Ra Solar reviews
• last updated FEB 26, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
Ra Solar is not a safe bet. We found dozens of reports of equipment failures left unresolved for months, customers forced to hire outside electricians at 10% of their original install cost, and allegations that the company filed for bankruptcy with no assets to pursue. One homeowner's system went down in March 2022 and by February 2023 they still had no fix, only repeated no-shows from technicians who arrived without the right ladder or safety harness. Another customer documented months of radio silence after paying a deposit for an add-on project that never happened. Workmanship scores are middling (4.2 out of 5), but post-sale support sits at 3.3, and project management at 3.3. We noticed 60 reviews describing delays, missed appointments, and broken communication promises, with some customers alleging scam-like behavior. Even customers who had smooth installs in 2019 and 2020 report that responsiveness evaporates once the system is live. The price may look competitive, but that discount buys you zero peace of mind if something breaks a year later. If you need an installer who'll still answer the phone when your panels stop working, look elsewhere.
If you're willing to gamble that nothing will go wrong after installation, the pricing might tempt you. But if you want an installer who'll show up with the right equipment when your system fails, or who won't vanish when you need warranty support, Ra Solar is not worth the risk.
Reviews That Shaped Our Verdict
itzram had solar panels installed on their home in June 2021 and watched the system perform normally until March 29, 2022, when problems began. They struggled to reach Varney for months; when someone finally came out the technicians repeatedly showed up without the right ladder, safety harness or sufficient crew, and the visits failed to fix the issue. By February 2023 the array remained unrepaired. Frustrated, they hired a third‑party solar repair company and paid nearly 10% of the original installation cost just to get an inspection. After many hours on the roof and input from the repair firm’s senior electrician, the third party concluded the original design and installation were suboptimal and that significant rewiring and rerouting of circuits would be required. They then engaged a lawyer, who discovered Ra Solar had gone bankrupt and carried no assets, leaving Varney effectively beyond reach for monetary recovery and customers without support. The final, sharp takeaway: as of Feb 2023 the panels were still not fixed, they had already paid a sizable inspection bill out of pocket, and the lawyer’s finding that Ra Solar is insolvent left them responsible for any costly repairs.
Victor had a rooftop solar system put in back in 2019 and found the relationship with Ra Solar bumpy from the start—slow responses, missed follow-ups, and a steady drip of small but important oversights. The clearest example: the crew never offered or installed inexpensive consumption meters (about $80 and roughly a 15‑minute add-on) that work with an Enphase IQ Gateway/Combiner and feed data into the Enphase Enlighten app. Because they skipped that step, he now faces either ripping out part of the conduit to pull new wires or paying the company about $1,000 to install the meters later. That tradeoff — an add‑on that should have been trivial at the time of install turning into a costly, disruptive fix — is what stuck with him most. On top of that, the installers wired the strings into the combiner the wrong way so the system showed no production; Victor ended up fixing that wiring himself rather than keep waiting. The initial inspection also failed because crews used Romex where THHN should have been pulled, which raised safety concerns even though no further problems have appeared since. He tried to give Ra Solar another chance a few months ago when he wanted an add‑on done in
Andrew N. hired RA Solar in late 2020 to put rooftop panels on his home and add a Panasonic EverVolt battery backup. The crew who mounted the panels arrived in November 2020 and handled the physical install well, but the PG&E permitting process dragged on for months before final approval. Once the battery work began, things unraveled: the EverVolt would not come reliably online, RA Solar had to bring Panasonic technicians into the loop, and the project suffered concrete technical failures — persistent internet connectivity problems to the battery and the absence of backup electrical panels that should have been in place. After those setbacks, promises to follow up kept falling through. He ran into repeated missed calls and unanswered emails, long stretches of radio silence even after permits cleared, and no satisfactory response about the SGIP rebate despite months of attempts. Andrew gave Varney and the small, local company multiple chances and attributed some frustration to COVID-related delays, but the pattern of poor post‑installation service eroded trust and left him documenting nearly every interaction. His key takeaway: the low price didn’t make up for the headache — if a PV
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 46
No Red Flags
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 12 years
Operating longer than most installers in the market.
BBB Rating: D-
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
build03glosses had RA Solar install panels on their ranch-style home back in 2018 and remembers that first job as excellent under a standout project manager. When Varney called about adding panels a year ago to lock in the old rates, they handed over a $1,000 deposit and expected a prompt follow-up. Instead they spent the next nearly twelve months calling and emailing every month, only hearing back from an admin with vague promises that scheduling was “in progress.” After repeated attempts, they finally discovered the permit had been approved — but the company hadn’t paid the city and no installation date was set. What began as a five-star experience soured into a kind of silence that left them baffled and considering a complaint to the contracting license board if RA Solar doesn’t provide clear, accurate install dates. The detail that lingers: the permit exists, the deposit is paid, and yet the company has effectively ghosted the customer while the city fee remains unpaid.
Khalid had a residential solar system put on in 2020 and quickly discovered the installation was wrong: the installer picked incorrect products and fitted them improperly. Communication broke down—the company stopped answering messages and, at one point, even yelled at him. Left with a malfunctioning array, he turned to Marshall Scott (marshall@sunmarshall.com). Marshall diagnosed the Enphase problem at no charge, coordinated delivery of the correct inverters and completed the swap promptly. After that intervention the system began performing properly; Khalid highlights the free diagnosis and the swift, professional inverter replacement as the detail that finally fixed the situation.
Sam Baskar installed a solar array in 2020 and walked away so pleased he sent friends their way. He returned this year to expand that original system and discovered a frustrating mismatch: his actual inverter is a 3800, but the upgrade quote listed 7600 and implied it would handle the extra panels. After the new modules went up, the system simply hit its production ceiling and the added panels delivered no measurable benefit. He found the on-site installer, Gustavo, to be excellent, and reached out to Varney for troubleshooting; Varney installed a new microcontroller in an effort to restore performance. Sam had given five stars after the first install, dropped to two stars in 2023 when the upgrade went poorly, and has now raised his rating to four stars because Varney is actively trying to fix things. The clearest takeaway for anyone expanding a system: double-check the inverter model and rated capacity on upgrade quotes—mismatched specs can make new panels effectively pointless until someone corrects the control hardware.