESLA POWERWALL has an awesome STORMWATCH function that I already used when Tropical Storm Barry brushed up against us in July. The system is hooked up to the National Weather Service and if there is any serious weather approaching my zipcode the powerwall automatically switches to stormwatch mode and force fills the batter from the grid and locks it to only be used in case of a power outage. I watched it do this and it was super cool. And yes we lost power in the storm (or I should say my neighbors did) my family and I never lost power thanks to POWERWALL.
I always loved a sunrise, but now there is a secondary thrill to seeing the glow of early morning light through my window shades. Thank You South Coast Solar for being the best and using the best in solar and storage.