ComplaintsforInspire Solar LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In July 2023 I changed electric companies to *********** after shopping for cheaper rates. A *********** representative suggested solar energy to which I was intrigued, so they gave my information over to Inspire Solar.*******************************, sales manager, with Inspire Energy/ NAVC contacted me via phone. **** identified himself as a fellow military "brother" from the Navy as part of his sales pitch. After months of communication and paperwork, **** drove to my house with his son and other Inspire Solar employees to see my farm. We drove around my property on ATVs like they were "brothers" to see the animals and country life. They had never seen a Barndominium and part reason for some of the extra paperwork and confusion thinking I literally lived in a barn rather than a house.Finally, they scheduled my solar system for install in October 2023. This is where the real FIASCO began. Inspire Solar contracted *************** out of ******* as the install company for my solar project. **** with ***************, contacted me via text on October 17, 2023 identifying herself as the Project Manager. Long story short, the install crew had to schedule and reschedule several times through the end of February 2024. They would show up short handed on critical personnel and on equipment and never completed the install.I conducted research on ***************, since I DID NOT contract them. Come to find out, *************** was in a Class Action Lawsuit since May 2022 and went bankrupt during the period of my solar install.Relevant information Inspire Solar should have identified and therefore contracted a different install company. Information of which I informed ****!**** assured me throughout my communication with him, his VP and leadership would not remain inactive and would rectify a solution.I constantly get notifications from Ever Bright or Enphase monitoring system being down or how I'm still over 80% on the grid.ALL OF THE ABOVE, I HAVE IN SOME FORM OF WRITING/ TEXT!

  Business response

  05/22/2024

  We understand ******************** frustrations and have been speaking with him directly to help resolve his issues.  ****************** did sign a contract with *************** for them to provide the panels/materials and complete the installation, as Inspire Solar does not manage the product warehousing nor installation process.  Snippets of the signed documentation are attached, without providing specific customer details such as address, ******* information, etc. for his protection. Initially,Infinity delayed the installation by a week due to weather related issues, but the panels were fully installed on November 7th, 2023.  The utility granted permission to operate (PTO) on 2/15/24, which means they had inspected all of the connections and signed off on the system being turned on. This is necessary for them to do to ensure grid safety and security, as his system sends unutilized electricity back onto their service lines.  Until the utility grants PTO, the system cannot begin to operate as designed. 

  We were unaware of any issues with Infinity until late 2024, after ******************** system had already been installed.  Had we been aware at the time of his installation, we would have gladly moved ****************** to a different installer, as we did for hundreds of our customers not yet installed once we became aware of the issues that Infinity was having in fulfilling their installation duties.  Unfortunately, as his system had already been installed, there was no way for us to transition him to another installation company.

  We have confirmed that since February when PTO was granted, ******************** system has been functioning as intended and is producing the volume of electricity it was designed to generate. At the time he signed the installation contract, the projected electrical usage offset that the solar panels would provide was ******% of his annual consumption.  The reason that ****************** is still receiving electricity bills is because he has not changed his electricity service with his ****** Electric Provider (REP) from a standard electricity plan to a net metering/buyback solar plan, which would provide him cash credits for the unutilized electricity that his system is delivering back to the grid.  This type of program is utilized to help offset the cost of any night time electricity that his home is using.  Without utilizing batteries to store excess electricity, the design of the system is to over-produce electricity during the daylight hours to power his home fully first, and then deliver the excess electricity back to the grid.  At night, when the panels are not collecting sunlight, his home utilizes power from the grid as usual.  The credits from the daytime solar over-production are intended to offset the nighttime grid usage.  We have provided ****************** with his REPs ******* information and the promo code he can utilize to enroll in this type of electricity program as soon as possible to begin taking advantage of the buy-back credits.
  
  In light of the issues that ****************** had with Infinity and their delay in getting PTO granted for his solar system, we have also offered ****************** a rebate for his last 3 months of electricity bills, since he was not signed up with the buyback program at that time.  All of this information has been communicated directly with ****************** by our senior level management.  We did not take his issue lightly and want to ensure that all of our customers have a great experience going **********************.  We have done our best to mitigate any customer negative experiences or issues due to the unfortunate circumstances of what occurred with ***************, and hope that we have addressed all of ********************** concerns to his satisfaction.

  
  

  Customer response

  05/22/2024

  I have reviewed the business response and accept this resolution.

  ****, the ** of Inspire Solar, contacted me personally via phone to rectify my concerns. Although, I should never have needed to go to such lengths, after numerous attempts in communicating with Inspire Solar to resolve this at the lowest level. The *************** contract form with my digital signature provided is a formality and does/ should not exclude the fact I DID NOT choose "them to provide the panels/materials and complete the installation, as Inspire Solar does not manage the product warehousing nor installation process". Inspire chose Infinity for me, hence, "we would have gladly moved ****************** to a different installer".

  Nevertheless,I appreciate ****'s professionalism in resolving this matter and accept this resolution.

  Business response

  05/22/2024

  In further communicating with ********************** REP, we would like to provide a clarification to their net metering/buy back program:

  As a solar owner, he can benefit from their 1 to 1 buy back credit for excess energy exported back to the grid. These credits are applied to current bills and any surplus will apply to future bills. It is not a cash value, but a bill credit.

   

  Thank you,

  Inspire Solar

   

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