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PetersenDean Roofing & Solar reviews
• updated MAR 3, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
This company should not be on your list. We analyzed hundreds of reviews and found a pattern of catastrophic project failures and vanishing support once the contract is signed. One homeowner watched workers shoot nails through rotted decking that blew out the bottom of the eaves, then spent nine months sweeping rainwater off an exposed roof in the middle of the night while waiting for someone at PetersenDean to produce an actual engineering drawing. Another paid cash for a whole-house battery that caught fire twice, burning through relays and current sensors, and couldn't get anyone to return calls between repair visits. The delays are structural, not isolated. Reviews mention eight-month waits between signing and installation, systems that never get turned on, and support reps who promise follow-up then disappear from the company entirely. When things go wrong, the response is silence. We found 74 reviews describing serious roof failures, leaks, mold, and rotted decking, with customers reporting they had to leave messages for weeks before anyone acknowledged the problem. Even customers who praised the installation crews noted it took a full year of redesigns and city approvals before work could start.
If you're weighing PetersenDean against other installers, know that the risk here isn't just a bad install. It's spending months chasing people who won't return your calls while your roof leaks or your system sits idle. The pattern is too consistent to ignore.
3 Stories That Stood Out
Ludek K. had just bought a house in San Diego and, after interviewing four companies, chose PetersenDean—the largest and most expensive—expecting a prompt, professional re‑roof and later a solar system and main panel upgrade. He signed a December 2016 contract for a full re‑roof priced at $22,000; the crew started on time, but he quickly discovered new roofing material being applied over a rotted deck and nails blowing out the eaves. Work stopped, the new material was pulled off, and as the old roof was stripped he realized the team had no plan to fix the sagging flat portion he’d explicitly described. A foreman eventually sketched a three‑foot peak solution on a napkin and demanded an extra $10,000; with rain coming and the house exposed, he felt forced to agree. More rain followed, the tarp job failed, and water began getting inside; he spent rainy nights sweeping water off the roof and juggling every bucket, trashcan and cereal bowl in the house while crews who barely spoke English offered little help. At one point the crew cut a hole in the roof deck and bolted a structural support to an interior wall without engineering drawings or permits, so he stopped the job and hired a別e外
Mike P. went into the project wanting to be responsible: he paid cash for a full solar system for his small house and asked PetersenDean to design the maximum number of panels that would fit. What started with a July contract turned into a months-long planning marathon — multiple redesigns from August through December as the team worked through panel layout, garage equipment placement and city approvals. The Enphase panels and internet monitoring finally went live in December and the PG&E bill fell dramatically. The panels have run perfectly. Then he decided to add the deluxe option: a whole-house backup battery in the garage. The battery selection and install proved fiddly — local code was strict, ceiling clearance ruled out the largest JLM unit, and in February the crew installed a Sunverge battery and cabinet instead. The battery came with internet monitoring that he could view on a web page; PetersenDean set a Wi‑Fi extender so the unit could reach his home network. At first the Sunverge system behaved, but over the spring the connection started dropping for days at a time and got steadily worse. In May the battery lost all connectivity and then suffered a catastrophic fail:,
James had Petersen Dean install solar panels on his roof in 2017 and, after a lengthy delay for the original install, the array worked and he got the paperwork. In 2019 he brought Petersen Dean back to add a Tesla backup battery. At first the battery system behaved normally, but he never received the final pricing or warranty paperwork for that installation. When December storms rolled through, he discovered a more serious problem: after Petersen Dean’s electrical contractor rewired a backed-up circuit, the GFCI on that circuit began tripping every time it rained, even though utility power never went out. That circuit runs a refrigerator, so the intermittent trips could lead to spoiled food. The two people he had worked with during purchase and install — Michael Karlberg and Victor Tapere — no longer appear to be with the company, so he contacted another rep, Fred Carino, by email and phone to get the missing documents and the electrician’s contact. Fred said he would pass the request to Victor, but days passed with no reply; Victor’s voicemail now goes to someone named Jessica Reese. Multiple follow-ups to Fred and Jessica drew no response. In the end he was left with a battery‑t‑
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 47
Buyer Beware
Unauthorized Activities
2 reports
Misleading Claims
8 reports
Background Check
Serving customers for 17 years
Among the longest-standing installers in the market.
BBB Rating
Not BBB rated.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
What You Can Expect
Almost five years ago Denise chose this company to replace her roof and install a full solar array. The process felt managed from end to end: Lucas walked her through what to expect during the sales visit, then Jasmin coordinated permits, crews and timing, keeping her updated by email and phone and answering questions the same day or the next. Install crews stayed polite, respectful and tidy, and the monitoring app Enlighten matched what she expected. A year later she added more panels and a battery backup; the team again guided her through the choices and installation. A service technician, Edward Campos, now monitors the system, stopped by during installation and drops in when he spots something off; when the company switched her to the SolarEdge app she didn’t like the interface, but texting Edward gets a fast reply. She paid a bit more for the complete system up front, but found the extra cost worth it for the responsiveness — when problems have come up (rarely), a single call gets things resolved.
Sylvia S. had solar panels installed on her home four years ago and is now lining up a backup battery installation. Over those years she found the crew consistently reliable and encountered no service problems. The most useful part of the experience was the hands-on help: the company guided her through rebate paperwork and handled the HOA interactions, which smoothed both the original install and the upcoming battery add-on. Because of that practical support and trouble-free performance, she chose to work with them again — the assistance with rebates and HOA approvals is what made the process genuinely easy.
Julie F. contracted with Solar4America in October 2019 for a residential solar installation and a replacement roof. She watched installation dates get pushed back, then learned the seven‑year‑old roof would have to be replaced before panels could go up. COVID hit, and after months of persistent phone calls and emails the company went silent — phones unanswered and emails bouncing back — even though she had already paid deposits for the solar and the roof plus the first milestone payment. She later learned Solar4America had been bought by SPI and Solar Juice, and was told those companies would complete the job. By 2021 Solar Juice backed out and declined to fulfill the contract. The result: she ended up without the system or a new roof and out just under $20,000, a severe financial blow for a one‑income household and a reminder of how long and costly contractor handoffs can go wrong.
Romain hired Petersen Dean to replace his roof and install solar on his home. The installation itself went smoothly and the subcontracted roofer did a fantastic job, but he ended up with more than a pallet of leftover tiles and the uneasy feeling that he paid Petersen Dean for work they farmed out. About a year after the install the inverter went down. Over the next three months he called Petersen Dean roughly eight times with no return calls or answers. When he contacted SolarEdge, they said a replacement inverter could be shipped immediately if Petersen Dean would authorize it — instead Petersen Dean blamed COVID-19 restrictions and declined to arrange the repair. He pushed back, pointing out the inverter sits outside and no in-home contact is needed, but for now his solar system stays offline while he continues to shoulder both his solar loan and full SCE bills. What lingers is a stack of unused roof tiles and eight unanswered calls while the panels sit idle during the sunniest days of the year.
Alec F. liked the original job on 6/5/2014: the crew used high-quality materials, left tidy workmanship, and cleaned the site. Early this February he discovered a single shingle had slipped and, since the roof remained under warranty, called Petersen Dean to have it reattached. Petersen Dean refused to send someone to inspect and pushed him to contact the shingle manufacturer instead. The manufacturer asked for a one-foot piece of roofing for evaluation, which he declined to provide. After calling Petersen Dean again, they said they'd check their schedule, but nobody followed up — and now two shingles have come loose. He’s arranging a local roofer to fix the damage and plans to forward the bill to Petersen Dean, leaving him to decide what action to take next. What began with one loose shingle turned into a months-long back-and-forth and an unanswered warranty call.
Michael M. waited nearly three years for Solar 4 America to follow through and ended up with nothing. He discovered the company appears to be launching a new solar business under a different name, seemingly to avoid honoring its Solar 4 America agreements and responsibilities. Frustrated, he escalated the issue to state and county attorneys so they could review what he describes as a lack of professionalism. The standout detail: after years of waiting there was no installation, and legal inquiries are now in motion.
Kelli V. owned a large, historic house that sent summer electric bills past $1,000, so in 2014 she chose a system sized to cover the home year-round. The panels delivered exactly that outcome: since installation she hasn’t seen an electric bill over $25, had a single $400 true‑up in the first year and zero true‑ups after that. The equipment has performed without problems, but she ran into one recurring annoyance — her internet provider frequently drops the connection to the Enphase monitoring app, and restoring the feed isn’t quick or simple. She wishes PD would handle remote monitoring support, because otherwise the system has provided steady, predictable savings.
Cathy D. hired Peterson-Dean — operating as Solar4America and other trade names — to replace her roof and install solar panels in 2019, paying about $27,000 for the combined job. When the roof saw its first rain she discovered it was leaking; crews came out twice to try to fix the problem. After the second visit technicians believed they had found and repaired the source, but the leak returned. Now she’s left with a persistently leaking roof and multiple companies — Peterson-Dean/Solar4America and Solar Juice — pointing fingers instead of taking responsibility for a proper repair.
In 2018 Anthony had nearly 9 kW of panels installed on his home, but the crew paired them with a 6 kW inverter — a mismatch that capped production for roughly five hours each day. About a year later the inverter failed, and the replacement process stretched nearly six weeks. He pushed repeatedly to have the inverter upgraded so the array could reach its intended output, but the company never moved forward with the change. When he pressed customer service for answers, he encountered dismissive technical explanations that he, as an electrical engineer, recognized as incorrect. He ended up with an oversized panel array that is routinely peak‑limited, long delays for repairs, and no successful resolution to the inverter mismatch.
Long-term Satisfaction
Long-term satisfaction for PetersenDean Roofing & Solar drops to 2.7 ★ compared to early reviews. This decline is worse than 67% of installers we looked at.
Long-term reviews carry the most weight in our methodology because they are most representative of what you should be paying for: a system that will perform for years.