Excited Energy

We made the decision we wanted to invest in solar and very quickly realized there is a lot of information we did not know and had no experience with. I was advised by a friend to make sure and get a number of quotes. We went that route and were quickly overwhelmed. We found Energy Sage and they did the upfront work for us. The best part is they evaluated the proposals we already received. At the recommendation from Energy Sage, we reached out to Krista. In my first communication with Krista, she took me step by step through what we were looking at. As I got down to the final 3 companies she was able to clarify where the product was rated, what we could expect from the process and helped us be confident in our decision. She never put down another solar company. Krista empowered us to move forward knowing we had found the right fit for us in value, professionalism and cost. No hype, no pressure just a great education and delivery on what they said they would do.

Kris is a master at explaining solar. He is the main reason I now have solar on my home. After speaking with him, I felt like I finally understood how not only a solar installation would proceed but also the workings of the panels and inverter. He is the first person to use the phrase "future proofing" with me and you should ask him how it might apply in your situation.

I worked with Krista at a previous company, but all of my dealings with her make me happy to recommend her personally going forward. She was very upright and forthcoming in explaining everything. She was friendly, courteous, and I never felt like she was keeping anything hidden from me which was very important to me.

The beginning of my solar journey was very stressful because many of the companies I was talking with wanted to get a contract signed before diving into the process details. That's not how I work. I need to understand every detail before I jump into a big project because the one thing I hate more than making a mistake is fixing it. My girlfriend and I aren't married, tied financially, or even making the decision together, yet many of the companies insisted we find a time when she was available to attend the meeting. I'm a big boy, I don't need my decisions to be approved and I definitely don't need someone manipulating me in *my* house. There were so many other shady things I ran into, but I'll let Excited Energy tell you about those... I'm just going to talk now about what I did that benefited my situation. I started digging into as many technical details about residential solar systems as I could find. I relied on EnergySage to compare quotes and product numbers to see if there were better/more efficient options. I started using OpenSolar to sanity-check the quotes I got. I started checking public permit records in my state to see who other people used because I couldn't trust reviews. I found Colorado RENU and other local energy incentives/credits nobody told me about. I found out that some shady installers were baking in the federal tax credit to artificially lower the price.... Jeez, writing this out makes me realize how much I'm glad to be done with all of that. I learned a lot, but the biggest thing I learned is that most installers use the same/similar good-quality products. So why was no one talking about the stuff above that actually matters? I can only guess money and commission. I learned about some of those Gotcha's through Krista Turnage. She sat down with me on multiple occasions to discuss every question I had. We went back-and-forth often about the design, different panel/inverter options, and I just felt like she wanted what was best for me. When I started asking about higher efficiency panels ($$), we talked about why I wanted them and she helped me make an informed decision. Yes, I eventually settled on the more expensive options, but no buyer's remorse because the limited space I have on my south-facing roof is the highest efficiency/sqft that made sense financially. There are exactly 2 regrets I have with my system. The first is using a SolarEdge string inverter instead of an Enphase microinverter. I'm now looking to get real-time information for graphing and automating health info for my system, so not having an API to get *my own data* from the SolarEdge inverter sucks. One of those things where I made an assumption because it was supposed to be "smart" and now I'm annoyed. I hate the SolarEdge app as well, but there are tradeoffs with the Enphase inverter as well like being less efficient, but it has a lower failure rate and a longer warranty (unless you buy extended warranty for SE). That's all this process is, though, tradeoffs. The second regret was not installing the final 3 REC panels to fill my south-facing roof since I'm now more seriously considering an EV. 15-20% over my needs seemed like more than enough, so I decided to save a few bucks not going 45% (or whatever it was) over. Again, another tradeoff. All in all, I wish I found a solar advocate like Krista Turnage and Excellent Solar earlier. She didn't pressure me, she took the time to answer my questions and understand my concerns to help me find a solution that worked best for my situation along with making sure I understood the different tradeoffs (or most, I'm dealing with the stupid SE API thing with my installer as I write this lol, but that's not her fault). As long as you're honest about finances and what matters to you, they will make sure your needs are met. You might look back in the future and regret some decisions, but they won't be going solar and they definitely won't be using a solar advocate like Krista Turnage!

The sales process was great and Krista knew everything needed to help get me into the proper system and went above and beyond to answer all of my questions. We went through financing options, size and scope and more. Fantastic experience all around.

The communication and solar installation with Kris couldn't have gone better. The system was properly sized for our particular situation including taking into account shading and off-south orientation, and it has been pumping photons for over two months now. I highly recommend Kris.