Direct Energy Solar reviews

John P. chose Direct Energy Solar for an 11.4 kW rooftop system and ended up going more than 18 months without receiving an electric bill. From the first meeting through installation and commissioning, the team kept him informed, stayed ahead of every deadline, and laid out timelines and costs plainly. He found them straightforward and transparent, and the system has been performing reliably. The detail that sticks: an 11.4 kW install that delivered over a year and a half of zero electric bills.

Jonathan B. signed up for a residential solar installation after a very positive pre‑sales experience with the former Astrum Solar team. He discovered the project manager who had been highly responsive was abruptly fired mid‑project without any notice or account transition. Because internal communications vanished, the company treated him as delinquent, shut off his solar array and cost him four days of production before he even knew his project manager was gone. He encountered a second abrupt staff termination in the same way — no handoff, no warning. Over the next two years the system never reached its production guarantee. After a month of persistent emailing, the company finally conceded the system was underperforming and calculated an adjustment — but they reduced the payout by treating the earlier four days of downtime as “over‑performing” days to lower what they owed. When payment was finally approved, the check‑printing system was reportedly down for two weeks and Direct Energy refused multiple offers to pay by wire, ACH or Venmo, insisting he wait for a paper check. He had once trusted the Direct Energy brand enough to sign a two‑year electrical production agreement,;—

Tom began the process with Astrum in June 2014, signing up for roughly a $52,000 rooftop solar system after a salesperson promised it would cut his electric bill in half, generate about $4,000 a year in SREC checks, and deliver tax savings. Because the tax credit hinged on a 2014 installation, he pushed the construction team to meet the year‑end deadline — but the job didn’t finish until December 30, 2015. He then discovered the system had never actually been switched on and watched his utility bills climb instead of fall. After repeated emails, calls, and the threat of legal action, someone at Astrum admitted his system wasn’t even in their tracking system. An update revealed the installers simply forgot to turn the array on: he had paid in December, months passed with no generation, and only later did the system go live. Astrum was sold to Direct Energy, which cut him an $800 check for missed savings and has kept the system running since — the clearest lasting image from his experience is that a six‑figure investment sat idle because no one flipped the switch, and it took a change of ownership to get it straightened out.

Mike R. had ASTRUM design and install a home solar system in December 2012. Five years later, after his account moved to Direct Energy, a relatively simple squirrel issue knocked the system offline — and the follow-up became the core of his frustration. He discovered the field technicians were competent and helpful, but the office side stumbled: calls often went unanswered or took days to return, emails commonly needed a week for any reply, and the company gave no clear timetable. The array has sat shut down for three months with no resolution in sight. Frustrated by the slow, understaffed-feeling response, he decided any future repairs will be handled by a third-party contractor — the detail that stuck with him was not the initial installation, but three months of downtime and no ETA from the provider.

Jack installed solar on his home about six years ago and has been fighting two frustrating problems ever since: failing microinverters and a missing $1,600 SREC check. He discovered that service for the microinverters became a mess because coordination between the installer, their contracted service provider and that company’s subcontractor collapsed. The system ended up producing about 15% less, and the company leaned on the contract’s minimum production guarantee to refuse further maintenance for the faulty parts — leaving him to absorb the shortfall. At the same time the company insisted the $1,600 SREC payment had been mailed two months earlier. A month into the delay he learned there had been an issue with checks to Massachusetts customers and was asked to wait a week — nothing arrived. Ten days later he was promised the "special finance group" would investigate and call back; no follow-up came. Calling again today yielded the same excuse — the finance group is backlogged and the rep would message them again — but after two months there’s still no check and no return call. The detail that lingers: contractual minimums protected the company while repeated promises from the "s p

Alexandra R. went with Direct Energy Solar for a residential panel system a year ago because they pitched the best coverage-for-price compared with other bids. Shortly after the install she discovered one panel never worked, and it took more than a month before the system linked to the monitoring app so she could see generation numbers. The company had promised roughly 123% average use coverage, but her bills dropped by less than 60%. She spent a year making repeated phone calls to reach customer service; when someone finally responded they acknowledged they had underestimated her actual usage and essentially shifted responsibility to her, saying homeowners needed to check the detailed kWh assumptions and raise the alarm if the proposal’s inputs were wrong. The company offered little support beyond that and framed the shortfall as something to be thankful for because some solar energy was produced. She concluded the estimate had been lowballed to win the sale: an expensive system that didn’t deliver the promised coverage, minimal customer service, and no accountability for the incorrect proposal assumptions. Her takeaway for anyone considering this company: demand the exact kWh

Bill H. hired Astrum Solar to outfit his home with panels and watched the job through a team led by Robert and Jonathan, with crews including Christopher, James, Felix, Servando, Justin and Jeramy — plus a couple of names he couldn’t quite recall. He noticed right away that every Astrum employee treated the house carefully and was polite to talk with; that professional, respectful approach became the defining feature of the project. He awarded the company top marks (AAAAA+) for the overall experience. Two years on, the system is still working great, and he remains very happy he went solar with them.

Bernhard enjoyed his Direct Energy Solar system (installed when the company operated as Astrum Solar) for about five years. Then two microinverters failed, and he spent the next two months trying to get the company to come out and repair them. He discovered that Direct Energy Solar has withdrawn from Ohio and no longer keeps installation or service crews nearby, so the firm has not fulfilled its contractual obligation to repair the system. The distinctive and frustrating detail: after years of dependable service, the local exit left him with two broken microinverters and no on-the-ground support despite an expected warranty/repair commitment.

Rick A. had his residential solar system installed by Astrum Solar several years ago and was pleased with that original work. After Direct Energy Solar bought Astrum, he watched the relationship unravel when service became necessary. Four months ago one inverter stopped working; after multiple calls and emails he finally got a response only to be told the company was very busy and would schedule service when an opening appeared. As the weeks passed and the sun came out, three more inverters failed and left him with four inverters not producing any power. He found customer-service staff consistently polite but trapped in a cycle of apologies and delays — more focused on explaining than on fixing the problem — and concluded the company appears to prioritize signing new customers over supporting existing systems, lacking the personnel and inventory to respond quickly. He also pointed readers to a comment from Chrysa T that he felt clarified the same breakdown in service. For now the standout image is simple and frustrating: sunny days with four inverters offline while service requests sit unanswered.