SunPower Reviews

I will recommend SunPower most likely to my friends but I have had a mixed experience on the customer service side. When the solar system was originally sold to us, the sales guy seemed decently knowledgeable. However, I did ask him about "Planet of the Humans" documentary released in 2019. This movie makes a case that renewable energy is not nearly as sustainable as it is portrayed. I asked the sales guy about this and he had not seen the movie. This surprised me a bit. I asked for more information on the sustainability of solar panels in general. He said that “no one has asked this before.” I was very surprised by this. He referred us to the main page on SunPower’s website which shows all the awards that SunPower has received. While this is impressive, I could not find a clear definition of specifically what SunPower does to be more sustainable than other companies. He did promise to provide more information but never got back to us with the information. He did follow up about the sale, however. We decided to go forward with buying the system anyway. By the way, we paid almost twice the average cost of a system sized within California or about 182% of normal. I am OK paying this much because I am happy to support a company that will reinvest the profits into improving their solar technology. I have been looking forward to investing in solar energy for my home for a very long time. Still, it is a little hard to see every estimate for other solar installer coming back far lower than I paid. https://www.energysage.com/local-data/solar-panel-cost/ca/#:~:text=As%20of%20October%202020%2C%20the,California%20coming%20in%20at%20%2414%2C950. The installation process was much longer than the longest estimate they provided. We started talking to the sales guy in May and I finished signing the last of my paperwork on June 1 to kick off the process. I was not able to turn on power until September 23. Throughout the process, I did not receive much transparency as to why things were taking so long until I followed up with the individuals supporting my case. There were various reasons including the city permits getting rejected 3 times and taking time to be resubmitted and reviewed. The utility took a very long time to respond as well. Still, I would have appreciated a lot more transparency on how things were going. Also the crew working on the project management for my installation sounded very burned out and disheartened when I was able to get them on the phone. I am not sure, but it sounds like the company is struggling a bit internally and that is coming through on how the employees sound. For example, the program manager was surprised that I cared about the environment at all when talking about the panels. She did not sound sure that they are better for the environment than just sticking with the utility. Being that she worked for a solar company, I am very sorry that she sounds so down. She should have no doubt that what she is doing is making a difference and very important for this world. If she is not feeling that way, her company is not taking good enough care of here and probably not clearly imparting a company mission statement that she can believe in. My system is now installed and seems to be working. Despite the fact that the power and energy graphs on my app seem to improperly log the data periodically and show 0 production customer service is assuring me that everything is working as expected. I have a lot of hope for the solar industry. I hope that things get better for SunPower and its employees. We need more solar power in this world to bring our global CO2 emissions down. There are few pursuits more important today.

We have been promised a status update from you since 8/15/2019. You left me a message on Friday to call you get a status update and to understand my concerns. You ask for a call back time and phone number which I gave you in a returned call. The information I left went to your voice mail because you didn't accept the call. I followed up later in the day and was told you left for the day. I was assured you would call on Monday. It is now 1:30 PM and no call. Sunpower has known for over a month that our system was not performing to specifications based on the monitoring you do daily. I called you immediately upon receiving last months production report. The response I got was boiler plate response - shading of the panels and dirty panels. Neither would cause NO PRODUCTION ( that's 0 production) for days at a time. We expect you to be as concerned about the lack of production as I am. Obviously that is an erroneous assumption. Please give me your plan and schedule for bringing our system to within specified production levels. Don

We began our 20 year Sun Power lease in 2012 and were initially very pleased with it. However, during the last two years we became concerned with the production of the system and contacted the company. We were told that the system was operating well and that the production level fell within the guaranteed ranges, so there was no problem. We saw, however, that there was an erratic pattern of efficiency and we thought that the system should be checked on site. In spite of many requests, both by phone and by email, this was never done. Now, in the midst of one of the hottest summers in recent years (multiple 100+ days,) all the electricity to our house shut down at least five times within two weeks. Initially, we were told by PSEG that the problem was caused by our SunPower system and that if it continued we needed to contact them. My husband contacted SunPower Customer Service and was told that we would have to contact either our local power company or an electrician to check the box and troubleshoot the situation. Then, if the problem was determined to be theirs, they would send someone. When my husband said that the local company had already been here and said that SunPower needed to come, they gave him the number of the local affiliate (Solar Energy World) who had initially installed the system. We called twice and have no idea whether anyone has received the message, although I did indicate that we had almost an emergency situation since there was no electricity at all in the house when a shut down occurs. The number connected us to a voice message requesting simply that we leave a name and phone number. (It is now four days later and we still have received absolutely NO RESPONSE from Solar Energy World.) In searching for that company online in an attempt to find other means of contacting someone, I came across this Best Company site. When I saw that Sun Power was listed as one of the most desirable companies to use for solar energy, I began to go through the reviews which had been written. In doing so, I found two in which a Kari had left her email address and told the person writing the review to contact her. I used that email address and explained the whole situation. Within a half hour, I had a return email from Kari in which she told me that she had forwarded our situation to Sun Power's Austin office. Within about another hour, I had a phone call from Erica from that office. In the meantime, we had contacted an electrician friend to come and take a look at things. He determined that the problem was NOT due to our SunPower system, but that PSEG needed to come back and evaluate it. (The problem was that the circuit breakers in the box were not tightened properly, resulting in damage to the insulation on the wires in the box.) Both Kari and Erica followed up with us via email and Erica also called again to make sure that the problem was being taken care of. As a result of her action and followup and that of Erica, I have modified both the ratings and the review which I originally posted. However, some of my concern still remains. For a major solar energy company like SunPower to refuse to troubleshoot their equipment (the response which my husband received when he called) is not only unsatisfactory and disturbing, but also potentially dangerous. For a local affiliate not to respond at all is also unsatisfactory, disturbing and potentially dangerous. Because I have the contact information for both Kari and Erica, I am hopeful that there will be no future problems should we need customer service assistance from SunPower again. However, I only have that information because I happened to come across it. There is no contact information provided directly by the company which results in real customer service in the event that someone needs it. In order for my rating of SunPower to go any higher, I would need to have a radically different response when I make a phone call regarding efficiency of the panels or a potential problem with the system.

NOTE THE ADDENDUM at the bottom of this review. First Review: After I completed an on-line form, I was pleased that a Sun Power representative called me within a few minutes. After verifying my address, he asked if we had trees over our roof. I told him that we had some, but that the west-facing roof is clear of trees, as is part of the east-facing roof. He told me that an image he was looking at on-line showed that the roof has too much tree-shade for us to be eligible for solar power. I asked what the source was of his image, and he didn't specify. I explained that we have less tree-shade that we used to have, and that the west-facing roof is fully clear. He persisted in saying the house is not a candidate for solar panels. Despite my suggesting that the image he was looking at on-line is outdated and that we have shade-free roofing, he repeated his claim. I explained again that I believed he was basing his evaluation on inaccurate information, and that by not offering to evaluate the house in person, he'd just lost a potential customer. May 28: ADDENDUM to the above review: I was contacted by SunPower and have now been offered an explanation about their services. If only the person I'd initially talked with had fully explained this, I wouldn't have gotten so frustrated. Based on the new information, I've changed my rating of the company. Having not yet taken full advantage of their services, I can't give a complete review.

This is my second home with SunPower Panels. The panels themselves are working well. This system has micro inverters which have given me trouble. The first year the Inverters started failing one by one. Finally they replaced the Inverters on each pane. Now about a year later it's happening again. Though the communications is good the service takes a lot of time. So far one month after the first call I finally saw the service techs. They were unable to repair and the person they were talking to on the phone said they will monitor the system and send someone back in April! Why they already know that at least two inverters are not working! RHJ Stockton, CA

In 2010 but we had SunPower installed and were very happy with the system. August 2018 we had a failure of the inverter which was replaced in September but it was not compatible with the new inverter. After monitoring the system for several weeks, we noted the system was not operating at the correct watts. It was producing less than half of the power. I contacted Alternative Energy and they came to the same conclusion. I have side by side comparisons of monthly statements from Duke Energy of six consecutive months which proves our point. Alternate Energy checked out the panels and came to the conclusion that the panels have several faults in them. They (Alternate Energy) informed us that Sun Power was not willing to live up to the warranty that was presented to me at the sale which states a 10 year limited warranty.

This is my 3rd year working with Sun Power, last year I was shock when PGE pool over $800.00 from my account as a result of not enough power that I had requested originally they suggested 40 panels I requested more so it was added 5 more that should be more then enough will delivery 2500 KW. I replied I don't want to get a bill from PGE I was assure no bill will come, 1 cottage in my property is not in use yet . I just cant imagine , so I contacted Sun Power their suggestion add more panels or buy another system ? if had known this purchase is the way to go, do to the prices on energy cost . I inquiry about battery same company and they don't offer batteries backed. But they are in training to offer it soon. System works fine just did not delivery as promise . PANELS AMERICAN MADE ? I was told they are made in china it had sing on the panels. So I hope the ones been installed now are AMERICAN MADE.

Everything was good up until installation day. The team that installed my solar panels were unprofessional and messy. They cracked my ceiling, ruined my landscaping and left garbage behind. I was very happy up until this point. They did send someone out to fix the ceiling but communication was very sparse. I constantly had to reach out to people to get answers.

There were many hiccups in the installation process. The sales person told us that SunPower would put in a new 220 electric box, but when the contractor arrived we were told that it was not on the work order. We finally got the 220 electric box, but it took several phone calls. We were told that it would be a 2 day project and it became a 4-5 day project. The inspection had to be 2 different times as the city had to do 2 inspections and the solar installation group did not know that 2 inspections were needed.

Junk, absolutely and simply. Avoid this company at all costs. There microinverters fail at an unbelievable rate and I believe they are in the 3rd generation of supplying this horrible equipment. After you pay continually for repairs it ends up costing you to have solar, not to mention the dramatic outlay. To sum it up, SunPower is a company not ready for prime time. Have read reports the microinverters come from China and judging from my failure rate I would not be surprised!

Come in looking for a new company other than Sunpower. Live in California and the service is poor, system always breaks down and sunpower did not track that so end up we double paid the bill and waited our compensation for two years and still didn’t get back. The three stars is given to technicians.

Made appointment for what I thought was an in home consultation for solar power panels. I had my husband stay home from work to be there. Turned out to be a phone call. Would have been fine if told in advance that was the case.

The young man that came to our house was nice, polite and seemed informed. Why I am giving only 3 stars is that we requested a quote if we bought the unit outright and we never received it. We were not impressed with the company overall because of the lack of follow through.

Overall the service was OK BUT I was not clearly informed that i will still get billis from the electrical company and from SunPower and that my Electrical expense will be higher until the end of the first year and only then SunPower are going to do adjustment and pay me back.

Since the solar panels were installed, they have not worked properly. Since May, Sunpower has been diligent is correcting the problems. I expect this Saturday they will finally have everything operational.

Diminishing production efficiency is "paid for/made whole" in amounts far less than the value lost. This is likely a known reduction factor. The amount paid should equal the value lost.

main sales person keep stalling with what trees had to be cut my main computer lost communication with system and have not been able to track for years no one seems to be able to fix