The Solar Energy reviews

Paula B. hired the company to install both solar electric panels and a solar hot‑water system on her home about 15 years ago. The salesperson charmed her through the sale, but after she signed the contract he became impossible to work with and dealings with him turned into a nightmare. Years of unaddressed issues left her with no choice but to bring in a different company to do and to repair what the original installer refused to handle. The lasting takeaway: the installation remained, but she ended up paying another firm to finish and fix the work the salesperson wouldn’t follow through on.

Ross G. bought a solar water heater for his home and liked the product itself — the salesman came across as knowledgeable. He found the installation crew problematic: they pressed him for full payment after a single day of work even though the contract called for 10% down and the balance on completion, and one installer started calling at odd hours asking to get inside the house (the plumbing connections were in the garage). After a week of puttering, the crew declared the job finished. Within 14 months two solder joints failed; the second repair set him back $125, and when the company pushed an extended service contract he declined. He kept the system but walked away with a repair bill and a sour impression of the installers’ professionalism.

Steve G. arranged a $400 visit two weeks out to have the panels cleaned, the system inspected, and monitoring transferred on his three-story home's steep roof. The weekend before, he took a late Saturday call from Chris, the owner, who sounded heavily intoxicated, rambled, then apologized and promised his crew would show up. On the appointment day Chris appeared and abruptly demanded $1,000 because of the roof height; he reluctantly paid the increased fee. When the work wrapped, he asked whether the system had been inspected — it hadn’t — and Chris blamed the monitoring not being in his name and claimed it was probably broken, even though it was working and had already been transferred. What lingers is the late-night, slurred call followed by a day-of price hike and an owner who left without performing the promised inspection.

Lanny S. wishes he had read these reviews before handing Farley a large check a year ago. After a year with no resolution, he discovered the Carpinteria BBB had withdrawn Farley’s accreditation for failing to respond to complaints. Frustrated by the silence, he will be taking him to small claims court this week. The detail that sticks: the BBB revocation for unresponsiveness pushed him into legal action.

Mary F. hired Chris Farley to install a large solar system that cost more than $50,000 on her property. She watched the project run past its timetable and end up with roughly $15,000 in extra charges, but the real danger appeared months later: she discovered wrong-sized breakers and miswired J-box junctions that shorted, melted the box and created a clear fire hazard. For safety she shut the system down and spent 90 days listening to excuses while the company delayed repairs, during which she picked up over $1,000 in electric bills. Frustrated, she paid another solar firm $800 to fix the wiring; Chris promised reimbursement and never followed through. She filed a complaint with the California State Contractors Board; the board found him liable, but he used every grace period available so collecting the money dragged into mandatory arbitration, cost thousands more in time and expense, and took more than a year to resolve. Mary had used the company once before without problems, but this episode left her most struck by the melted junction box and the year-long fight to get paid back.

Zev N. hired Solar Energy Company and installer Chris Farley to put a large rooftop solar array and solar hot water system on his brand-new house — and the project turned into a months-long disaster. During installation Farley punched holes in the new roof; after the first rain the leak nearly ruined a piano. The roofing contractor repaired the roof and sought reimbursement from Chris and the company because the damage was clearly caused by the installation. A few months later the array produced very little power, so he kept calling Chris. Chris offered excuses — the panels were dirty — sent someone to wash them, and claimed he had inspected the array himself. Still, production didn’t improve. He hired an outside consultant (the array wasn’t visible from the ground) who called the installation “miserable”: electrical connections out of code and the entire array wired incorrectly. Chris grew almost impossible to reach. After repeated delays and evasions, Zev contacted the State Contractors Association; they forced arbitration after Chris refused voluntary arbitration. The contractors board investigator compiled a lengthy report with photographs documenting numerous violations. A

Buying a solar gas water heater for her San Luis Obispo, CA home, Cindy W. ended up extremely satisfied with the whole process. She valued that Christopher Farley, owner and president of The Solar Energy Company of Santa Barbara, accepted the job even though she was out of the area and drove up personally to oversee the installation. He stayed involved through every step, bringing a warm, genuine presence and clear trade knowledge that comes from being a hands-on tradesman since 1977. The installation proceeded smoothly under his supervision, and the result was a properly installed system plus the confidence that someone experienced had managed the details. What stuck with her most was that the company’s owner didn’t delegate the critical moments—he showed up and made sure it was done right.

Unhappy in Montectio hired the Solar Energy Company and installer Chris Farley to put a large rooftop solar array and a solar hot‑water system on their brand‑new home. The job started badly — while installing the panels Chris punched holes in the new roof, and the first rain nearly sent water onto their piano. The roofing crew patched the damage and pursued Chris and the company for reimbursement. Several months later the system was producing far less power than expected, so they began calling Chris. He offered excuses, sent someone to wash the panels, and claimed to have inspected the array himself — but washing didn’t fix anything. Because the array isn’t visible from the ground they hired a consultant; he discovered a “miserable” installation: electrical connections that weren’t up to code and an entire array wired incorrectly. Chris then became almost impossible to reach. After the homeowner contacted the State Contractors Board, the board stepped in, compelled arbitration (Chris refused voluntary arbitration), and provided an investigator who documented a long list of violations with photographs. The company was forced to take down and fully reinstall the system. Chris did pay

Witwaltman paid a large sum to have a residential solar system mounted quickly, but six months after installation they discovered the project still lacks Permission to Operate. Edison told them it has been asking Solar Energy for the required documentation for four months with no response, so the household has effectively lost half a year of net‑metering benefits. They found the company’s owner, Chris, slow to communicate and vague in answers; the crew installed the hardware fast, but the firm hasn’t helped push the interconnection paperwork through. Despite the company’s claim of thousands of installs, the team ran into questions they seemed unsure how to handle. The image that sticks: a completed array on the roof and months of missed billing credits because the installer never closed out the paperwork.