Swell Energy reviews

Four years ago, Cindy embarked on a solar install for her 115‑year‑old house and wound up in a long, frustrating ordeal after the original company folded about a year and a half in. She discovered an inflated bill and that the two Tesla Powerwalls she had negotiated for never arrived; the salesman who had sold the system and who was a personal friend couldn’t fix it and she was left with nothing to power the home after sunset. After stewing over the loss, she got an unexpected call from Swell — someone had run into her original salesperson, learned about the missing batteries, and stepped in to try to right the wrong. A Swell rep handled reams of paperwork and introduced her to project coordinator Rina Alluin, who rebuilt the project from scratch and kept at it despite utility delays and a nine‑month backorder on the Powerwalls. Rina navigated slow responses from Edison, kept Cindy updated regularly, tolerated her rants and complaints, even learned the family cat’s name, and stayed relentlessly helpful and personable through the long wait. In the end, Swell secured approval, the two Tesla Powerwalls were installed, and Edison issued the Permission to Operate. Cindy walked away most

Brian L. hired Swell to handle a battery installation tied to the SGIP incentive — a process that stretched into the long haul but never felt abandoned. He found the team kept him updated on progress on a regular basis, even when there wasn’t much to report, and they warned up front that the SGIP timeline could be lengthy. The program did take one year and one day to complete, exactly as they predicted, and the local subcontractors Swell brought in performed an outstanding job on the actual installation. In the end he ended up with a finished system and the clear memory that steady communication plus skilled local crews made the extended wait much easier to live with.

Tracy C. waited 17 months for solar storage through the PGIP program, and what started as steady progress unraveled after a staffing change in April. She learned Swell had a Sept. 1 install penciled in, only for the company to return in mid‑October with new issues and a demand that she cover $3,100 to move forward — a cost she agreed to. Today Swell emailed to say that payment arrangement was no longer on the table. After a year and a half of delays, a shifted coordinator, a promised install date, a requested fee she accepted, and then a sudden reversal, she found the whole process confusing at best and untruthful at worst. Her concrete takeaway: enduring 17 months of waiting plus a reneged $3,100 agreement left her urging anyone with other options to go elsewhere.

Elizabeth embarked on a two-year project to outfit her home with rooftop solar and two Tesla Powerwalls. Gary encouraged her to apply for the PG&E SGIP rebate, and Swell handled every bit of the application paperwork—a service she couldn’t get from other installers. Gary warned the process might take a long time, so she agreed to wait; that patience paid off when funding for a medical baseline rebate finally came through. Nicole Gibson provided regular updates and stayed responsive and professional throughout the long wait. In the end she walked away with the two Powerwalls and solar installed, the SGIP rebate secured, and a seamless paperwork experience — the most memorable part being Swell’s willingness to manage the SGIP application and stick with the multi-year process until the medical-baseline funding was obtained.

Josh launched a complex energy overhaul in June 2020: a Powerwall project tied to the SGIP program with PG&E that he expanded by asking the subcontractor, Connected Technology, to add a 10 kW solar array so his home could approach true off-grid operation. He navigated months of regulatory and utility hurdles involving PG&E and Tesla, and Swell stayed on top of every detail—calling and checking in even when there was nothing new to report. Swell also reworked the existing permit so the new solar could be added to the Powerwall install, and the company coordinated seamlessly with the solar subcontractor and a separate roofing contractor when Josh replaced the roof during the project. Completion finally arrived in December 2021, and the combined PG&E rebate for the Powerwalls plus the federal solar tax credit trimmed nearly $50,000 from the bill. Since activating the system, he has been strongly net-negative on energy—charging his Chevy Volt most nights while rarely drawing from PG&E—and the backup power can run his well during outages, bolstering his wildfire defenses. During the River Fire his house was spared after four retardant drops on the property, and that extra resilience now

Bruce E. hired Swell for a home solar-plus-battery install, and two years later he still hasn't received a final inspection. He discovered repeated lost plan revisions and stepped into a tug-of-war between Swell and the installers, with communication breaking down throughout the project. During installation the crew energized the house with 220 volts and ended up frying roughly 70% of his equipment — anything that lacked a hard off switch failed. The batteries remain offline, and because the system never reached final approval he’s been pushed onto a sub‑optimal rate plan that’s actually costing him money. Every attempt to get help ran into dead ends: support tickets get closed as soon as they’re opened, phone calls aren’t returned, and he found no contact information on the company website. What lingers most is the combination of widespread electrical damage and an incomplete system two years on — a costly, unresolved mess rather than the finished energy solution he expected.

Robbievz navigated a year-long effort to get Tesla backup batteries installed on a PG&E Lifeline account, with Swell Energy coordinating the whole project. They describe being guided and taught through the tangled eligibility and paperwork at every step, which mattered because approval for full PG&E reimbursement hinged on that process. Once reimbursement cleared, the installers moved in promptly and completed a professional, timely setup. What lingered most for them was how Swell turned a complicated, year-long bureaucracy into an actual installed system with full reimbursement—education and hands-on support that made the difference.

ehamilton2004 has owned Powerwalls and solar panels at their home for just over a year, and one morning in April they discovered exactly why the purchase mattered. At 9 a.m. a neighbor walked out and asked if their power was out — the entire area had been dark for an hour and 45 minutes, but they hadn’t noticed because the batteries had kicked in. Since then the neighborhood has experienced six outages and the homeowner has remained unaffected every time. They count the system as the second-best investment after their house, because it delivers steady peace of mind amid worries about climate change, PG&E reliability, wildfires and low hydro supply. The detail that sticks: an hour-and-45-minute blackout passed without them even realizing it.

Bob E. ordered Tesla PowerWalls for his home and has been waiting 15 months for installation after being promised an 8‑month turnaround. He watched permitting and the permission to operate clear months ago — that authorization was granted five months back — yet installers never showed up. Program managers at Swell have changed during the delay, and the new manager asked him to obtain a permission to operate from SCE even though he had already secured one nearly a year earlier. On top of the scheduling confusion, the rebate figures Swell originally provided were incorrect. He discovered a pattern of poor coordination and personnel churn: a company once considered the “gold standard” has drifted downhill, leaving him with approved paperwork but no installed PowerWalls after more than a year.