Plan It Sierra Solar reviews

Albert shopped around for solar quotes for his East Bay home and called many companies before landing on PlanitSolar. He found most competitors tacked on extra fees and surcharges, but PlanitSolar kept pricing straightforward and walked him through the process in plain, easily understood terms. He appreciated that clarity during a big decision and ended up pleased with the installation quality, the price, and the team’s customer service. What stuck with him was the absence of hidden charges paired with genuinely friendly people.

Terrie F. owns a 24-panel system under warranty and opened a repair request in April 2023 after problems showed up. She waited months for action; techs finally arrived in fall 2023 and fixed several panels but left one unrepaired. They walked away without explaining what they’d done or telling her they were leaving, even though she had asked for that communication. After winter rains she discovered several water spots on the ceiling in the areas where work had been performed. She had paid a $250 service charge last July that the company insisted was mandatory even though the panels were under warranty. She placed numerous phone calls and emails asking for status and follow-up that went mostly unanswered. The only update she received was a call late in 2023 promising parts would be ordered and service scheduled — but by April 2024, a year after the initial inquiry, the repair still isn’t complete. Terrie doesn’t usually write reviews and tends to cut small businesses slack, but the drawn-out timeline, lack of communication, the out-of-pocket service fee on warranty work, and visible ceiling damage are what stand out: she just wants the remaining panel fixed and the job finished.

Thomas hired Aaron to inspect the solar system before closing on a house. Aaron pronounced the system “in great shape,” but months after moving in Thomas discovered the reality: the batteries were about ten years old and nearly dead, and the solar panels dated from the 1990s and barely produced power. Had he been given an accurate picture of those components and the upgrades needed, he would have made a different offer—now he faces roughly $15,000–$20,000 in replacement batteries and added panels. He tried to get answers from Aaron and SierraSolar, left multiple messages, and received no callbacks, which added to the frustration. Thomas also noticed the company has rolled out a new Yelp presence after poor reviews on their old page. The detail that sticks is the mismatch between the pre-purchase inspection’s assurance and the decade-plus aging of the system’s core parts, which turned into an immediate, costly surprise.

Don H. had a 64-panel ground-mount system installed in 2014, back when Cathy Colvin and Gilbert Mathew ran the company and the installation work was described as meticulous. After the business changed hands to Ali Fawad, he found the company’s responsiveness evaporated. When the SMA inverter began exhibiting arc faults, he expected the installer to handle the warranty claim, but the new ownership refused to engage. He ended up coordinating the repair himself: hiring a local electrician so SMA would agree to send a $10,000 replacement inverter under its warranty, then paying for the on-site work instead of getting coverage from Plan It Solar. Phone calls went unanswered and getting anyone to return a call became nearly impossible. He noticed the company’s positive reviews dropped off after the ownership change and points to Better Business Bureau complaints as confirmation. His lasting takeaway is tangible — a warranty issue that used to be handled now left him out-of-pocket for a major inverter replacement.

Jeff T. inherited a house with a Plan It Sierra Solar system that had been installed five years earlier. Seven months ago the array stopped producing, so he prepaid just over $500 for a service call and then waited—six months—before anyone showed up. When technicians finally arrived they found a different problem and told him the fix would require joining the back of the queue: at least another six months and several thousand dollars in prepaid fees to proceed. He refused to pay more. The experience ended with long delays, extra out‑of‑pocket costs, and no timely support. The concrete takeaway he leaves prospective buyers with: confirm written service‑response timelines and any prepayment or refund policies before committing to an installer.

Kelly S. purchased a home solar system covered by a 10-year warranty and discovered that when the inverter started throwing a persistent fault code, the array stopped reporting production to the utility and disappeared from her monitoring — even though the household internet worked fine. Her husband left numerous voicemails that went unanswered, and she called multiple times only to be repeatedly told a service meeting was scheduled “tomorrow” and someone would call back; weeks turned into months with no technician visit. They ended up living without remote monitoring and without the ability to share production data with the power company while under warranty. The most striking detail: the warranty didn’t translate into timely service — scheduling and callbacks became the real problem, not the hardware itself, and that lack of follow-through is what prospective buyers should watch for.

Ralph E. needed a new roof, so his ten-year-old solar array had to be uninstalled and reinstalled by a licensed solar contractor. He returned to Sierra Solar, the original installer now operating under new ownership, expecting a straightforward job. The crew uninstalled the system on schedule and the roofer finished in two days, but the reinstall stalled — it took nine weeks before the panels were back up and producing. A string of problems stretched the timeline and even required replacing eight squares of brand-new roofing. In the end he waited nine weeks and ended up with a reinstalled system plus those eight replaced roof squares.

Shane B. pursued a residential solar installation and ended up paying before the job was finished. He experienced persistent communication breakdowns: meetings and install dates were postponed or canceled with no notice. A third‑party licensed electrician inspected the work and discovered the company had tried to install undersized wiring; only after that electrician pushed back did the crew agree to upgrade to properly sized cable, and the electrician warned the higher cost likely explained their initial reluctance. Because he paid up front, he now has a system that remains partially installed and a contractor who won’t return calls or texts. The most striking detail: a paid-for, unfinished installation that stalled over wiring choices, followed by radio silence from the installer.

Marina ended up with a rooftop solar system that stopped working and then spent months waiting for the company to return phone calls. She experienced long delays in service, and when someone finally responded, a representative named Fawad handled each exchange rudely and with hostility. Frustrated, she dug into other customer feedback and found a pattern of negative reviews, and concluded the company felt like a scam — inept, dishonest, and unwilling to support a malfunctioning system. The detail that lingered for her was simple and stark: a nonworking system, months of ignored calls, and a single contact who made every interaction worse.