Electrical reviews in San Francisco, California

I found SolarUnion through EnergySage, which I also highly recommend. SolarUnion was the perfect company for me. I have a tar and gravel roof, and a number of solar installers will not work on T&G. SolarUnion had a great deal of experience, advised me at every turn, and did a perfect job. They answered emails within an hour or less, phoned to let me know the county was very slow at issuing permits, reduced the number of panels once they saw my electric bill was fairly low, and behaved like a company that cared more about me than their profit margin (though I'm sure they care about that too!). It was a great experience from start to finish.

The guys at SolarUnion, especially Jeramie in Santa Rosa, were stellar. Got it done in October '22. I left a 5 star review. 2 years went by, and I was unhappy with the true-up costs from PG&E. So I inquired about adding a few more panels - (under NEM 2.0 you're allowed to add a little bit of capacity without knocking yourself out of that tier.) I used their messaging system. No calls back, nothing. I called, finally spoke to someone, and they said an engineer/project coordinator would give me a call. Nothing. I documented 3 emails/messages, 4 phone calls with messages, and two live interactions. So I'm giving up. Like so many contractors I've dealt with (paving stones, HVAC installers, roofers) they tout or imply lifetime guarantees, but if no quick buck is to be made, you're ghosted. So disappointed.

We had a great experience with SolarUnion's solar installation on our house in San Francisco. They were responsive and met their deadlines and took care to keep us informed along the way. Highly recommend them.

Solarunion was one of the few contractors that was able to install solar on my SPF (foam) roof. The installation itself was very professionally done, no problems here. Unfortunately, their poor communication and delays during the permitting process plagued my solar project, leading to 7 months between signing the contract and the permit approval (9/2022-4/2023). Even on the date of the inspection, no representative of the company showed up so had I not been at home at the time, this would have even been delayed further. I had originally decided to go through them because of a false hope that the whole process would go along relatively quickly (their pricing was higher than several other quotes). As a consolation they gave me a small gift card but during other sales presentations other companies said they would pay for my pge electrical bill for every month if there was a significant delay (past 3 months) so ultimately this whole experience was unsatisfactory.

Solar Union did a great job for us. I did a lot of research and got multiple bids through Energy Sage. Nearly every company backed off with the complexities of our installation with a flat roof encumbered with multiple exhausts on top of a 3-level townhouse. Not Solar Union that patiently looked at my drawings to make some initial assessments and designs for my review. The final system design optimized solar production while respecting the construction code. They took care of all permits and inspections with the city and PG&E and were amenable to the HOA demands.

SolarUnion was great throughout the process, from system selection through installation and even post-install support. The process was a breeze, the team was professional, and the system delivered against expectations. We’ve been very happy with our system one year in and the impact to our energy bills has been excellent. We would recommend SolarUnion and use them again for any future needs.

We were pleased with the solar panels that Solar Union installed on our house. They were professional and their price was competitive with our other bids. Their installers were efficient and careful. Overall we had a positive experience using Solar Union.

I am very satisfied with the work Solar Union has done. Because this is an expensive project, I informed Renzo (Co-owner) that I will not be able to take on this project if I cannot get SF city rebate for low-income family. He assured me that they will not start the project until I get approval from the city to get a rebate and put the condition on my contract, which gives me option to back out of the contract if I do not qualify for the rebate. Fortunately, I was qualified for the rebate and the whole entire team took care of everything from acquiring permits, installing solar panels, getting city inspections approved, and getting PTO (Permission to operate from PG&E) in a timely fashion. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about installing solar panels to consider Solar Union because they are very professional and willing to go above and beyond to answer any questions or request you may have in a timely manner.

Solar union first installed our roof top solar. The original design was done from satellite photos. When the engineer arrived, he spotted a better design for the installation. I was impressed. Later we added a battery backup system. All are working well especially through several weather related outages. Highly recommended.

I am very, very happy with the SolarUnion team. They informed me promptly and made easy in every step they took in the process. There was a concern on the workers’ safety prior to the installation because of my steep roof and they took care of it right away. The entire project went smoothly and completed pretty quickly. I chose SolarUnion out of 5 companies because the sales person, Mohamed, didn’t pressure me and his honesty convinced me. I am pleased with the installation team, they cleaned up and repainted the electric tubes to match my house’s external walls. Special thank to Itzel for her dedication on the project. She made sure things are taken care of and responded very quickly to my questions/concerns. The panels have been producing energy pretty well during winter exceeding my expectations. I highly recommend this company.

I am a picky engineer from Germany and I was truly satisfied with the interaction and work performed. I did my homework and interviewed and interacted with two other solar roof companies but decided for Solarunion as the pricing was competitive and the expertise provided in the scoping calls was best.
I am rating my Solarunion solar roof installation with 5 starts because
- The process with Solarunion was very transparent.
- The sales person I interacted with was very well informed and a good source of information, provided good advice and did not try to oversell.
- The timeline discussed ahead of time were all fulfilled.
- The communication with the project team was excellent and they accounted for our detailed needs as it comes to various requests, such as were exactly the panels and other equipment are installed.

Solar Union installed a beautiful 12-panel array, about three years ago, on my roof and it is working perfectly as of today. It is covering about three-quarters of our electrical usage.
Solar Union recommended Leo Roofing to do the roof, and I liked them very much.
All in all, a very good experience.

After doing some research online regarding installation of a solar system, I interviewed three companies regarding their services. One of them, I interviewed online and after I told them I'm researching more options, stopped paying attention to me. A second one I interviewed on the phone and via emails was competitive but did their proposals online only. Solar Union came to my home and using mask and social distancing took the time and explained their offerings and my options to me. Nick, their regional manager then climbed up to my roof and suggested that my roof might need replacement before installation of a solar system. He took some photos to show me the roof's condition. He then suggested that I get some proposals from their roofing partner and a couple of other roofers . After some research I settled on Solar Union and their roofing partner. My new roof was installed with a small Solar Union partner discount from the roofer. After that I entered contract with Solar Union. With their drone, they completed an on-site survey and then their project manager Itzel submitted a system design. After that, except for a solar panel supply delay, everything was well managed by Itzel and the Solar Union team. I was away from home during the installation and city inspection, but everything went flawlessly without any of my attention. The system has been working for over a month now and it's a great feeling to generate our own electricity. I'm very pleased with Solar Union and recommend their services.

Solar Union has been great to work with! It started with a free estimate and meeting that was super informative. They turned out to be the lower bid so we went with them and, three years later, have no regrets (and much lower utility bills)! I haven't needed any service yet but if I have any experiences to add down the line, I will. I highly recommend solar panels to anyone looking for an investment that will pay for itself and then more.

Solar union's quote came in a bit on the high side even given my expensive area, but they were confident they would be able to hit nem2 with only 1mo left for submission and they were happy to work on my flat roof. (Some companies wouldn't even call me back or reply)

The final nem2 rush probably saturated every solar company but my system design was submitted on time and in due time approved. Install occurred and when I noticed some panels were at the wrong angle, Solar Union immediately sent installers back out to redo that part of the racking. Inspection passed immediately in one try, pass was submitted right away and pg&e PTO came through immediately the following day.

The system works great so far and seems to avoid (hopefully) any design concerns with longevity. I'm overall quite happy with the project and glad that I went with them.

We used solarunion twice.

2020 - First project was for them to place 20+ solar panels on our brand new roof. It went smoothly with absolutely no issues. They were communicative and their prices were very competitive. The crew members arrived on time and the project was on schedule.

2021- Second project, we liked them so much that we decided to add 10+ panels and upgrade our electric panel. This project took longer due to the fact PG&E dragged the project. Solarunion never delayed it. They were the ones always waiting for PG&E to respond back.

Finally!! Our projects are done! I'm really happy with everything.

Solar Union Gets it Right
• The sales representative answered our many questions and took the time to make sure we would get a system that fit our needs.
• The bid price and the construction drawings were good. Tthe contract docs were clear and easy to execute.
• Our project manager was stellar. You always knew what would happen next and if a project date needed to shift, you knew about it well in advance.
• The installation crew was extremely efficient. They worked with us about how to run conduit for the best esthetic result and paid attention to detail.
• Solar Union covered the bases well as they interfaced with the building department, assisted in getting the system connected with PG&E and provided documents needed for tax credits.
• We are extremely happy with our system. It has been providing solar energy now for 8 months, it has worked without problem and has exceeded projected output.
• Besides providing an excellent end product and having a team that is a pleasure to work with, Solar Union’s communication with the customer is very, very good.
Fred in San Francisco

We used SolarUnion to install the solar panels and battery in our home. Great work quality. The installation team also made recommendations that better suited my home. It took a few weeks to complete the installation but they team made sure everything was working fine and addressed all the inspection-related issues that delayed turning on the system.

It's been 2+ years and we've gone through some relatively bad storms (bad for SF) with strong winds and no issues.

I would advise the buyer to set their expectations properly because the systems SolarUnion recommends are not as consumer friendly as the Tesla systems so you have to be ready to use web apps geared towards electricians and specialists, not your everyday retail user. Not related to SolarUnion to be fair to them.

Post installation, the team continues to answer questions I have via email. Thank you SolarUnion team!

Our 12KW installation during the COVID-19 pandemic had a few delays which I attribute to the times when everything took longer than expected. Solar Union was otherwise very responsive and professional. We had an early hardware failure with the Solar Edge inverter which Solar Union promptly took care of without any problems. We have a flat foam roof which many solar installers will not work with. Solar Union was one of the few companies that were willing to work with our roof. Among the reduced set of potential installers, we went with Solar Union primarily because of the equipment choice and electrical design which we are still very happy with.

We signed a contract for the installation of solar panels with SolarUnion in March/April 2023. In July 2024, we received an email with a unilateral cancellation of our contract. We had to contact them to determine what happened. Per their admissions on phone and email, they failed to submit our permit application and so they also failed to secure the NEM 2.0 rate, which is more favorable than the NEM 3.0 rate. Per their email: "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but after conferring with all pertinent parties I regret to inform you that your site has not secured net metering 2.0 status." "The permitting team did not submit the application for your site as a result of an oversight in the submission process unfortunately. There is no way around it. Anything that we do at this point to install a system that you own would be under NEM 3.0." We asked for a discount for continuing the work since we lost the favorable rate and therefore lost money, but they refused.

Avoid this company! The only reason they get good reviews is they promise a referral discount, but after install they only offer the discount with a 5 star review. They also charge for "add-ons" after the contract is signed and the installation is complete. My add-on was supposedly a high-pitch roof. I refused to pay, since it was the same pitch roof they bid on, and calculated the layout on. They also promised me a "battery-ready" inverter. At install, the company they contracted to do it told me the inverter was not battery-ready. I then verified with the manufacturer that my unit was not battery-ready. They also send lengthy emails with paragraphs of indecipherable words. Stay away from this company!