Southern Exposure Solar

Southern Exposure Solar installed my residential solar system five months ago and I have been extremely happy with the results. A bit of patience was required initially as my system was turned on just as we headed into winter, with limited sun exposure. As we moved into spring, however, my system is producing more energy than expected and I've had no problems at all. Grayson and Fred stayed in communication with the installation crew and quickly resolved any issues. The crew was professional and did an expert job. Britney was friendly and efficient with ensuring all requirements were completed with my electric company. All-in-all, a great experience. I highly recommend Southern Exposure Solar.

I spoke with Jason after receiving a second quote due to my error regarding average electric usage. After a very lengthy and in depth discussion on a solar system that would fit my home. I decided not to have a solar system installed. So why am I writing a review? The answer lies in my conversation with Jason and the approach he was willing to take based on my needs. In short he realized based on my age and financial situation, that I would have an unreasonable recovery time. Although I didn't have a system installed my recommendation is still 5 Star. His time and effort in addition to his courteous manner inspired me to write this review. In short I would recommend Southern Exposure Solar to all my friends and family.

We had a phenomenal experience with Southern Exposure, from beginning to end. I found them through EnergySage, and was delighted to land on a local company with such great expertise and people. Their pricing was competitive with other offers we solicited, but what set them apart was their level of service. They were the only company willing to do a site visit prior to signing an agreement, which gave me a higher level of confidence in their estimates and projections (given some concerns I had about the impact of the treeline behind our home). When he visited, Jason didn't put on the hard sell, but walked through all of my questions and concerns, talked candidly about pros and cons, and captured drone imagery to improve the accuracy of the model. Throughout the process, he was extremely patient with my (many) questions and always highly responsive. We ended up having some plumbing vents rerouted to make more space for panels; SES doesn't do that type of work themselves, but recommended a great contractor and provided models/estimates both ways so I could evaluate the ROI and make an informed decision. When it came to the installation, Tyler and the team were professional, impressively quick, communicative, and easy to work with. SES prides themselves on keeping the visual impact of the system as minimal as possible -- and they didn't disappoint. It wasn't our highest priority, since everything is on the back of our home; but a few days after install I asked my wife how much she was noticing the changes, and her response was, "Oh, I haven't noticed at all. I keep meaning to look but forgetting it's there." Other selling points/positive aspects of the experience include how seamlessly Britney handled all the paperwork on our behalf; how well the SES team communicated internally (I never felt like I was being bounced around from sales to install or anything like that); and the CertainTeed warranty, which was superior to any other offer I reviewed. Our system is only recently up and running; I'll plan to edit and share the results after our first year, but given how things are going so far, and how much due diligence SES did, I'm confident that it will deliver.

Southern Exposure Solar was recommended to me by my brother who had them install a solar array on their house. From the initial call with Grayson all the way through the installation of the solar panels, I had a great experience with them. Since the completion of the project, I have only paid the base fee for connection to the grid; my old power bills are a thing of the past! If you are in the market for solar, you should give Southern Exposure Solar a call. You will not be disappointed.

Background: Wagging Tails Kennel is a family owned business located in Chesterfield,Va. We provide pet boarding and grooming services. We have 111 indoor/outdoor kennels with heating and AC. Our electric bills in the summer 2022 were over $1000 per month! We have wanted to add solar power to the business for years. Now, with the tax rebates from the Federal government and the Virginia Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC), it’s actually a very good investment. Choosing an installer: I was contacted by a solar panel installation company out of Phoenix, AZ 16 months ago about putting solar panels on my house. I did some checking on that company’s reputation and decided I needed someone else. I looked online for who was local and had a good track record and found Southern Exposure Solar. I sent them a message over the weekend and was pleased to get a reply first thing on Monday morning. Grayson impressed me immediately with his knowledge and honesty. Southern Exposure Solar evaluated my home and both of my business buildings and recommended against installing panels on my home and one of the business buildings, but the other building was an excellent candidate. Unfortunately, that is the building that uses the least amount of electricity. Grayson explained that the meters for both business buildings could be combined so that the solar panels on the west building could offset the usage of the east building also. If we could get enough panels on the roof of the east building, Wagging Tails Kennel would have low or no electricity bills for the life of the system (25 - 40 years). They installed CertainTeed solar panels which have an excellent warranty. Design and Planning: It turns out this is a lot more complicated than I had expected. Chesterfield County’s permit process is difficult for any contractor, but the county put extra hurdles in place for commercial installations. We are a facility that cares for over 150 pets during our busiest weeks. We needed the installation done when the west building was empty. Oddly, the fire department requirements for businesses is higher than for homes! Fire access cut into the available square footage on the roof. Maximizing the number of panels on one building so that it could produce electricity for both required careful design - Southern Exposure Solar managed to get over 60 panels on a single story building. The attic space in the building was already crammed with heat/AC ducts so there wasn't much space to work or add equipment. Dominion Power was in the middle of a major grid upgrade - solar panel installations were not a priority for them. We were especially difficult because of the aggregated meters (Both meters are summed into a single account so it acts like it is a single building. This requires a special meter, but the excess produced by the west building is credited to the east building at RETAIL rates which is a really big deal!). Installation: Southern Exposure Solar worked with Chesterfield County and Dominion to meet all my requirements. Grayson kept me updated on problems and installation options. They beat the schedule that we had agreed to. They stayed on budget - there were no last minute unexpected costs. When the system was online, they showed me how to use an app on my phone to see the daily production - how much electricity is being imported and exported. The crew was great and made sure that there was no negative impact to business activities. Results: We have been producing solar power electricity for 8 months now. I looked at the year to date stats and the new system has generated 24 Megawatt hours of energy. (SES predicted 30 Megawatts per year and we are slightly ahead of schedule.). In mid-December it is still generating about 80 Kilowatt hours on a sunny day (about ⅔ of the amount it generated in the summer which surprised me because the days are so much shorter). I have already received my first SREC payment for over $1100 (Virginia essentially pays solar panel owners for reducing the total carbon put into the atmosphere.) A third party makes automatic deposits to our business account. My electric bills are now very small! Some months they show a credit. The only time I have had to do anything is when we changed the business WIFI. Southern Exposure Solar helped me to change the WIFI setup on the system so it can talk to the app on my phone (the information is shared with the company that sends the SREC payments). We have not yet reached a point of zero carbon footprint, but this was a giant step. At the current rate of return, we expect to break even on the investment in 9 years. After that, we will be enjoying free electricity! Robert & Kelly Caton, Owners of Wagging Tails Kennel

Grayson and Fred are very knowledgeable and attentive to customers' needs. They take the time to educate on how the solar system works and solar in general. No high-pressure sales tactics. The system has been highly reliable. When we had a couple of issues with connectivity, Fred or someone from the install team came out quickly to resolve. For the 15 months I've gone solar, I have only been paying the minimum to stay connected to my utility. I can see a day when I could potentially go off grid with future battery storage. My brother recently purchased a system for his house and he is also highly satisfied.