Advance Solar & Spa

Advance Solar strikes again! Advance solar installed a solar water heater at my home on or about 10/13/2015. The tank was installed in the garage. Some months after the install our house watch person found a large water spot in the garage ceiling. He went into the attic and found the pipes to the solar collector had not been properly sealed going thru the roof and he went onto the roof and found that the tiles had been cut and not filled in after they were cut. Summary "a slop job". The installers according to the paper work were Jesse and Moe. I wonder if they were with the Three Stooges, based on the poor quality of what they did. Move ahead to February, 2020. My installer attempted to install a hot water recirculating pump. He had to disconnect the hot water line at the heater tank. He found that Advance Solar's top notch crew of Jesse and Moe had broken the nipple by over tightening it and then "jury rigging" it to seal it. The nipple was broken under the jury rigged cover. The broken nipple was not removable and my 4 year old heater was JUNK. It will cost me about $2500 for a new heater. I think you would have to be out of your mind to use Advance Solar.

I thought my seven-year-old solar panels were causing a leak into my attic. The company I'd used was no longer in service, so I contacted Advanced Solar. Even though they don't normally service the model we had, the supervisor, sent a technician out immediately to check and caulk the fittings.Turned out, I had a roof leak under the panels so they would have to be removed and replaced to fix the roof. Advanced Solar gave me an estimate to upgrade the system. Due to an extremely rainy month, it took a number of service calls to complete the job but each technician who came here was extremely professional and knowledgeable. Very pleased with the work performed.

This project started about 2 years ago. The salesman seemed knowledgeable. The cost was about $5,000 but a 30% tax refund from the government helped. The project was supposed to be quick and easy--maybe a month at the most, because a permit was needed. It took over a three months from start to finish. I asked two important questions up front: How often do they break and need repairs? And what happens in case of a hurricane? I was told that they almost never break--there are no moving parts so there is nothing to go bad. And if there is a hurricane stronger then category 3 just give them a couple of days and call them, they come take it down. In the first year I didn't notice any saving in my electricity bill--maybe 5% but it was hard to say since these things fluctuate. The salesman called to follow-up--asking for referrals and about the solar panels. I told him that I hadn't seen any savings. He stopped calling. About 18 months after it was installed, I noticed water streaming off of the roof. I closed the switch on the pipe that supplied water to it and called Advanced Solar. They said it was probably a valve, but since my warranty had just expired it was going to cost $500 to replace. I complained and they lowered the cost to about $200. $200 to replace a very simple valve that had gone bad; it took about 15 mins (the service people that came out to the house were all very nice). Afterwards they asked me to write a review, which I did (just the facts); of course it never showed up on their website. Then came Irma. I called Advanced Solar at 8 am on Wed morning and asked them to come out and take it down (knowing that there would be a fee). They were rather rude--blaming me for not calling earlier. I replied that when it was installed they told me they would need two days notice and the storm was not expected to hit till Sat night or Sun morning and it was only Wed morning. They said they would call around and try to find someone for me. I never heard back from them. I had to pay a roofer to come and take down the solar water panel from the roof. He had to cut the piping so I decided not to put it back up (it never seemed to save me much and I had kept my instant on water heater as a back up). I then had a plumber come out to remove the huge hot water heater they had installed in my garage as part of the system. He said that the system had never been set up properly and that the water in the heater was very old and stagnant--it never worked!!!. He also said the hot water heater was a very old, inefficient hot water heater. Not only would I not recommend them, I would say there conduct was close to criminal. Oh and I found them Angie's list.

They came more than once without extra charge after the first visit because our water was not consistently hot. It is much better, maybe as good as it can be considering the age of our equipment

Extremely well. The entire team is very customer service oriented, knowledgeable and professional.

They delivered the unit at the appointed time which was critical as I had my lanai extended and delivery had to occur after the pavers were set but before the cage was installed. James G. is an electrician employed by Advanced Solar and did the installation of the spa. He fashioned a piece of electrical conduit for me to place on ground at a place he determined before the pavers were installed. It worked out fine and the spa was positioned perfectly. He did an excellent, very professional job installing the required 240V line from my panel and wiring in the spa. He then filled the spa and explained the units operation. His explanation was thorough and he gave us many valuable tips.

Sean D. took apart my pool pump and found a floating interchange valve. The pump was two weeks out of warranty and Sean D. said we can fix it and never tried to sell me a new pump. Because he had over 12 years experience and was very familiar with the problem he fixed it on the first try!

Technically, the work and quality of components was outstanding. The job was very well executed and their crew was great they worked even after the sunset and while raining to finish the day. The permitting part took way longer than expected, about 3 months though. Also, ensure anything that is promised to you before signing the contract is in writing. Their Solar sales department (Matt) was very responsive and always answered the phone and give feedback when these delays were happening. However, their operations department (for support after installation and payment) wasn't as expedite and I have to call them frequently for weeks in order to solve a minor outstanding issue.

However, we soon found the system barely produces half the power promised, and response from the company that had been so responsive before, now is non-existent. Meetings with Mark Langley appeared to be sympathetic and promising for resolution but, when Rick Vaske took charge all response ceased with no attempt to address the problem. With the financing required to purchase system, I now pay almost triple monthly what I payed prior to installation for power.

They did a wonderful job. The service was excellent. They were very helpful. I highly recommend them.

Arrived within proper time frame assigned. Serviceman was very pleasant, uniformed, neat appearance and willing to answer and or demonstrate operation questions.Proud of company, it's capabilities and company history.

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Great!  Their Salesman, John Winsker, came to our home to explain in detail about swimming pool heat pumps and their products, particularly the Gulf Stream.  John sized the unit for us based upon the gallons in our pool and then gave us a very competitive price compared to the other manufactures.  I was notified a few days prior to the installation as to what day and time the technicians would arrive.  The technicians arrived on time, were friendly, installed the unit to my satisfaction, explained the functionality of the unit, and answered my questions.  All in all, included price, I was completely satisfied.

Advanced Solar are definitely the most honest  & knowledgeable Solar installation company in the area!

I got quotes from other companies (who have reviews here on A.L.) and most were obviously not as qualified or honest regarding all i needed to know- one other company listed -was really hard sell with lots of gimmicks that did not sit well with us...

We had Advanced Solar first install a new solar hot water heater w/PV on the roof

2nd they installed a new solar pool pump and heat field on the roof

ALL WENT WELL WITH THOSE INSTALLS!

then we had them install an array of PVs in our backyard to have the entire house under solar power

All their crew and sales people are forthright and did a great job.

Even though i was out of town during the installation- they kept in touch with me throughout the entire project

So far everything is working great! 

When i had questions about draining the hot water heater before going on an extended trip= they came out the very next day to walk us through the process again (they had come out once prior for another trip we were about to go on)

They were very efficient.  If I ever need a new system I would only use them.  My system is 15 years old and works perfectly.

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Jason and Ruark of the Ft. Myers office were professional and helpful.  They are good ambassadors for Advance Solar.

Next  day after  they finished the installation, the pipes were leaking on the roof, it was repaired in 24 hrs.

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The customer service from Advance Solar has been exactly what people dread when dealing with contractors. The following are the details regarding my experience with the company.

Kristen said she would email me the warranty-she did not. She said someone was coming to have me sign the permit-they did not. Best of all, she scheduled my installation for Wednesday, July 16th. No one showed up and no one called to cancel and I had taken the day off of work.

I was given a new date for installation for Monday, July 21st. I called the company that morning at 8:30 am to confirm that they were coming and that it was ok for me to leave the premises. I spoke to Gloria who said they were on their way. I speak to Kristen at noon who informs me that rather than showing up for my installation, they are fixing a leak from Friday's installation and they will come "when the glue dries". 

I asked if anything was going to be done to compensate me for my time and frustration, and their admitted repeated mishandling of my installation. Nope. Nothing.

Please think twice about using Advance Solar. All of the companies will warm up your pool. What differentiates them is customer service and this is not the service anyone deserves.

-E Sheldon, Lake Worth Florida

Great..arr'd on time when they said, finished ahead of time.ans'd all ?

they were just super

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The service and sales were excellent. They are very professional. They only problem is that had to reschedule the install at the last minute. The installers were great. Very professional and made sure that my entire system was running correctly. They even repaired a minor leak and I just paid for the parts. The company even waited for me to call them with final payment. Very trusting and great customer service.