Phoenix Solar Energy reviews
• last updated FEB 26, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
Phoenix Solar Energy went out of business under a cloud of contractor complaints and fraud investigations. One customer paid $25,805 in December 2019 for two Tesla batteries that failed during the first power outage after installation, then died completely four months later after a technician claimed he'd fixed the charging problem. Another homeowner signed in October 2019, paid $40,000 upfront, and by April 2020 still had non-functioning panels mounted on a damaged roof the installer never disclosed. We found 31 reviews describing value problems and 30 mentioning abandoned post-sale support. The California Contractors State License Board revoked the owner's license after investigating multiple fraud complaints, and the state created a consumer relief fund to reimburse victims. Subcontractors reported unpaid invoices stretching three months with no returned calls. One electrician made four trips to a single home because the company failed to coordinate who needed what parts, then blamed a hot tub for wiring damage their own crew caused when rewiring a breaker panel. (The homeowner had security footage proving no one ever showed up on the date Phoenix claimed they'd sent someone to fix it.)
If you're researching Phoenix Solar Energy because you found their name online, know that this company is defunct. The owner is barred from future contracting work in California, and former customers had to apply for state relief funds to recover deposits on systems that were never completed or activated.
Reviews That Shaped Our Verdict
Joan B. signed a contract in October 2019 to install solar panels and financed the purchase with a $40,000 loan. By April 2, 2020 the panels were physically in place but would not turn on, and the roof had been damaged during installation. Mario and Sandra came to the house to sell the system; Mario promised $1,500 in gift cards as a thank-you that never arrived and then stopped responding, leaving Joan to communicate mainly with Sandra and later David. The installation felt smooth at first, but Joan’s husband ordered a roof inspection right away and uncovered the damage. Technicians inspected the system afterward in hopes of activating it, but the panels never worked. When Joan followed up, Sandra redirected communication to herself; David eventually told her that he and Mario had left the company after deciding it was “shady” and that other customers faced similar problems. Joan suspects the company’s glowing reviews are from insiders. The situation left her with nonfunctional panels, a damaged roof, and a $40,000 loan in her name as of April 2020.
Laura bought two Tesla batteries in August 2019 for her home and then spent months waiting for the company to follow through. She discovered Christian De Lucca blamed a hold-up with the Town of Paradise, but she learned he hadn’t done the necessary legwork. Installation finally happened in mid-December after she paid $25,805 in full, yet she still lacked access to the battery monitoring five months later. When the neighborhood’s first power outage hit after installation, the Tesla system provided no backup power; a technician later found the batteries had never been connected to the internet. She chased the company for weeks—waiting a week for a receptionist to return a call, another week for a technician to arrive—and in February 2020 Tesla itself sent a tech because the batteries weren’t charging; he claimed to have fixed the issue, but the problem persisted. On April 27, 2020 a scheduled outage began at 8:00 a.m.; the batteries ran for about 15 minutes and then died, and her voicemail at 8:30 a.m. went unanswered. After paying a large sum she ended up with a backup system that didn’t work during outages and poor, delayed support.
Tomoyo signed a contract in August 2019 for Tesla Powerwall battery walls for the same ranch-style home where the company had installed solar the year before. She waited through the permitting process and, when installers arrived in mid-November, one left assuring her the battery would automatically kick in during outages—so she stocked the fridge. When the power did go out, the system didn’t switch over and she lost food. The office later explained a special breaker was required and “already ordered,” which made her realize the crew had known the system wouldn’t work at the time of install but hadn’t delayed work or warned her. The job never passed city inspection because the old breaker panel needed replacing; the installer returned on December 16, and by the time he left Tomoyo discovered her hot tub no longer worked. She asked Phoenix to send someone to check the lines and pointed out that the installer had left a part labeled "spear" on the panel, though nothing like that existed on her old box. A month passed with no one showing up. Frustrated, she filed a complaint with the BBB — then learned the company told the BBB it had sent an electrician on December 19 and fixed it
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 34
No Red Flags
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 7 years
BBB Rating: NR
Poor BBB standing. Significant complaints.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
Contractor License
License information could not be confirmed.
What You Can Expect
In 2019 Muni M. hired the company to install solar panels and a battery backup on their home, putting down a $1,000 deposit with a contract that called for 80% of the cost at installation and the remainder after activation. The day before crews arrived, the company phoned asking for that 80% up front to cover material delivery; Muni paid, the delivery and installation happened the next day — and then the company went silent. Calls and emails went unanswered, so Muni filed a complaint with the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). The CSLB investigated and uncovered a pattern of cheating several customers, revoked the contractor’s license, barred the owner from future business, and ordered the return of funds. While waiting to collect, CSLB contacted Muni about a state consumer-relief fund set up for fraud victims; through that program Muni ultimately recovered the full amount paid. The most striking detail for prospective buyers: a last-minute demand for the bulk payment preceded the disappearance, and the state consumer-relief fund — via CSLB action — was the route that recovered the money.
Glenda paid for a residential solar installation and discovered the company collected her money but never installed the panels. She ended up without the promised system, left feeling ripped off, and calls the business unreliable and dishonest. Her warning to others centers on the company taking payment and failing to deliver the installation.
Jennifer K. began a solar-plus-battery project in November 2019 and says she’s been strung along ever since. She paid nearly $12,000 — the bulk of the system cost — and ended up with a battery sitting in her garage while the installation remains frozen. She discovered there’s apparently no permit on file with the city, and Phoenix Solar appears to have abandoned the job. She has no working power wall, no documentation that the install was completed correctly, and no way to know whether the system would actually provide backup power in an outage. She compared the experience to dealing with snake-oil salesmen who took the money and left her with the problem. The lasting image: a paid-for battery in the garage, no permit, no functioning system, and ongoing uncertainty about whether it will ever work when power goes out.