Emerald Energy review

"I would have avoided Emerald Energy Solar if I had known about this page before making my contract with them. What a horrible shopping experience!!! Unfortunately, Kevin, our Emerald Energy Solar project manager, was the worst communicator and clearly had no idea how to manage a project. Because he gave me the wrong email address, to begin with, I had to contact the salesman again to locate Kevin. Then, for the next six months, it was consistently inaccurate information and wrong dates. I have all his emails, and he thought apologizing and promising to improve his behavior was sufficient." - Brian M.

"Since the blackout, we have not been able to generate any solar power. Though I was assured that future payments would be based on output rather than a flat rate of $250 per month, that has not changed. My PSEG bill has been significantly higher than usual in the past two months, and even though I used no electricity at all during that time, I was still charged $500. The solar firm has been unable to provide assistance due to a lack of available personnel. In response to every single one of my phone calls, I have been told that I will receive a response within three to five business days. When I try to get in touch with them again, it's like starting from square one every time." - George H.

"Ronald, the salesman, was very aggressive and dishonest about the product he was selling. From the monthly savings (growing at 4% for the next 20 years) to the "Net Metering" that isn't offered by my electric company to the promise that they would remove the panels if I wasn't satisfied. So far, I've only been able to offset 9/10ths of my energy use, which means that 62% of the energy I consume will come from the solar panel. There were no alterations made by me. In fact, turn up the air conditioning by two degrees hotter than you were using it before installing the panels. They used last year's numbers; I'm not sure how they came up with those numbers. When I signed the papers, it specifically stated that only the back of the house would require solar panels. Even though the rest of the inspections to determine whether or not it was possible to give us the right amount of solar had not yet occurred, what I had thought was a loan application turned out to be the actual loan. Instead of the promised paper copies, he emailed a link to the bank's website where electronic copies could be accessed. The electric company actually buys the energy I don't use during the day at half the price they charge me for the same amount of electricity, so I always end up losing money. For the first month, I paid $100 for electricity, and then there was the cost of the panels ($204). Only once in my life have I ever had a $300 electric bill; from here on out, I can expect them annually. AVOID purchasing anything they are selling. The wait time to speak to a customer service representative is unacceptable (even if you are the first caller in line, you may have to wait up to 15 minutes). You can forget about getting a call back from the automated system. "We can't, we're just a sub-contractor for the bank," they said when I asked them to take down the system. Ronald's manager, upon my repeated attempts to reach him, finally responded, "He was new at the time, I will make sure he gets some continuing education," but it was too late; I was already locked into a "contract" wherein none of the promises made to me were ever fulfilled. That I was conned in such a way has made me more than angry. Take notes and get everything in writing from the salesperson. There's no point in buying from a company that won't stand behind their product." - Edward B.

"The customer service at Emerald Energy is terrible. They tell you you'll cut costs, but when you keep getting bills you weren't expecting, they do nothing. I paid them a monthly fee plus submitted bills totaling over $150 twice and was told they'd review them and get back to me in 10 days. They didn't return my call after waiting a whole month. Then I called and waited on hold for what seemed like an eternity before being transferred to an extension where the mailbox was already full. Since 2016, PSE&G has sent me bills despite earlier assurances that this would never happen. As a favor, please don't do business with this outfit." - Jason M.

"This company's customer service has been terrible ever since I signed on with them. Since the installation, my solar panels haven't been working properly, and it's been nearly impossible to get them replaced them (I haven't been able to reach the site manager and our scheduled appointments have been missed on multiple occasions without any prior notification or explanation)... so basically, I have panels that I am paying for that are producing less than what they are supposed to, and I owe the electric company several hundred dollars that they are refusing to cover, even though they are obligated to. I regret having dealt with this company in any way. Please learn from my mistakes and don't go down the same path I did!!" - Jeffrey J.