Solar City STL

Answered all my questions about solar and performed an amazing install. Much more knowledgeable and flexible than the other solar companies I contacted. They also helped me out a lot when I worked with the energy company to make sure they were recording the correct amount of energy produced. Highly recommend.

Summary Great communication throughout the whole process Flexible with design Power generation quote is accurate Straight forward and upfront about complications First contact to energizing with Ameren took less than 2 months Very competitively priced Quoted design included setbacks for fire codes Is local (this company is local and not at all affiliated with Solar City out of California) SolarCity STL saved my solar project. I had gotten a few solar quotes from other companies: one local (StraightUp), one local-ish (SunSent), one nationwide (GreenEnergy). All 3 seemed more expensive than what google said they should be, but they were all 37k +/- 5k$. So I went with SunSent. This was a big mistake, see my review of them elsewhere for what happened. I went to EnergySage, asked for more quotes, and Justin at SolarCity STL responded. The design on the quote was robust. It included the fire code set backs as required by inspectors on the quote itself. No other company has ever shown that on their quotes. Every single other company had panels quoted in places that were not possible. Not SolarCity STL, I knew from the start what was possible and Justin didn’t try to talk around what could and could not happen. He was very upfront and straight forward about everything. Their price for almost as much power as SunSent was claiming was about half what SunSent was charging and matched up with the average cost of solar per watt at the time of signing. He and I went back and forth on a few designs to maximize my power generation using only the south facing roofs, but the one he initially sent me was more or less optimal with a few tweaks. I double checked the math and power production estimates with another source, and they were spot on. After I ended things with SunSent, I signed on with SolarCity STL. Everything with SolarCity STL has been smooth, well and quickly communicated, documented, straightforward, well installed, and pretty simple. Building and electrical permits took a few weeks (delayed due to the 4th of July), but once all that cleared the rails to hold the panels were installed over the course of an afternoon. Electrical rough in took 12hours or so over a couple days. Both sets of crew are very knowledgeable and friendly. They all let me pick their brains through the whole process. After the rails were installed, there was a storm and there were no leaks. Another storm rolled in, still no leaks. The panels were installed in an afternoon after initial inspections took place. Then another couple storms rolled in. No leaks and everything stayed put, as it should with not issues. We then had a string of very hot days. The 2nd floor temperature with the panels has dropped about 5-8 degrees just from the shade the panels provide. This was an unexpected benefit. After the final electrical and building inspections, Ameren came out a week later to do their inspection and give the go ahead to energize. Justin came out the same day and commissioned the system. The whole thing went together quickly and was only slowed down due to inspections. There were no install problems and everything is very sound. Throughout the entire process all my emails were responded to within a day, usually within 4-8 hours. With the panels installed and system commissioned, I can monitor the power generation and draw in real-time. The app shows current production, current usage, and if you are exporting or importing power to the grid. Added benefit of this is that I realized my HVAC was drawing WAY more power than it should be. Very happy with finding that out. Overall, I can’t think of a single thing so far that was not good while with working with SolarCity STL. The electrical was designed in such a way that if I want to add daytime blackout backup power that I can, I could add batteries someday if Ameren gets cheeky like it did in Illinois. I am very happy with how thorough the project was designed and installed. Everything with SolarCity STL has been great with no non-sense. I’m very happy with how things turned out. :)

The excellent rating is for the company, Solar City STL, and each employee I came in contact with or asked too many questions of. They were patient, knowledgeable and prompt to answer. As to the benefits of solar, I am a little disappointed as I expected a greater drop in electric bills. It produced an average of about $20 per month decrease in the charges (which is good but will not recover price in 20 years).

They was professional and did a really good job putting up my solar I would recommend to anyone that is thinking bout get solar

I chose solar city because they were very straight forward and to the point, they don’t waste time and they get things done. Julie was very responsive to all of my emails and my many phone calls throughout the process. My bill was reduced significantly and the panels look great on the side of my house! The crew was professional, tidy and the installation was speedy. They were in and out in a day, and left no mess. Couldn’t be happier!

The process is long, but worth it to us. 32 panels, 1, 3kW battery. It's been helpful. Can't wait for batteries to go down in price to add another 6kW of batteries.