Business ProfileforFreedom Solar Power

BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints concerning solar system operation, repair, and workmanship.  Specifically, consumers allege solar systems do not work, repair, and workmanship concerns including delays, roof damages, leaks, failure to follow up with consumers, solar panel issues, and city inspections.   Consumers allege production does not meet the expectations of what they were sold and installation concerns including long waits for installation, incomplete or failure to follow up on installation concerns.

On September 13, 2024, BBB submitted a written request to the company encouraging them to address the pattern of complaints. 

Freedom Solar Power responded to BBB’s request on September 26 stating they have implemented the following:

·       Freedom Solar Power has hired 4 new Service Coordinators to answer customer calls, troubleshoot system issues, and arrange virtual and in-person service visits, as well as 7 additional Customer Care Agents.

·       Freedom Solar Power has implemented process changes including building out functionality devoted to their Service team in their proprietary solar project management software, as well as Hubsport, adding improved customer communications processes, and enhanced call scripting materials and training.

·       Freedom Solar Power’s Customer Care team has been working overtime to field and action the increased number of incoming calls. 

·       Freedom Solar Power has developed its myFreedom customer portal to provide project updates in real-time, solar education, and allows customers to track their day-to-day progress.

·       Freedom Solar Power’s Service Team has been meeting weekly to review aged service tickets to ensure they are not neglected.

Regarding service delays and roof leaks Freedom Solar Power responded that the primary cause of the recent increase in service delays and roof leak-related complaints are from Hurricane Beryl as both customers and employees were affected by the storm due to a lack of electricity for a week which resulted in a service backlog they are continuing to resolve as of today. Freedom Solar is working overtime for several weeks to accommodate their customers.

To address roof leaks Freedom Solar has proactively updated certain installation equipment and processes to minimize roof leaking-related issues in the future.  This includes switching equipment manufacturers for the products used to install solar racking systems.

In response to a pattern of complaints regarding solar production concerns Freedom Solar Power responded that due to the complexity in nature of solar systems, many factors are at play to the amount of electricity that may be produced and bill savings that may be recognized. During the initial sales consultation, salespeople provide detailed information about customers' energy production, bill savings, and system performance.

While Freedom Solar offered a production guarantee for a short period of time, they do not offer a production or bill offset guarantee as clearly stated in their sale materials and solar installation contract. Customers are provided with educational resources to help them understand the factors that influence solar energy production, such as weather conditions, shading and panel degradation, and soiling.

In addition to describing and offering educational resources to customers to help them understand the factors that influence solar energy production, Freedom Solar has mandated that their sales proposal cannot be edited by their sales team members.

During the last year, Freedom Solar has also implemented enhancements to its process to address this issue:

•        A pre-installation Design Complete call with the customer to discuss the design and system capabilities in detail. Freedom Solar offers the customer an opportunity to ask any questions relating to their system's production estimates and/or request any design changes that they feel are necessary. Since the implementation of this call, Freedom Solar states they have noticed a significant decrease in complaints related to system expectations.

        •       Created a process of checks and balances with their Design and Engineering team, which occur prior to the Design Complete call, to ensure that electricity consumption figures inputted into their sales proposal system are accurate and in line with how they describe their electricity bill offset estimates in their sales proposal.

During the sales process, their sales team uses a software program to estimate solar production based on several factors, including the number, location, direction, and tilt of the panels.

Freedom Solar collects the customer’s historical electrical utility bills to estimate electricity consumption; if these cover 12 months or more, they will use actual bills to estimate consumption; if these cover 4-11 months, they will use Aurora’s Energy Consumption Tool to estimate consumption; and if these cover 3 or fewer months (e.g., a newly constructed home), they estimate consumption using ResStock, a tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based solely on the home's square footage, gas usage, and a fixed multiple by geographic region.

With this data, an estimated annual percentage of consumption offset figure is shared with the customer which is clearly labeled as an estimate, and the actual results could differ based on numerous factors, such as electricity consumption rates.

During the site assessment, which occurs after the sale, Freedom Solar runs a drone over the home, which allows them to develop a more accurate 3-D model of the home for production modeling purposes.

During the design phase, the design and engineering team re-designs the system using precise tools re-estimates production.

If production estimates through their precise tool are meaningfully less than through their initial program Freedom Solar will notify the customer, provide a new proposal with decreased production and electricity consumption offsets, and ask the customer to confirm if they’d like to move forward, the customer has an opportunity to approve the design and estimates or cancel the project with no cancellation fee.