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    Shade Power

    4.8 (18 reviews)
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    Services - Shade Power

    Solar system installation

    Solar rooftop panel installation

    Shade Power Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Shade Power

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    Fantastic experience with Shade Power! From the first consultation through installation this company was awesome. Thorough consultation and design, very ,very professional and careful build and bringing the solar system live. We're thrilled with the solution and highly recommend talking with them to see if it's the right company for your project.

    It was surprisingly difficult to find anyone in the Bay Area who would install solar panels on a pergola, so I was delighted to find Shade Power through Google search. From the very initial email contact Jen & Chadwick were very responsive and answered all my questions. Even before I was presented with a formal project estimate, I was given a lot of background on costs, process on permits/construction/installation, etc. Once the construction started, I don't think they ever missed a milestone and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they were able to get things done. The crew also thoroughly cleaned up the worksite at the end of the day. We're very happy with the quality of their work and enjoying both the pergola and the solar power.

    Cycledawg A.

    Chadwick and his team are GREAT! The benefits of a solar pergola are threefold...you have a beautiful structure, usable space, and it generates clean energy which supplements your electric bill. The team faced a multitude of setbacks from the city, through no fault of their own and they were able to pivot and complete the job with flying colors. They use only premium materials and are masters of their craft and really know what they are doing. With a solar pergola, you do not have to drill holes in the roof and you don't have to pay them to have removed when u need roof repairs. I would highly recommend their team!

    After
    Devan W.

    Summary: Shade Power did an excellent job on our entire solar pergola project. We are extremely happy with the final product and would highly recommend Shade Power for any solar array and/or pergola installation. Details: We heard about Shade Power through a mailing and it came at a good time. We had been thinking about installing additional solar panels (we had 18 panels on our roof already), but weren't sure if it would be worth it since we had already maxed out the South-facing portion of our roof with solar panels. We also knew we wanted additional shade in our West-facing backyard, but we weren't sure exactly what to do about it. Enter Shade Power and Chadwick Strum. When we first met with Chadwick, we could tell he wasn't a pushy salesman; he really knew what he was doing and he was relaxed. He took his time to carefully and thoughtfully answer any questions we had; he didn't just immediately say "yeah, we can do that" to every request. He was also very patient with us in helping us decide exactly what we wanted. We initially thought we might want a free-standing pergola, but after bouncing ideas around with Chadwick, we realized an attached solar pergola made the most sense for our yard. On top of that, Chadwick made several suggestions that made the project even more appealing with the weather strip on top to make the pergola rain-proof, the light and fan in the center, and the pull-down shade curtain to block the evening sun. The project took a few weeks to complete with the construction, solar panel installation, permits, wood staining, etc. The entire Shade Power team was extremely professional throughout the entire process. I'm happy to say we now have a beautiful, solid, durable, extension of our home in our backyard with the solar pergola installed by Shade Power.

    Pergola bottom left
    Justin D.

    Chadwick, Jen and the team do exemplary work above and beyond expectations. These are some of the hardest workers I've witnessed in my 40+ years. Shade Power faced setbacks from the City of Clayton and Contra Costa County on the approval process of our permit (not SP's fault) to build our solar pergola. Once they got it they sprung in to action and built our pergola in 2 and a half weeks! Very careful of COVID protocols I never saw them without masks. If you are like us, and want to try and make a difference by using clean energy, give these guys a call because they will not disappoint.

    Solar Pergola by Shade Power

    We had talked to a few solar companies and they all wanted to put panels on our 1930s hand-made clay tiles that can not be replaced. When we brought up the subject of a new pergola structure it seemed to make these other companies nervous. I think that they would have had to deal with subcontractors and it just was something they did not do frequently. Not the case with Shade Power. They do all the work themselves - no subcontracting. Even through the coronavirus shutdown the communication was always there. The process of the build was seamless and we enjoyed having them on site. The pergola itself is wonderful and is generating (it is the peak of summer) significantly more electricity than we are using which makes me want to say SUCK IT PGE. It's also beautiful and regardless of the benefits of the clean energy is a wonderful addition to our home. Based on our experience I would highly recommend this company.

    Shade Power delivered! What can I say other than I deal with a lot of contractors on a daily biases, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for cheapest $/Watt this is not the place. Shade Power uses high quality panels, high quality materials and has a team that builds a quality product. Chadwick and his team are courteous and professional, no shortcuts here. We have had our system for a few months now and have combined two investments - build a pergola and install solar - that is already paying dividends. We spend much more time outside than ever before, the solar pergola really has created a space we can enjoy for many years to come. Give them a call and take a look at the product you are buying, they will not disappoint.

    We opted to have a fan installed as well

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    Ask the Community - Shade Power

    Review Highlights - Shade Power

    From the very initial email contact Jen & Chadwick were very responsive and answered all my questions.

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Highlight Solar - Top solar and battery contractor

    Highlight Solar

    (247 reviews)

    North San Jose

    We have had an Enphase solar installation for 10 years now, which has always worked beautifully…read more However, due to regular PG&E outages in our area (Fremont, CA), we decided to add a backup battery to the system. After careful research, we chose Highlight Solar (HS) to handle this installation. We chose the Franklin battery, and Highlight Solar came out to handle the installation in Nov 2025. Sadly, we had some serious issues with the functionality of our solar infrastructure, after the Franklin equipment was installed... the Enphase solar monitoring device (called Envoy) started having trouble communicating with the panels, and therefore would disable them. HS made a couple of different attempts to fix this issue (which was delayed when they went on vacation for a month), so I had to keep cycling the breaker for the panels every morning to get the system working for another day. Fortunately, they were persistent in pursuing the issue, and after returning from vacation in late January, Samir came out and spent a couple of hours on the phone with Enphase support, who suggested a possible solution for this issue. HS then had someone come out to implement Enphase's suggestion, and now my system is working solidly and reliably (Feb 2026). I'm glad HS didn't just give up on us; I'm sure they were just as frustrated as we were by this situation. We certainly didn't expect this to take three months to resolve, but it is working now.

    We met with multiple solar companies and settled on Highlight due to both the great recommendations…read moreas well as our experience during the initial process. We asked a LOT of questions, then we asked more, and then some more. Ali, our salesman, remained patient and communicated thoroughly via email or phone, and at all hours even after we had signed the paperwork. The installation process was honestly better than the sales process. The combination of Chris (the foreman who found a solution for all our requests) and his team which worked in awful weather to get our project installed on schedule were amazing. Our inspection, and final handoff were handled by Samir, who answered even more questions, and made sure we were fully set up. From end to end we had a great experience with Highlight Solar and will recommend them as they were to us. Pro tips: If you get a battery you will need to store it until it is installed. Your solar data might not show up on the app for 24-48 hours after installation...don't panic, it will show up eventually and you will see the money you are not spending with PG&E.

    Clean Solar - Beautiful solar install on clay roof

    Clean Solar

    (477 reviews)

    North San Jose

    Unreservedly recommend Clean Solar!…read more Had PV Solar installed when the house was built in 2006. Under our existing rate plan (time-of-use, meaning pay high rates 4-9 pm and low rates the rest of the time), and metering agreement (NEMS 2.0), we were selling more electricity (in $ terms) than we were using. However, we will be forced to switch to the new metering agreement (NEMS 3.0) in late 2026, which drastically cuts how much PG&E pays us for electricity we sell to them--we will end up paying money to PG&E. This motivated me to consider installing a whole-house battery storage system to do "rate shifting"--store the excess electricity generated by our PV system in the morning and early afternoon to power the house during the high rate period (4-9 pm). And of course provides energy in the event of a power outage. I also wanted to take advantage of the energy tax credit before it expires at the end of the year. Reading reviews on Yelp, Google, and other sites, I decided to contact Clean Solar along with 3 other companies. Clean Solar was the first to respond and I had a thorough conversation with a Senior Design Analyst, Art Balaoro. He listened and understood my goals, answered my (many) questions and said he would get back to me with options in a few days. Of the other 3 companies, 2 never responded to my inquiry at all! The other one did, but I had to repeatedly reach out to them to make any progress on getting a quote. In contrast, Art did as he said and responded within a week with several options, primarily around which battery vendor to go with (Tesla vs. Franklin, I preferred the latter) and the battery location. Clean Solar scheduled a technician to come out and look at our house: location and configuration of the main panel, possible battery locations, where the existing PV inverter was, etc. Took a lot of photographs and measurements to verify compliance with building codes. In contrast, the other vendor was sluggish to schedule someone to visit, so I ended up sending them photos and measurements from the Clean Solar visit. Because of the peculiarities of my house's main panel, it was going to be more difficult (and expensive) to install the Franklin battery. And although I would have preferred to put the battery inside my garage, building codes would have required a replacement of the entire smoke alarm system throughout the house, also adding significant expense. Art walked me through these issues thoroughly and so I went with the recommended (and cheaper) option, going with the Powerwall and an outside location. In contrast, the other vendor didn't do as thorough an analysis and wasn't aware of these issues until I pointed them out. When I did get a comparable quote from them (exact same system components), it was slightly more expensive than the Clean Solar quote. I started this process in June, and immediately Art said it was going to be a close thing to finish the project before the end of the year--so many people were wanting to install solar or battery projects and claim the tax credit. Art also walked me through the timeline for the whole process and how it would be managed on their end. Based on the interactions I had with him and others, I felt that Clean Solar was the best choice for my project--and my experience bore that out.

    This is my second time around with Clean Solar, and they are just as stellar as the first time, if…read morenot better and more efficient. We needed to add panels because we purchase an EV and needed more solar to offset PG&E. The impeccable experience started with Art the consultant, he gave 4 scenarios and explained in detail what each means and provided detail report including all the tech details and break even timing. To be honest, it was too much for me, I really just wanted pricing and how long it takes to install haha but was good to know he has such knowledge and I was confident he is looking out for my best interest. Then we had Patrick the PM, arrived for site inspection on time and courteous and explained the whole process. Then come the impressive installation team Luis, Alberto and Kevin. The 3 arrived on time and with smiles, just overall a great vibe from them. Luis walked me through the installation plan and gave a few choices taking into consideration aesthetics of the house and then got to work. 4 hours later, clean line, fine craftsmanship and symmetrical matching placement from last system is in place and ready to tangle with PG&E (attaching some photos) I really really can't recommend any higher to go with Clean Solar on your solar projects. Seamless is what you'll experience with them. Until next time Clean Solar!

    Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions - Franklin certified

    Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions

    (80 reviews)

    I can't say enough good things about Carlos Gomez from Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions…read more I've been working on a non-standard solar setup using an EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra X and EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 3, and finding a contractor who truly understood this type of system was incredibly difficult. I spoke with many contractors, and almost all of them sent salespeople who gave generic answers or tried to push cookie-cutter solutions that clearly didn't fit my setup. Carlos was completely different. From the moment he arrived, it was clear he wasn't a salesperson -- he's an engineer, and it shows. He took the time to deeply understand my system, reviewed actual spec sheets on the spot, and immediately identified issues that other contractors completely missed. Multiple companies told me Hyundai panels would work fine. Carlos checked the amperage limits, applied proper safety margin calculations, and clearly explained why those panels would not work with my EcoFlow system -- saving me from a costly mistake. He also walked me through: Proper panel selection within voltage and amperage limits Safe string configurations and series wiring How to maximize roof space while staying within code Permitting requirements I hadn't been told about before On top of that, Carlos identified critical code and safety requirements that no one else mentioned: Bollards required in the garage to protect battery units Correct battery placement to maintain required clearance from doors and entrances Heat detector requirements for battery installations in a garage These are all things that would have caused inspection failures later -- and Carlos caught them immediately. He spent well over an hour with me, climbed onto my roof to check for obstructions, inspected battery placement, reviewed wiring paths, and answered every question in detail without ever rushing me. What truly sealed the deal was how efficient and transparent the pricing process was. Carlos was able to turn around a detailed quote very quickly, and when I received it, I was honestly surprised -- it was a significant amount lower than every other quote I received, even though his evaluation was by far the most thorough. Given everything: His technical expertise The level of detail and care The ability to integrate with my existing system The fast turnaround And the much better pricing Choosing Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions was a complete no-brainer. Carlos is knowledgeable, meticulous, honest, and genuinely passionate about doing things the right way. After meeting him, I completely understand why this company has such strong Yelp reviews. If you're in the Bay Area and need electrical or solar work done the right way, especially for a non-standard or custom system, I highly recommend Carlos and the team at Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions.

    I actually first contacted Sunlight Electri-Cal very early on this year, in April. I had closed on…read morea new home but knew we would want to get solar installed. Juan was very responsive and came out to take a look at our home right away. What I loved about Juan and his team is they are NOT sales people, they're real engineers who are focused on solving your problems and meeting your needs. Juan and his team are true solar experts and know exactly what they are doing - they were great at walking me through key details I should know about the system, how to best take advantage of having a solar system, and did their best to get me scheduled (in spite of multiple difficulties) for installation before the end of the year. Just for context, I've talked to another solar company where clearly they were just about trying to close the deal and sell sell sell, which really turned me off - it felt like they just wanted our money as opposed to wanting to understand what we really needed. Juan's team really shined here by just showing up to be real experts who are thoughtful about what system you need, as opposed to trying to close a deal. Juan and his team were also really patient and flexible. Our new home's solar system had to be turned on before we could start any work, and that process took months due to Sunnova going bankrupt. And, they were also really thoughtful when we mentioned we had added in some upgrades that would affect electricity use (ie saunas and outdoor electric heaters), and they reassessed their initial project and updated it to accommodate that. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them and am really grateful that we got our project done so well!!

    Shade Power - solarinstallation - Updated May 2026

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