McWire Electric reviews
• last updated FEB 26, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
This company is effectively out of business, and you should avoid them entirely. We found 19 reviews describing a near-identical pattern: customers paid upfront, waited months with zero progress, then watched the company stop answering calls. One homeowner handed over $23,000 in September 2014 and a year later had nothing but a new breaker box and unanswered emails. Another paid for a system in 2014, received an $800 electric bill a year later because the panels weren't working, and spent two years trying to reach someone before learning the El Cajon office was deserted. The data shows post-sale support scored 2.2 out of 10, with 19 negative mentions and only 8 positive ones. Even a customer who initially praised their 2013 installation later rescinded the recommendation after the company relocated (or closed) and left his expanded system unconfigured. The few positive reviews are all from 2013-2015, before the collapse. If you're researching McWire today, you're chasing a ghost.
If you value your deposit or ever want to speak to your installer again, cross this company off your list immediately. The pattern is unmistakable: take payment, go silent, leave systems broken or unfinished.
Reviews That Shaped Our Verdict
E R. had residential solar panels installed by McWire Electric in March 2014, after a project that finished about four months late. They expected a computer app to monitor the system’s performance, but that monitoring tool never arrived. In March 2015 an $800 Southern California Edison bill arrived, and repeated attempts over the following two years to get McWire’s help went unanswered. When another similar bill showed up in March 2016, they concluded something was wrong with the installation. After hearing McWire might be out of business, they now plan to hire a different company to inspect the system and determine whether it actually works.
Richard L. had strongly recommended this company after a clean solar install in 2013, so he turned to them again recently to expand his array by about 20%. They finished the upgrade on schedule and charged the agreed contract price, but the follow-through fell apart: they did not reconfigure the enlarged system for online monitoring, leaving him to wrestle with the setup himself with help from Enphase tech support. After the upgrade the company stopped answering their phones and his visit to the El Cajon office found it deserted. One employee phoned to say the business now operates under the name McGuire Builders Group and had relocated, but Richard felt it was more likely they were out of business. Because he had to handle the monitoring configuration on his own and can no longer reach anyone there, he rescinded his prior recommendation.
Tom contracted McWire Electric in El Cajon, CA on 9/11/2014 for a residential solar system and handed over $23,000 up front. A year later he still had no panels on his ranch-style roof — the only work performed was a new circuit breaker box — and most communications went unanswered. He waited through unanswered calls and sporadic emails, found that office visits either produced no one or only a secretary or finance person, and watched project manager Melissa give a different excuse each time, even shifting blame onto him. The crew once set an installation day, never showed, and stopped answering calls. Now he’s trying to recover his payment while watching potential rebates edge closer to expiration, and he discovered the company’s BBB status listed as REVOKED. What sticks with him is this: an empty roof, a replaced breaker box, and a fight to get $23,000 back before incentives disappear.
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 53
Clean Record
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 13 years
Among the longest-standing installers in the market.
BBB Rating
Not BBB rated.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
Contractor License
License information could not be confirmed.
What You Can Expect
Tom contracted McWire Electric in El Cajon, CA on 9/11/2014 for a residential solar system and handed over $23,000 up front. A year later he still had no panels on his ranch-style roof — the only work performed was a new circuit breaker box — and most communications went unanswered. He waited through unanswered calls and sporadic emails, found that office visits either produced no one or only a secretary or finance person, and watched project manager Melissa give a different excuse each time, even shifting blame onto him. The crew once set an installation day, never showed, and stopped answering calls. Now he’s trying to recover his payment while watching potential rebates edge closer to expiration, and he discovered the company’s BBB status listed as REVOKED. What sticks with him is this: an empty roof, a replaced breaker box, and a fight to get $23,000 back before incentives disappear.
Judy S. hired McWire for a home solar installation and ended up waiting 38 days for SDG&E approval after the company got hung up over a small plaque that needed to be posted. Melissa argued with the utility about the plaque, and only when the plaque was finally mounted and a photo uploaded did approval arrive—about an hour later—allowing the system to be switched on. When she moved to finalize payment and request the two months’ loan reimbursement Melissa had promised back in August, McWire stonewalled; emails to Yenela and phone calls went unanswered. Instead the company demanded full payment by 11/30/2015 and threatened to report her to credit agencies for lack of communication, so she paid and walked away. She worries the advertised 30-year warranty won’t hold up and wishes independent maintenance options existed, even though the array itself was installed as promised and is working well. What stuck with her was losing more than a month to a paperwork snag and being pushed into an ultimatum—good hardware, but shaken trust in the company’s service and follow-through.
Tracy B. watched a KUSI news segment and discovered an elderly woman on a fixed income had paid McWire for a solar installation and, nine months later, still had no panels. She watched the company initially blame SDG&E for the delay, then—after persistent questioning—admit it simply didn’t have enough panels to complete the contracted job. Convinced senior citizens are being targeted, she sees the situation as especially cruel: a vulnerable customer left waiting and financially strained until the media intervened. That nine-month gap, the admission of no inventory, and the slow response after publicity left her questioning McWire’s stability and future ability to handle warranty or repair issues. Tracy urges prospective buyers to do a thorough search on the company before paying and left a blunt closing: "Get it together McWire!"