NuWatt Energy

Got my first $0 electric bill so I'm thrilled. Overall, a very good experience with NuWatt. I would recommend them. They came out and installed 22 panels in 1 day. Engineer took the time to explain what they were doing and ask my opinion on box location, wires, etc. Next day, 1 panel was not producing and they caught it before I did and came out the following day to resolve. Response to email questions has been excellent. Usually less than 24 hours. My 1 disappointment was that to get the full functionality of the enphase app, you need to install 2 additional components ($50 cost) for consumption monitoring - this will tell you how much energy you use as well as how much your panels are producing. I discovered this after the installation and was never told about this prior. It is now $400 for someone to come out and install. I wish this had been made clear up front. And, if the parts are only $50, why not make it part of the install? My project manager explained this and apologized, and in the end, I'm producing more energy than I'm using, and NuWatt has been responsive to questions and responded quickly to my one problem. So, yes, I recommend NuWatt and be sure to ask about consumption monitoring.

tl;dr: 8 months after signing the contract and paying the deposit, the system is working great. Luckily, the renewed tax credits made the timeline less strict. The team: Maan Alawa (sales), Josue Higueros (PM), PV Installs, LLC (sub-contracted installers) Location: Massachusetts The Good: Great product (Panasonic Evervolt 400H panels with Enphase IQ8+ micro-inverters and combiner) for a reasonable price. Build quality is good, no horror stories about leaks in the roof or pricey electrical work as mentioned in other reviews. Maan was very responsive and straightforward during the bidding process -- one of the main reasons why I went with NuWatt. Looking at other reviews, they are consistently responsive as business owners, which I appreciate. Maan was also very accommodating to changes to the design and gave very insightful and knowledgeable feedback during the process. I felt that my needs and goals were heard and met and am very pleased with the final product. All outstanding issues were resolved to my satisfaction. The Not So Good: I signed the contract August 10th and the system was not fully functional until April 17th. Once the deposit was paid, the project was handed off to the Project Manager, Josue. The handoff had some hiccups and certain parts of the project were missing in the original work order. As a result, the installers used a side-line tap instead of installing and connecting to a subpanel. Why does that matter? Because I have plans to install an EV charger in the future and connecting to the subpanel would be the proper way to do this. The subpanel eventually got installed months later, but is quite undersized for the size of my panel (60A sub on a full 200A panel). I may end up needing another soon. The install date was delayed multiple times and was performed 8 weeks later than planned. System was inspected 2 months later and we received the PTO a month after that. All in all, the system was not fully commissioned for 3 months since the completed install. The Master electrician was slow to schedule the inspection and was a no show/no call on the first one. It also coincided with a planned vacation and required some cross-country people management across 3 time zones on my end during my vacation. Did I mention he was a no show? The Master electrician did not properly commission the system (which was supposed to happen during inspection), and required follow-up work from NuWatt and multiple calls to Enphase support to get the system up and running. There was bad wiring during the initial install and the system was at half capacity for a couple weeks until that was resolved. Enphase saw from the production data that it was a bad cable, whereas NuWatt was told it was a software issue with Enphase. NuWatt had an electrician sent out anyway. The electrician that came and fixed the wiring and properly commission the system also said it was a wiring issue. Curiously, these issues were not caught during the inspection. Communication throughout the process was suboptimal. I had barely any word from NuWatt for the 3 months between signing the contract and scheduled install date. A few emails here and there to sign paperwork with the utilities, really. NuWatt says that things will be happening in the background and I should just sit tight and trust the process. No new is good news, am I right? No, I am Wrong. Worried about the lack of communication, I reached out to Josue a week before the original install date to ask what I should be expecting in the coming days. No response. Multiple emails, several voicemails, intervention from Caleb at EnergySage and direct appeal to upper management/owners could not get this man to respond with a status update. Install date came and went before he finally responded with an apology that the install date would be pushed back another month without much clarity to the why. Not great. I can go on and on about the communication issues, but in the end I need to believe everyone is doing their best. To NuWatt's credit, they did well in the areas they could control. There appears to be a lot of factors outside of their control and the PM could have done better about managing expectations and communicating more clearly. They can also exercise more agency with their build teams and add some touch points or milestones. One actionable item is that they require a copy of the summary report once the system is commissioned by the electrician. This is a feature built into Enphase's control systems that helps installers follow through each step correctly, bring up any issues caught by the system, and provide documented proof that the installation was commissioned properly. My experience with a hobbled and under-functioning system could have easily been avoided had NuWatt obtained this summary report. I don't fully understand the solar business to know who is accountable for what, but as the customer-facing part of the team, they need to take on more of that responsibility wrangling their builders. I am cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us and any future issues will be quickly addressed by NuWatt. Despite all the headaches getting here, I am pleased with my system and I wish them fairer winds in their future projects.

I highly recommend NuWatt for their excellent service. They installed my 8KW solar system in 2018 and promptly resolved a communication issue with the system. Their customer service was outstanding throughout the process. The system has been running smoothly ever since, and I am very satisfied with their work. Their commitment to service the system years after the installation is remarkable. If you are considering solar installation, I highly recommend NuWatt for their expertise and exceptional service.

Very good customer service and response time to questions. Installation was on time and completed by a crew that was efficient, tidy, polite and friendly. Knocked down to 4 stars only because we would have liked a more comprehensive understanding of each step and timing for the entire process. (Though we tend to like a LOT of information.) Once the panels were installed, there was some delay with the city and the electric company. This could have been in part b/c National Grid RI was in the process of becoming RI Energy, but there seemed to have also been some delay or miscommunication between NuWatt's electrician and RI Energy. In any event, it all worked out great and we're very happy with our decision. The team at NuWatt maximized the possible number of panels and helped us choose a great product that we feel confident will last a very long time and produce high output.

It will take time for me to decide on whether to go solar now. But I appreciate you taking time and providing detailed estimate and answering all my questions. Everything was highly professional and straight forward. Thank you,

Based on my experience, I wholeheartedly recommend NuWatt. Their combination of top-tier equipment, outstanding customer service, and commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction make them an ideal choice for anyone seeking a reliable and efficient solar solution.