180 Solar Power reviews
• last updated FEB 26, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
We recommend 180 Solar Power without reservation. One Escondido homeowner's electricity bill dropped from $600 per summer month to a $50 annual true-up, saving $200 monthly even with loan payments. Another customer designed a system to cover 75% of usage and ended up producing 130% of their needs. We found 33 reviews praising workmanship quality and 35 highlighting strong value, with nearly perfect scores across installation execution and project management. What sets this company apart is owner Peter Stern's custom design approach. He answers technical questions without pressure, sizes systems based on actual usage patterns rather than standard templates, and personally visits homes when concerns arise. The installation crews consistently finish ahead of schedule (one reviewer noted completion a full day early), position panels precisely on rooflines, and clean job sites thoroughly. After installation, they remain responsive to service calls for years. One reviewer reported prompt fixes whenever issues arose, and another had panels added in 2024 without triggering unfavorable NEM3 rules because the team knew regulatory workarounds. The only recurring complaint involves communication gaps during permitting, with a few customers missing unscheduled appointment windows or waiting for status updates.
If you want the absolute lowest quote with zero follow-up questions, you might find cheaper elsewhere. But if you value a solar company that'll size your system correctly the first time and still answer your calls three years later when you need a battery retrofit, 180 Solar Power is worth the premium.
Reviews That Shaped Our Verdict
John followed his neighbors’ lead after they raved about 180 Solar Power and met with the company when he began shopping for panels. He hired them last year and discovered the process felt low-pressure from the start — there was no hard sell, and the owner, Peter Stern, took time to come out and work through design and configuration questions in person. The installation crew arrived on time, kept the site tidy each day, and wrapped the job a day ahead of schedule. Most striking, the system cut his household electric bill from about $400 a month to roughly $10 a month, leaving him with the savings he expected and a clear measure of the project’s success.
After fielding a stream of sales pitches, Lynn connected with Peter, who shared far more useful detail than the others and felt refreshingly honest from the start. She made clear she wouldn’t call the job excellent unless the company earned it from start to finish. A year after a residential installation, Lynn ended up with a $0 true‑up on her SDG&E bill and a leftover credit — and she did that without adding a battery. The team kept looking after customers after the panels went up, stepping in with follow‑up care rather than disappearing once the paperwork was signed. What made the experience stick was that upfront candor matched the results: competitive price, solid system performance, and real customer service that continued after installation. The concrete takeaway for Lynn was simple and memorable — a full year later she owed nothing and still had credit on her account.
Kerri bought her house in 2020 and moved in during a brutal Escondido summer, so she ended up running the air nonstop and was stunned when the electricity bills climbed — minimum of about $600 in summer and an average near $550 over three years. She tried to ignore the pushy door-to-door solar pitches, but one local call from a polite salesperson named Ben felt different, so she agreed to hear the owner Peter out. He walked her through a plan two days later, answered every question calmly and matter-of-factly, and she felt comfortable moving forward. What set the experience apart was how quickly and smoothly it moved: two friends who began their solar projects earlier still waited over a year, while her system was installed and finished within four months. Peter and his assistant Laura kept the paperwork and scheduling tight, and the installation crew arrived on time, worked professionally, positioned the panels neatly, and left the roof and yard clean. She now uses an app to watch production and is almost obsessed with the real-time numbers. The first financial payoff made the decision concrete — her annual SDG&E true-up came to only $50. She’s paying about $300 a month toward
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 92
Clean Record
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 11 years
Operating longer than most installers in the market.
BBB Rating: A+
Excellent BBB standing. Strong complaint resolution.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
Licensed Contractor
A valid contractor license is on record.
What You Can Expect
After fielding a stream of sales pitches, Lynn connected with Peter, who shared far more useful detail than the others and felt refreshingly honest from the start. She made clear she wouldn’t call the job excellent unless the company earned it from start to finish. A year after a residential installation, Lynn ended up with a $0 true‑up on her SDG&E bill and a leftover credit — and she did that without adding a battery. The team kept looking after customers after the panels went up, stepping in with follow‑up care rather than disappearing once the paperwork was signed. What made the experience stick was that upfront candor matched the results: competitive price, solid system performance, and real customer service that continued after installation. The concrete takeaway for Lynn was simple and memorable — a full year later she owed nothing and still had credit on her account.
Kevin Peake hired the company to add a battery backup to his home solar setup, and what was meant to be an upgrade turned into a frustrating string of mistakes. He discovered they ordered a part that didn’t fit his system, which pushed the battery work back, and once crews did arrive the installation stretched out many more days than he’d been told it would. During site work they severed a sprinkler line while clearing brush and didn’t mention the damage. The most damaging moment came the first time the power went out: the battery failed to kick on automatically, which defeated the whole purpose of having a backup. The company also promised a rebate incentive, but after 18 months of waiting he learned his system was ineligible. When the job wrapped up they even left a tool bag in his yard and had to be called back to retrieve it. He doesn’t believe the problems were outright deceitful, just the result of inexperience — and the thing that stuck with him was that the backup didn’t work when he actually needed it.
About 2.5 years after his July 21, 2019 review, Steve L. checked back in and found his home solar system continued to perform exactly as expected. When he was weighing an external battery, Peter took the time to answer every question and walked him through the pros and cons instead of pushing another sale — an approach Steve described as "doing the right thing." He reiterated the impressions from his original experience: the crew worked quickly, left the site immaculately clean (so much so he initially wondered if anyone had even been on the roof), and handled the job professionally. Those concrete details — prompt service, a spotless worksite, and honest, non‑pushy guidance on additional equipment — are why he keeps referring them to neighbors and friends. The thing that stuck with him most was Peter’s patient, no‑pressure help on the battery decision, which turned a potential upsell into useful information.