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    Luminalt Solar Energy Solutions

    4.9 (83 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 5:30 pm

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    Vegetated roof with Luminalt solar collectors.
    David B.

    Trustworthy company that does excellent work. They installed collectors on my cantilevered solar canopy that tops my Net Positive Zero Cottage" residence in San Francisco.

    Luminalt Solar Installation

    I will add to the five star reviews. I've been around the solar business for a while, so I was aware that Luminalt was well-respected. I first met someone from Luminalt when I took a class at PG&E. The Luminalt person was the expert PG&E brought in to discuss working with legacy household infrastructure. When the city inspector shows up, sees the crew, and says, "Oh, you guys again. This will be quick and easy," you know you picked the right company. When it was time to replace the roof, acquire a solar system, and upgrade the electrical to support a heat pump heater, I got 11 quotes for solar using EnergySage. Luminalt does not participate in EnergySage and now I know why. Some of the bids that came in were flagrantly in violation of building codes or shady in some other way. Others were clearly loss leaders that would have to be changed to get approval. Luminalt was more expensive than any, but they also told me the truth in detail about what needed to happen with my electrical service (which was way less than I expected, thanks Luminalt). I had a roofer lined up, so I asked the roofer who does quality solar work. He said Luminalt. My neighbor was having extensive electrical work done and that electrician was clearly doing quality work. I asked him who to choose for solar. He said Luminalt. As other reviews state, Luminalt is more expensive because they hire locally in San Francisco and their crews are consistent and experienced. It is true that this is a polite, careful and courteous group of people all the way from sales to project management to installation to permitting to post installation. Now the capper. We received Permission to Operate yesterday, Dec. 19th. The original estimate was next March. Luminalt exceeding expectations again.

    Guillaume P.

    Just got a new system installed. Very professional experience all throughout + the installation crew was incredibly helpful & attentive to details once on-site (Pam & crew). The system looks great. Very happy. Big fan!

    Andrea R.

    After 15 years of being in the renewable energy industry, going solar was one of the first things on our list after buying a house. We chose Luminalt after speaking with Zach Sharpe and being impressed with their proposal and five star equipment. The installation crew - Victor, Tim, Theo, Jose and David - were fantastic and we can't wait to have our system interconnected by PG&E in the next few weeks. If you are considering going solar with Luminalt, I would recommend you sign your contract early in the year and confirm your install date as the tax credits are stepping down at the end of the next few years and the wait time for an installation can be lengthy as they get very busy.

    Our roof after Luminalt's installation
    Galen W.

    "Whoohoo! As good as it gets!" is not quite right. But, first the great stuff... We love Luminalt and think their people and services are both excellent AND superior to other options. We are genuine fans. Everyone we talked to, from salesman to engineer to project manager to customer services has been knowledgeable, accurate, and attentive. They carefully surveyed our roof and designed a system based on what we told them we wanted. Every (EVERY!) contact with them has been pleasant, professional, helpful, and successful in moving us to our goal of solar power. We very much like that they are a genuine San Francisco firm. Some of the other people who we talked with were basically general contractors who found local talent to install the goods they sold on an ad hoc basis, and their calls were coming from LA, if I remember correctly. So, if something goes wrong in a year, I guess these other guys would contract the repair work to any available engineer. Anyway, Luminalt impressed us because they HIRED full-time people, and their people are uniformly wonderful. We also liked engaging a woman-owned engineering firm who assigned a female engineer and project manager to our work. The system went in quickly, and has worked better than promised since we went live the last day of December. I've waited a bit before posting this review, just to be able to say the system is genuinely performing as expected. (We are actually getting more power from the panels than promised, but that is a function of the sunny-skies drought we are enjoying.) There have been zero problems or gotchas under Luminalt's control. The City changed its enforcement of fire codes which caused our project to morph somewhat, but even then Luminalt helped us alter the project so that our basic wants were still met. I don't think we could have done better than picking Luminalt. So, Luminalt is as good as it gets... for the moment. But,... The only frustration or caution we have with Luminalt is that they are so busy and backlogged! We signed in August, 2019 and were told to expect that installation could be delayed to early December because they were suddenly slammed with orders. In the fall we were told that installation actually would be in early 2020. For a number of reasons, that would cause problems, and Luminalt agreed to shoe horn us into their schedule. "Thank You!" for that. Really. But, we were told by the installers in December that people signing up then were going to have to wait 10 months. They are hiring... they even asked us if we knew certain types of people they need. But, right now they are badly backlogged. And, some of their over-busy-ness shows. We were told sometime in early November (I think) that they would try to install at our house the week of December 23rd with the modifications required by the change in City policy. We had to pump them for a revised contract and date confirmation in early December. And we didn't hear from them to confirm exact start time until Friday, December 20th when they said they'd be out Monday at 8:30-9:30. We were happy, but a bit more communication along the whole way of the project would have smoothed our nerves. Similarly, our expectations were not set about when we were going to learn how to control the system. The company knew that the engineer readying the system for the city inspector would help me download the apps and use them. But, I didn't know that and asked the installers about how I was going to control the system. The installers were reassuring but not quite sure of who was going to show me and when. An unqualified "As Good as it Gets" awaits learning that they're caught up and installation occurs, say... within a month of contract signing!

    I have to say I was skeptical that Luminalt had such excellent reviews, could they really be that great? My husband and I searched around and yes, we could have gone the cheaper route but I knew if something went wrong after the installation, I wanted to be able to have someone to call that could come out and fix it. Luminalt from the start were incredibly professional. They set up a zoom call where they went through everything that their service provided, how the installation would work, costs and overall usage and savings with solar. Once we agreed to move forward with them we had a project manager assigned to our house that came out and looked around to get a good assessment of the plan and layout. We were told our installation would take 4-5 days. The team arrived on time Monday morning. Everyone was wearing masks. Everyone introduced themselves to me and my husband. They were polite and courteous. They never left any of their garbage around from lunch or snacks during the day (which we have experienced when we have had work done on our house before with other workers). They swept and vacuumed at the end of each day. They would let us know when they were leaving for the day, and go through the status of the project. Their installation within our garage is beautiful. Seriously. It looks so good. Everything is nice and neat. A project we thought was going to take 5 days, they completed in 3 days! Solar panels, plus Tesla backup battery, plus car charger. They came back after 1 week to do the inspection with the city (which they set up so we didn't have to deal with any of it), which was quick and easy. After they left we noticed something with one of our lights and called them, they were back within 15 minutes. Fixed it in 5 minutes and were done. It has been a long time since I have had such great customer service. The 5 star reviews are completely accurate here. I would give more stars if I could. Yes, you are going to pay a little bit more BUT it is worth it! You get your own PM for the project so you have a point person to help guide you and answer all of your questions. You are supporting a LOCAL SF company, who not only does their job well, but are also incredible courteous and respectful of your house and space. There were at least 7 team members that were at our house each day who were knowledgeable and incredibly polite. I can't recommend Luminalt enough. If you are on the fence, go with them.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Luminalt Solar Energy Solutions

    Review Highlights - Luminalt Solar Energy Solutions

    Friends in Oakland raved about Noel Cotter and Luminalt, so we called them when our solar system malfunctioned.

    Mentioned in 17 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Sutro Power

    Sutro Power

    5.0
    (28 reviews)

    When Solcius went out of business and left my family's project unfinished, this company stepped in…read moreand saved us. As a first-generation immigrant daughter, it was frustrating watching my parents get scammed and left hanging. This team (JP, Juliano, Jason, Brian, Austin, any others I may have missed) went above and beyond, showing care, integrity, and true compassion. I'm so grateful for everything they did for us during such a stressful time.

    Our power line was pulled down overnight, leaving us without electricity. I called PG&E early in…read morethe morning, and they informed me that I needed an electrician to repair our downed weatherhead. I reached out to my neighbor for a recommendation, and they suggested Sutro Power, as they had previously done great work for them. I also checked Yelp, since I needed someone urgently. One of the Yelp responses came back with a very high quote and couldn't schedule us until 4 PM, which meant PG&E wouldn't be able to reconnect our power until the next day. I was concerned about being overcharged due to the urgency of the situation. Then JP from Sutro Power responded. He arrived that morning, provided a quote that was half the price of the other company, and still very reasonable. JP was transparent and communicative throughout the entire process. His team--Tommy, Rick, Vlad, and Austin--did an excellent job. They were friendly, professional, and made sure to clean up afterward. I highly recommend Sutro Power for their reliability, fair pricing, and outstanding service.

    Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions

    Sunlight Electri-Cal Solutions

    4.9
    (82 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.

    Carlos and team were great to work with, from proposal to permission to operate. I highly recommend…read moreSunlight Electric-Cal Solutions. I wouldn't call anyone else. Great value, great customer service. Couldn't have asked for a better experience.

    Clean Solar

    Clean Solar

    4.7
    (478 reviews)

    All of a sudden the panels at my mom's house stopped producing energy and I was in a pickle because…read morethe installer went bankrupt years ago. Because of the good experience I had with having Clean Solar install panels at my house I reached out to them to see if they would service panels installed by another, and thankfully they accepted the job. After some back and forth with their customer support, they remotely assessed that the inverter failed and they would install a new one for a reasonable price. Clean Solar employee Jose arrived early for the install and he was very polite and relatable. He replaced the inverter and did not leave until he made sure that the system was back up and running and production was being reported in the app. I recommend Clean Solar to anyone needing their panels serviced or to install a new system. Jose is an excellent employee and my mom had a great experience working with him.

    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!

    Occidental Power Solar & Energy Storage

    Occidental Power Solar & Energy Storage

    4.3
    (36 reviews)

    What started as a small talk with a stranger on the sidewalk in San Francisco with a very positive…read moreand nice person, developed to a walkthrough the facility and full conversation about solar installations and a great advice about how to proceed with a flat roof new solar installations. Thank you Greg. -Michael, Swift Restoration

    Every now and then, a company does such a great job that I wish that Yelp would allow me to give…read morethem 10 stars. This is the case with Occidental Power Solar Company. My wife and I have struggled for years with staggering Pacific Gas and Electric bills ranging from $300 to $600+ per month. Most of our friends have bills ranging from $100 to $200 per month here in Pacifica. We hired an energy consultant. He spent a day at the house. He wrote a most professional report. To make a long story short, we had to gut our roof and rebuild the entire attic of our home to solve the problem. We were looking at a bill of $40,000 or more. I rejected this. I felt that solar panels were the answer. Over 5 years, four solar companies came out. Sometimes an engineer came along. They did in-depth quotes with a cost of over $40,000 that did not work. This is due to the fog and vegetation blocking the sun. On the fifth try, I brought Occidental Power Solar Company. They did a professional job. They proposed a system costing $27,000 that would do the job. Despite protests from my wife that the system would never work, I hired this company. I got one heck of an education in solar power. We encountered an initial problem that their system required a 150-amp power box. We had to upgrade our 100-amp power box. Pacific Gas and Electric got involved. There was a lot of bureaucracy and delays. A new transformer had to be installed in front of our house. This was an all-day operation with 3 giant trucks involved. Occidental installed the solar panels on our roof and the support equipment. A permit had to be obtained from The Pacific Planning Commission. A final inspection of that permit opened the way for Pacific Gas and Electric to turn on the solar power system. It took them almost a month to do this. There is a saying in English that I love as follows: "The proof is in the pudding." Early this morning, our first electric bill arrived after the solar power system was turned on. It was only $29.89!!! Occidental Power Solar Company had exceeded all my expectations.

    Sunrun

    Sunrun

    1.0
    (16 reviews)

    I referred a close friend to Sunrun after being explicitly promised a $1,000 referral incentive if…read morethey moved forward with an installation. My friend did proceed, the system was installed, and all contractual obligations were fulfilled on their end. Despite this, I never received the promised referral incentive. I have made multiple attempts to resolve this issue through customer service and by contacting the original sales representative, Jake Denniston. No one has returned my calls or followed up in any meaningful way. I was later told that the referral incentive would come out of the salesperson's commission, which raises serious concerns about how Sunrun administers and honors its referral program. What's most disappointing is not just the missing incentive, but the complete lack of accountability and communication. I referred Sunrun in good faith based on the representations made to me, and I feel misled. This experience has damaged my trust in the company, and I would not recommend Sunrun to others unless they are prepared to get everything in writing and chase down promises that should be honored automatically.

    This is a follow up on previously review of Sunrun. If you are like me, you on looking at Yelp…read morereviews because you are looking for reviews on a particular business. In this case Sunrun Solar. I wish I had this service 14 years ago. In my case the installation went well. Over the years the panels themselves have performed as expected, however you are going to have things go out and it is how the company responds to these problems that defines a good company form a bad one. Sunrun is one of, if not the worse company to deal with after the system is installed. Each time I had a problem IE.. Inverter going out, optimizer failed, cell card failure, sunrun made every excuse to avoid repairs. I have a 20 year, pre paid system where I take advantage of all power produced, and as per contract, Sunrun is responsible for all repairs. In addition, contract states should I go outside sunrun for repairs, the warranty is void. In each case sunrun made excuses for not repairing the system. Not until I filed numerous complaints with the BBB, and state contractors licensing Board did I finally get them to fix the issue. It literally took months to get the repairs finally done. When optimizer went out sunrun said the system was still producing what was guaranteed and as such would not fix the optimizer. My thing was I bought 19 panels and I expect all 19 panels to work. He laughed and said, what you want free power ? You did not pay for 19 panels, you paid for a minimum amount of power which you are getting. Most recently communication on my H Wave Inverter stopped communicating making it impossible to monitor my system via the Solar Edge App. When I called Sunrun to lodge a complaint, I could not understand anything the agent was saying due to a language issue. She did not have the slightest understanding of the system and was depending on a computer knowledge base. I specifically told her it was a communication issue, however she listed the problem as system under performing. When they checked the system they told me all was well as system was performing as designed. What the hell! I told them the cell phone card on the mother board was out. I knew this as it had happened before. After speaking to a so called customer service specialist, I was told all they really are concerned with is that the system is producing. The fact a part in the inverter was not working was of no concern to them. However should I want a technician to come out and check the system, I needed to pre sign an agreement to pay $600 should they find the system performing properly. Based on previous conversations I was sure they would say the system was working, ignore the communication issue and charge me $600. My advise is to stay as far away from Sunrun as possible. Find a company that has a proven record of taking care of customers after installation. I hope this review helps someone avoid the problems I have encountered.

    Luminalt Solar Energy Solutions - solarinstallation - Updated July 2026

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