EmPower Solar Review review

"Customer service is atrocious. I've had nothing but troubles since signing the contract. Was told they had my panels only to be told 2 weeks later then we're out of stock only to be told 3 months later I go could switch to lesser panel. They are just concerned with their bottom line, and no consumer is always right. They will simply fight you. I utilized Hytech in Bay Shore the first time and should have used them again." - dfurino1010

" I chose EmPower since they had a strong reputation for customer service. When I first contacted them, they were fast to react with a quotation. However, their follow-up has been dismal. Cam Kelly, their salesperson, offered to follow up with a new price for a canopy system. As a result, he left for two weeks without alerting me (or leaving an out-of-office message). When he returned, he apologized and promised a quote the next day or the day after. I followed up again after a few days of not receiving anything and have yet to hear back. He didn't leave a phone number, and when I called the company, he wasn't in the system. When I contact the receptionist, no one answers (I've tried several times). If this is how they treat enthusiastic, paying customers, I shudder to think about their after-sales service." - James Coulson

" I wanted to share my experience with Empower Solar in order to provide some context. You might not have had the same experience, but I felt compelled to relate. After months of study on several firms and the well-known quality of Sunpower goods, I chose to go with Empower. I recommend doing the majority of the "numbers" and "facts" discussion via text or email, as there were multiple inaccuracies and inaccurate comments made for which I later had proof. Kyle was professional and gave back calls and texts quickly, but he made several mistakes in the process, including giving me the wrong panel efficiency and details (I knew from my own research) and an incorrect payment schedule. This nearly destroyed the business early on because Kyle had told me that my initial deposit would be 30% of what I owed. When I received my first "milestone" payment from the company, they requested 60% in order to proceed to the next round. Initially, I was told that nothing could be done and that my project would be cancelled unless I paid a 60% down payment. The company cooperated with me when I provided documentation (through text messages) that Kyle had stated multiple times that my down payment would be 30%. Kyle deserves respect for admitting his error and doing everything he could to correct it. At this point, I asked Kyle if he could have the engineering department finish their structural/roof stress analysis, as this would ultimately determine whether or not my roof could sustain the solar system. This, in my opinion, is the most critical step in the process. I was advised not to panic because it is uncommon for a roof to fail the analysis, and if it did, there are simple fixes, but this had to be done later. They claim that the next part will be quick and easy, but it was anything but. You are contacted by another salesperson, inundated with emails, required to fill out a slew of paperwork, upload pictures, apply for a loan (unless you are paying in cash), make your downpayment, and speak with a loan department representative, all while receiving daily reminder emails that you have an outstanding item that must be completed or your project will be halted. This was a little overwhelming because everything came at once with little guidance. Then another PM (project manager) contacts you to schedule a drone inspection of your roof, and you are put in touch with yet another person, the engineer coordinator. I had to leave work to meet with someone at my house to finish the structural/stress investigation. I was assured that the analysis will be completed by Kevin, the lead engineer, but a young child arrived. He was really kind, however he was newer to the company (his admission) and it was clear since he did not appear confidence in the task he was doing. To make matters worse, I received a call a week later stating that they needed to send an engineer back to obtain additional measurements because some were missed and spacing needed to be verified. So I had to leave work early again again, and Kevin personally promised to meet me at my house this time to "get it right." Kevin did not show up, but another person did (he did a wonderful job and appeared confident in his work). I had to follow up with the project manager, who informed me that my roof had failed the structure analysis and that the only way I could proceed was to spend between $5,000 and $10,000 to support the roof. The one star is not because my roof failed (I am grateful that the company was thorough and would not want to put my house and family at risk), but because it was a huge waste of my time having all of these conversations, making a down payment, having my credit checked, filling out all of this paperwork, and so on, when a structural analysis could have determined my roof was insufficient early on in the process. I did want to talk with a supervisor/manager, and to her credit, she called me straight away to discuss the problem and my dissatisfaction with the procedure." - Ron

"In 2015, I purchased a huge system for the price of a nice BMW. It's been fantastic...until the wifi dongle died (which talks with the internet to tell you how much power the system is producing). Sunpower did not notify me that it had died; I only discovered out when my end-of-month report stated that I was no longer producing any electricity. The cost of replacement is $900. Customer service explained that the warranty had expired a few months before. Excellent client service, gentlemen. Excellent work. " - Piers Platt

"I had my system installed in October 2020. Let me start out by saying I did not pick empower solar because of there reviews. I picked them because of there products. I also choose empower to do my mother in-laws solar project. So let me start off with my sales rep. Scott. He was great he answered all my questions and it took a while to finally build the right system for both projects. Unfortunately what was written down on paper in regards to the federal and tax credits were a lie. It was all a sales tactic to get you to sign I did not receive the amount that was told to me by Scott. So now I have till June to pay the $23,000 or it will get rolled over into my loan. I am not getting that back from my taxes. I encourage anyone who’s looking to go solar to first talk to your tax guy. Now my next issue with this company was my project manager Georgia she was horrible. She had a lack for communication every time I had to call her to find out what was going on and when I finally go in touch with her it sounded like she just woke up. Everyone was working form home and it was like they were talking in there bed. My solar project was gonna be 29 panels originally but I had my roof redone and I moved somethings around. So I asked Georgia to setup a droid to remeasure my roof to see if I can get 30 panels she said the they will use Google Maps to look at my roof. I tried to explain to her that my roof is new and Google Maps is old it’s not updated after a week of trying to convince her she finally had the droid come out and after measuring they confirmed I can fit 30 panels. Now the paperwork had to be updated because I signed for 29 panels and wasted over a week try to convince Georgia to measure the roof. Then it was just a lot of back a forth with her and she was not very attentive. Then the install team came and put up the unit so far I have no issues with the install team. That’s why I gave the one star. Then my system was up and running but I had an issue with the pvs6 unit it was dropping the WiFi signal. I dealt with Jose for like 3 months trying to figure this out it was very frustrating finally he sent someone to troubleshoot it didn’t work. Then again someone came out and the changed the unit now the WiFi signal was good but I couldn’t see the amount of usage on the app. I spoke to jose he said he had to contact sunpower but It would take time cause he’s involved in an audit. I waited and waited and waited and nothing. First of all you’re audit is not my problem. My problem is my system I’m still a customer and I should come first. I spoke to the supervisor of that department and the issue was fixed in a day. Unbelievable that that’s all it took to fix the issue. Now I come to the permit closing department. My project was a little involved so I thought I was looking to get a little personal touch with closing my permit. They assigned me some guy again working from home that seemed sleeping when I spoke to him. When I tried talking to him to tell him what was going on he acted like I was bothering him. So I didn’t want to deal with this guy. I dealt with the supervisor Rory. He was great he answered all the questions and we learned that the paperwork the closing department had were wrong cause they never updated the amount of panels on the paperwork so that was a setback. But other then that Rory was great that’s why they got 2 stars. So based on my experience it is rediculouse to me that I have to deal with a supervisor to get things done over there. And I’m still trying to get the $500 friends and family check from them since November. I can’t believe what an unorganized business this is. I wouldn’t recommend this company" - daniel martinez