Rising Sun Solar
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Author: Rebecca Graham
Rising Sun Solar was founded in 2004. They provide solar services for residential, commercial, non-profits, government and multifamily facilities in the state of Hawaii. They have been diligently working to help Hawaii maintain the NET Metering Law and allowing more PV systems to be interconnected to the grid. And they continue to be present for the PUC proceedings that relate to regulation and legislation of the Hawaii State Energy Policy. Rising Sun Solar is also a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certified solar PV installer.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Variety of Payment Options
- Community Heroes Program
Variety of Payment Options
Rising Sun Solar has payment options to fit just about any need and they are as follows:
- Purchase power agreement (PPA): This is a no money down PPA program. The solar company will install their solar equipment on your home and retain ownership of it. Then you will receive a reduced electric bill based on the amount of energy that system produces. The only drawback is that the company retains all rebates and incentives. However, you will not be responsible for any maintenance, insurance or monitoring costs.
- Solar Financing: Rising Sun Solar offers several financing options which include a no money down option, a prepaid option and a customer option.
- Self-Purchase: This option allows you to make an outright purchase and receive all state and federal tax incentives and rebates available to you. An outright purchase is always the best way to go if you can afford to do so.
Community Heroes Program
It's always great to see a company involved and giving back to the community in any way they can. Rising Sun Solar offers a community heroes program that provides teachers, firemen, lifeguards, police and military members with special benefits, discounts and other incentives.
The Bad
- Lack of Transparency
- No Mention of System Monitoring
- Mixed Customer Feedback Ratings
Lack of Transparency
Unfortunately, the Rising Sun Solar website doesn't provide any of their terms of service such as the length of their contracts. Or, whether or not they offer moving services. Moving services are an important feature you might want included in your contract, especially if you ever need to have your roof replaced. Therefore, before you sign anything make sure you find out if they offer this service, whether or not it's included in your contract and if not, how much that service will cost, if they offer it at all.
No Mention of System Monitoring
System monitoring plays an important role when it comes to your solar energy equipment. Most solar providers offer some type of system monitoring; however, Rising Sun Solar doesn't disclose this information. System monitoring will tell you how much energy your system is producing and/or how much energy you are using at any given time. Additionally, it will notify the solar company if your system ever encounters a problem. So Rising Sun Solar should be disclosing whether or not they offer system monitoring and if there is a charge for that service.
Mixed Customer Feedback Ratings
While Rising Sun Solar only one complaint on file, the customer feedback ratings we found online were mixed, depending on the website. For example, their Yelp ratings are averaging 2.5 stars, their Facebook page ratings are averaging 4.7 stars and the YellowPages is showing one five star rating. The negative feedback had several complaints about rude sales people, sloppy installers and company unprofessionalism. But just remember, there are two sides to every story and since Rising Sun Solar didn't respond to those complaints, we have no way of knowing what they have to say about those situations.
The Bottom Line
Rising Sun Solar has some great things to offer, including a wide variety of payment options so there's something for everyone. They are continually fighting for Hawaii's net metering program, and they offer a community heroes program, which we haven't see other solar companies do. However, although their website is pretty good, we would like to see them be a little more transparent when it comes to their terms of service, system monitoring and whether or not they offer any type of moving services.
Overall, the relatively few negative customer feedback ratings aside, we feel Rising Sun Solar is a reputable solar services provider and with a little research could be a good fit for you and your particular solar needs. However, you should always perform your own due diligence before making any final decisions.
