Borrego Solar Systems reviews

Mary L. hired Borrego Solar to install a rooftop system around 2004 after putting a new 40-year roof on her ranch-style home. She discovered the crew had attached the system despite her house having only a 60-amp service — too small to support the setup — and the installation failed the electrical inspection. The company ended up paying to upgrade her service so the system could pass and they could collect their final check, a fix that stretched the project to more than six months despite their guarantee that it would pass before final payment. She found the subcontractors competent but blamed the middlemen and sales staff for the oversight, and noted the inspector implied this wasn’t the company’s first time making that mistake. The equipment itself has outlasted the warranty — she paid for a high-end inverter and the panels have no moving parts — so she hopes the panels fail before the new roof does. The lasting image for her is the costly, avoidable electrical upgrade that turned a promised timeline into a long headache, and it’s why she dreads having to hire anyone to repair or replace the system.

Darrell hired Borrego Solar to put panels on his Ramona home in early 2004 after a neighbor recommended them and the company promised ongoing monitoring of the system’s wattage. A few years later Borrego shifted its business to commercial projects and stopped monitoring his system, which left him disappointed. Fast forward 12 years: when he needed a reroof, he called Borrego to arrange removal and reinstallation of the panels, but the company declined to help and passed along the name of another installer. Several calls with that referral led nowhere, Borrego didn’t follow up when Darrell rang back, and other solar companies he contacted were willing to remove the panels but refused to reinstall the existing system, saying they wouldn’t take responsibility for equipment they hadn’t designed. He ended up feeling abandoned after investing in the original installation, believing Borrego should have grandfathered residential customers and continued the services they originally promised. The result: a paid-for system with no help from the original installer and few options to have those same panels reinstalled.

James B. hired the company to outfit his home with a 15-panel, 3.7 kwh system and, thanks to state and federal rebates, ended up paying about $13,000. He discovered Jason’s knack for system configuration — sizing, cost trade-offs and panel placement — and that hands-on expertise produced real results: his electric bill plunged from roughly $175–$200 a month to about $50–$150 a year, and the system paid for itself in around 36 months. He walked away with 15 Sharp panels under 25‑year contracts and a German Sunny Boy inverter (he found the inverter flawless and thinks spending about 20% more for quality was worth it), plus a 10‑year warranty from the installer, Borrego. Then the company let Jason go and dropped its private-residence division, leaving him without the promised back-up; Borrego no longer assists with problems. They had also promised an annual roof check and panel cleaning — something he values because dirty panels can cut efficiency by up to 7% — but that service vanished, so he’s now doing his own maintenance. The sharp contrast between Jason’s personal service and the company’s later withdrawal sticks: he still enjoys virtually free electricity (about 35 cents a day,—