I'm writing this review before my solar project has concluded. I'll amend this review as necessary…read moreas we finish.
I initially contacted Prospect Solar almost a year ago, in gathering information and quotes for a solar installation on my new house. Prospect immediately stood out. They weren't a sales front for a separate installer, they used all their own crews, they were a roofing company with a long reputation in DC, the sales rep was knowledgeable and gave me more and different information than any of the others... they were more expensive, but I felt like I was getting a dependable crew on my roof, a better experience, a higher end product, and dealing with a known, respected company. Sold. Signed.
This was in June of 2022.
It's now June of 2023, and while I finally have solar panels up on my roof as of a few weeks ago (installation was May 17-19) they aren't approved or turned on yet. I'm not optimistic they'll be switched on this calendar year (ie, in the next 6 months), if that gives you an idea of my overall experience.
Pretty much immediately after signing the contract, my experience went downhill. I was passed from my excellent sales rep to a project manager, and that was when the red flags started popping up.
One of the first red flags was that I was never explicitly told about the payment schedule, and the demand for the first payment was sprung on me when someone came out for my initial site survey. The payment schedule may have been buried in the contract, but it really feels like this is something that should be explicitly discussed with a client. So it was a little jarring to write a check for thousands of dollars unexpectedly, but whatever. A red flag, but partially my fault maybe, so okay. Sure.
After the site survey, communication slowed to a crawl. We spent July through October (so 3-4 months) going back and forth on my roof and permits. This was mostly just dead air on Prospect's end; I wouldn't hear anything from them for weeks at a time, until I sent a frustrated email. This would turn out to be a pattern that would cost months of delay.
Then, in October, Prospect revealed that there was some kind of supply chain issue with the manufacturer in China that was preventing my project from moving forward, along with many others. Months of false promises about phantom deliveries, apologies, delays, excuses, etc. later, and suddenly, Prospect has enough of a slightly different panel to service all of its delayed projects. Okay, great?
We're now into January of 2023. Six months have gone by, I've paid tens of thousands of dollars, and all I've got is months of radio silence, a hole in my attic, useless permits that have to be re-done because of the change in panels, and nothing else.
Communication issues had gotten worse at this point. They'd assure me they were working on permits or whatever, but I wouldn't hear anything for literally months at a time. When I'd email in and ask what the status was, suddenly, progress appeared! It became very obvious that either nothing was getting done, or it was getting done, but stalling out when moving from one step to the next until I sent an angry email and poked the nest. I received a concerned phone call from my sales rep about the lack of communication and I was assured communication would improve, and indeed I was kept more in the loop... for about two weeks. Then it died down again.
I finally got details about an impending installation in May, and the installers came out to do my roof a few weeks ago. The crew that did the work was great. Totally professional, got it done in 3 days, a delight to have work on my home. Can't really say for sure how the install went, because I haven't seen any photos or been given any details about the installation. Once again, radio silence from the office. Clearly there's a huge disconnect between the crews out in the field and the folks in the office. Not surprising.
So here we are, in June of 2023, a year after I signed my contract. I have panels on my roof (to my surprise), but no inspection scheduled, and Pepco has to do upgrades to the pole outside my house before I can switch my panels on. I have no idea when that's going to happen, and no confidence in Prospect's ability to chase down Pepco and get them to do that work on any kind of a timetable.
Waiting a year is bad, but if I'd gotten adequate updates and been kept in the loop the entire time, I might feel differently. I understand Covid, supply chain woes, etc. have thrown things for a loop.
But it's very clear to me that I'm not a priority, nor is my project being handled in any kind of professional manner. I email in and complain, and suddenly, things happen and we move along to the next step. They apologize, assure me they hear my concerns, then I'm forgotten about and another month goes by without any kind of update, and we repeat the cycle.
Avoid this company at all costs. Stay tuned. Will update.
