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RGS Energy

About us

RGS Energy (formerly Real Goods Solar) has been bringing clean energy solutions to homeowners, businesses, schools, governments, and utilities of all sizes since 1978, when it sold some of the first retail solar panels in the U.S. With eight offices from coast to coast and over 22,500 solar energy systems totaling more than 235 MW installed, RGS Energy is one of the oldest, largest, and most trusted clean energy EPC providers in the country. In order to best serve our California customers, RGS Energy works with a network of high-quality Authorized Integrators to facilitate your solar panel installation.

Business highlights

47 years of experience

Services we offer

Take control of your electricity bills with a low, affordable renewable energy solutions including solar power system design, and financing options available, and more – all tailored to your energy needs and goals. With purchase, fixed rate on clean power from RGS Energy (formerly Real Goods Solar). We offer easy, installation, lease, rebate acquisition, there’s a great chance we can reduce your bills with the kind of clean energy you’ll feel great about using.

Amenities

Free Estimates

Yes

Accepted Payment Methods

  • CreditCard
Reviews
4.824 Reviews
Number of StarsImage of DistributionNumber of Ratings
5
75%
4
25%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%
Showing 1-24 of 24 reviews
Eric L.
Apr 2016
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
.

Joanne B.
Sep 2015
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$14,000
They seemed to be very reasonable. They also offer rentals and they also put it in your house for free. You contract a specific a price that you're going to pay for your electricity. They'll have you pay "x" number of cents per kilowatt hour. They do free repair.

James S.
May 2015
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
unknown

Ron P.
Jun 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$20,000
The service was real good.  They did a great job, they did everything that they said they would do. We have just completed our first year, and they were right on about the costs and savings. We have regenerated as much energy, as we used. It came out just right, and we are very happy. We were satisfied with the price.

Denis B.
Jun 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
We had a great experience. They are a fine company. I would recommend them. We got the best possible deal and the service was very good. The price was excellent! It was the very best.

MARC K.
May 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$12,000
We already had a solar sytem in our home, and were looking into adding to it, in order to further reduce our PG&E bill, espcially with the addition of an electric car. Matt from Real Goods Solar took the time to help us determine the proper size of the system, and was patient and helpful when it took us some time to make up our mind. I felt that Matt was the most professional and knowledgable among the representatives of several companies we asked for a quote. Pricewise, there was not much difference between the quotes, and Real Goods was certainly competitive.
The installation went well and quicker than expected. It only took Real Goods a few days to install the system. The time it took PG&E to sign off is a different story, but that is not under the control of Real Goods. There was a little bit of a hickup with the electrical panel, that required a few changes and a second inspection by the city. This could have been avoided, but Real Goods took care of it, so no big deal. Real Goods did go the extra mile to paint the conduit on the roof and on the side of the house, which is something we asked for, so that we wouldn't have to hire someone to go on the roof to paint the conduit, possibly damaging roof tiles.
Overall we are very pleased with the services provided by Real Goods Solar.


Robert W.
Apr 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
Real Goods Solar (then called Regrid) were very professional at all levels of service.  Very good at follow-up service as well.  We had a slight problem with the solar thermal and they responded quickly to fix the problem.  They do excellent work and we found them to be courteous, friendly and neat.

Deborah S.
Feb 2012
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
They have recently closed and consolidated everything to San Hose.  That was our biggest problem with them, because they did that in the middle of our time with them.  Everybody who worked out of Santa Cruz either quit the company, or moved, or is working for the San Hose office.  We really liked their salesperson and the first couple of people who came out.  They didn’t get back to it right away and I think it was this business about consolidating their office.  We looked through the cracks for a little bit and once we got everything worked out, it worked like clockwork.  The installers were just absolutely great.  The one thing that my husband would probably say about this is this.  They have got a system to monitor our panels and we had to point out to them that we were getting shaded by something and there was a miscommunication when the things were being installed, but they would shorten some of the pipes up there.  Somebody came out to do it, and he shortened the wrong one.  My husband thought that if they are monitoring things, they should have seen this.  All in all, they had good installers.  We just had problems with communication with the company.  I ended up calling their company in Colorado to get it fixed.  We like our solar panels.  It was a good price.  They have this offer where if you pay for it up front, you are leasing them than buying them, and they have to come and fix everything for you.  It was a really good deal.  There was one time when they didn’t notify that they were going to show up and they showed up, but otherwise when they said they were going to be there, they would be there.  I would use them again in the future, but I am armed now.

Allen L.
Feb 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$25,000
I thought their estimate was the best in terms of what you get for the money. I thought they did an excellent job with the installation. We've never had problems with the system. They were prompt and responsive to any questions we had. They provided an online monitoring service that we use all the time. The only thing I didn't like as much was that it took them all the way until January to get the work done, and it wasn't that big of a project. The contract was signed in August.

FRED S.
Jan 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$12,000
We had gotten several estimates. We ended up going with them and their salesperson is our neighbor. They climbed on the roof and came up with a plan on how many panels we needed and where to put them to get our best bang for our buck and to be most efficient. We had also gotten a couple of other personal references. There were rebates that we were able to use. They worked with our roofing company to put in the supports. They subcontracted to put in an electrical box, which was done well. We have a small wireless network to check on the efficiency of the panels to see that they are working. They worked with the building inspector. We just got our first bill and we paid $360 for electric this year so we are very satisfied with them and with doing it. They were not the cheapest. They were polite and did a good job. They got all the permits. There were a couple of glitches and they ironed those out immediately. They cleaned up. We had trouble with our router and getting the information so they set up a wireless network. Everything worked really well. They were very cooperative and professional. Their quality made them the best choice and we would give them a personal recommendation.

Holly M.
Sep 2010
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$35,000
It's working great. I looked for local companies and asked for bids. I chose Real Goods not only because they had the lowest bid, but they had a lot of experience in the area and they new what kind of solar panels would not offend local architectural view, etc. They did a fine job and I would recommend them. They didn't just install it, they came back several times to make sure everything was working right. At the time I wasn't living at the home permanently and they worked around my schedule and came out when I could be around. They had to make a presentation to the architect to make sure everything was fine with them and they did a very good job. They definitely knew what they were doing.

MARILYN L.
May 2010
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$17,000
They are really good and their price seemed good too. There was some poor communication about the progress of the work between the different departments that we were dealing with. I have no other complaints other than this.

BRADFORD W.
Mar 2010
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$25,000
The company is in the process of changing its name, but I forget what the new name is. Everything went very smoothly. There were no surprises in the estimate and the work was performed. They told me that they would do my solar system in the time frame between the 2 dates they gave and they actually started on the final date, so it was a little slow. Other than that everything went exceedingly smoothly. I was very pleased.

Henry D.
Aug 2009
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$37,000
Things went smoothly. The estimate went smoothly and there was only one thing about getting the rebate from California.

Sara E.
Mar 2009
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$17,000
They were really flexible with us as we had to put the project on hold for the permits and the money issues. It was great that they worked with us. They handled the all the paper work. They explained things very well. They kept in touch and followed up on everything. When it was finally time to put the solar panel in they were on time and prompt and did a good job. The price was exactly as they quoted us. They were really, really, really excellent. I would recommend them to anybody who wants to get a solar panel done.

NOLAN L.
Oct 2008
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$35,448
My sales contact was Gary Frazier, whom I met at a solar vendor fair. After I contacted him, it was easy to schedule an estimate. He asked the basic questions and took measurements from the roof. We later received a very thorough proposal describing different size systems using two brands of panels, Sharp and Sunpower. We chose a larger system using Sunpower modules to give us greater flexibility in the configuration of panels on our roof. He answered all of our questions and was very responsive by email. He worked with the engineers to customize our system. He accepted a $250 Angie's List coupon. I also got quotes from other companies, but they seemed kind of flaky, and I had more confidence in Regrid, even though they charged a bit more. After placing a $3000 deposit, Regrid reserved our city rebate, with no effort on our behalf. Then, came the wait, 6 months for the back ordered Sunpower panels. They warned us there would be a wait, but said we were "at the top of the list." We missed out on Spring and Summer energy production. In the meantime, Regrid installers worked well with our re-roofing contractor when putting in the panel standoffs. When the panels finally arrived, the installation was scheduled pretty quickly and the crew completed all of the work over 3 days. The crew was professional and cleaned up after every day. Two inspections followed over the next two weeks, and there didn't seem to be any problems, but I was impatient waiting to turn on the panels during this time. Finally we could see our meter run backwards. A month later, a monitoring unit was added to the inverter so that we could monitor our energy production over the internet, but it was our responsibility to get an internet cable to run outside from our router. Internet monitoring is a great free service. We received a useful Users Manual in the mail. Final payment is based on the after-rebate cost, which is nice. The Regrid office took care of the rebate with no effort by me. Going solar was super easy, once I got over the long long payback period.

Sara R.
Sep 2008
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$40,000
They were awesome! They had already done work for our church that had gone well, which is what caused us to use them. They were professional, prompt, polite, clean, finished ahead of schedule and passed inspection with flying colors.

JO R.
Jun 2008
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$18,000
The work was very good and they were very easy to work with. They did a great job and really knew what they were doing. I had a lot of follow-up questions and they were very good and patient about answering them. The workers were always good at keeping us up to date on their work schedule.

JEANNETTE S.
Aug 2007
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$32,000
Excellent. The proposal was thorough and useful. All communications were timely and clear. We always knew what the next step would be.. Workers were prompt, friendly, and efficient.

BILL B.
May 2007
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
They seemed to do a really good job. It looks fine and works good. The workers did clean up after themselves. I would use them again and I thought the price was good as well. They did stick to their estimate.

LARRY W.
Apr 2007
4.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$40,000
I would use them again.

VIET N.
Dec 2006
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$40,000
The installers came and installed in four days. They were clean and efficient with their work. They were very unobtrusive while installing. They initially scheduled for installation three to four months out, but were able to install in much shorter time. Overall I am satisfied with the work, and now I'll just have to wait and see how the system performs when the weather clears up.

SUSAN D.
Nov 2005
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$25,000
ALL OF THE WORK WAS COMPLETED IN A VERY TIMELY MANNER. THE 2 MEN WHO COMPLETED THE INSTALLATION KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING, AND ANYTIME WE HAD A QUESTION OR CONCERN THEY ANSWERED US. SINCE THE INSTALLATION, THE COMPANY HAS CONTACTED US WITH FOLLOW-UP CALLS TO BE SURE THAT WE WERE STILL HAPPY.

ROBERT F.
Jun 2005
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$54,000
TOM & STAFF OF REGRID ARE A HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL, COMMUNITY-MINDED BUSINESS. THEY PROVIDED HIGH QUALITY WORK & A VERY REASONABLE PRICE. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM.

Licensing

State Contractor License Requirements

All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.

*Contact business to see additional licenses.

FAQ

RGS Energy is currently rated 4.8 overall out of 5.

RGS Energy accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard

Yes, RGS Energy offers free project estimates.

No, RGS Energy does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.

No, RGS Energy does not offer a senior discount.

No, RGS Energy does not offer emergency services.

No, RGS Energy does not offer warranties.