SolTerra

SolTerra did an absolutely fabulous job and has been a pleasure to work with. :-) We initially contacted them over a year ago for an estimate so that we could plan for our installation, get a few estimates, and compare technologies. After doing exactly that, we reached back out to them to move forward with our installation; everything SolTerra had in their proposal (which had three energy options) reflected just what we were after: the latest Enphase micro-interters, 400W Solaria panels, Enphase control systems, LG batteries, and very good warranties. Throughout the entire process, Kevin was there to answer any questions that came up. Once we decided to move forward, SolTerra put us on the schedule and kept us updated on the tentative start date. We were initially looking at starting in June and actually started at the beginning of August - not bad given the disruptions of the pandemic. When the day arrived, so did SolTerra with 33 solar panels, mounting hardware, and various other system components. The installation of the mounting rails and panels happened at the same time as most of the electrical system installation - after 5 days the panels were installed and the majority of the battery system and Enphase control systems were installed as well. There were a couple delays due to a defective control board (which took a few weeks to obtain a replacement), but even while waiting for the replacement the SolTerra electrician and team finished up every part of the installation they could and scheduled the necessary inspections. By the beginning of September, we were all set and waiting for PSE to drop by to approve the installation and throw the switch to turn on the system. Throughout the installation, the electrician and crew were very communicative, keeping me updated on the progress they made each day and the timeline for inspections and any associated updates. I particularly appreciated the electrician's updates when the defective control board was discovered, and that he provided me with lots of details each day as he installed new components or made alterations. The end result was a beautiful system, from panel arrays to batteries to control systems and conduit - it was all very polished and showed professional engineering design and high-quality installation. After the system was operational, Kevin came to the house to provide a full walk-through of the system, components, and the related Enphase Enlighten app and its features. At the end of his visit, I had copies of all the plans, manuals, approvals, permits, and warranties, plus a complete understanding of my system and its indicators - I was one happy, informed customers. I was also really pleased that the SolTerra crew came right out when a small leak appeared from a vent that was jostled by the installation (the solar panel installation probably moved the old vent just a little bit). Kevin and Neil had a crew out the day after I contacted them and made certain that the vent and all nearby solar mount points were extra-sealed - the leak was completely resolved. I really, really appreciated their promptness and how they took the time to ensure there was no potential for leaks from the solar install - they stand by their products, crew, and customers completely. I would definitely recommend SolTerra to anybody considering a solar installation - they have a top-notch crew and use the best-in-class materials to provide a long-lasting, turn-key installation. I'll even be reaching out to them if we decide to expand out battery storage. :-)

We've been up and running for less then a month and we've already "planted" 20 trees and kept over 700 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere! All of SolTerra's employees were polite, informative and very professional. We are super happy with our system and wish all of our neighbors would get on board.

Nick Richardson was awesome to work with, for that matter, the whole of SolTerra was great. Nick showed me an overview of what solar power is capable of and then tailored the system to my exact needs. All said and done, I am producing power every day , some days its less than I consume, but on overage ( 2 months and counting) I have over produced and end up with a PUD credit. This company is really easy to work with, and enlightened me to the options of free energy. If you are on the fence about solar power, come on over, you'll be surprised at what you've been missing. Lastly my experience seems to be the norm, I'm super happy and wish that I`d done it sooner, looking at others reviews of SolTerra, I now understand why this company is so highly rated!

Nick Richardson was our Solar Design Consultant and was extremely knowledgeable and fun to work with! He went above and beyond to walk us through every step of the process and gave us thorough product options, which made us confident that we selected the system that worked best for our home. I strongly recommend SolTerra Systems for their knowledge, experience and dedication to customer satisfaction.

We had a great experience with SolTerra's installation of our solar panels.  We were impressed with their accessibility, professionalism, and the quality of their work from the initial consultation all the way through to our final inspection.  The process was very easy from our end, as SolTerra managed all the federal, state, and county paperwork for permits, rebates, taxes, etc.  They really worked hard for us, and we couldn't be happier with the end result!

We had been discussing installing solar panels after our neighbors made the leap and thought it would be a good idea, but we had some concerns about it. Kevin did an excellent job of explaining the whole process to us and gave us a good idea of how long it would take to get a return on the investment. It was an easy decision once we did the math.

The installation of the solar panels was the easy part and that happened quickly and smoothly. We also had to upgrade our electrical panel and service, and SolTerra handled all of the permitting and city inspection processes. They did a good and thorough job on that as well.

We loved working with Solterra! 



At the beginning of our process we knew we were interested in solar, but had so many questions. And, we are the type of people that really like to have a in-person conversation to evaluate our options. Solterra was happy to come to our home and sit down with us. (Not all the companies we contacted were willing to do that. Several wanted to simply look at our house via google and send us a proposal.)



Solterra did an excellent job educating us about our solar options and the current incentive structure. They then provided us with several options, and we worked together to come up with the perfect one to meet our needs.



The communication about the installation was excellent, and the installation itself was done quickly and professionally.



Additionally, Solterra provided turnkey service which meant they handled all of the paperwork required from the state and the city to have our system connected to the grid and so we receive the proper incentive payments annually. This was a huge benefit -- saving both time and stress. And they have happily answered all of my questions about the incentive system before, during and after the installation.



Finally, we did have an issue with our electrical panel where one item in our house was mis-wired. When we found the problem, they came out the very next day and fixed it at no charge. The electrician took the time to test everything else on the panel to make sure there were no other issues. This is the kind of service you want when you have a problem! 



I know that I can call Solterra with a question at anytime and I will receive a prompt and helpful response. I highly recommend them!

unknown

unknown

unknown

I contacted a few solar installers to get estimates. Chose SolTerra for a few reasons. Mainly, I liked their idea to use Tigo Energy modules to deal with some minor shading issues. Most other installers didn't seem very familiar with them. Also, they do a bit more than residential solar, so seem likely to be around in the long term. They're involved in WA-state level solar advocacy, and their CEO has a neat vision about reconnecting cities to nature, e.g. via green roofs (search for "solterra ceo ted talk"). 
(About the Tigo optimizers: those are DC power optimizers, which are simple devices that are on the roof by each panel, and can optimize each panel's output so that a little shade doesn't kill the entire string. They should be reliable and last as long as the panels. Then the panels can connect to a Washington made string inverter to get the full benefits of WA state incentives.)
Was pretty excited to get solar panels, so went with SolTerra after evaluating a few installers, who were all pretty close on price. However it turns out I could've saved several thousand dollars if I had waited for one more bid (from a top rated Angie's list electrical contractor, no less). So definitely do your homework on pricing & don't rush into an agreement before you get all of the bids.
Regarding the job:
It took a few weeks between initial contract and starting the install. Things started off very well. The roofing crew was there for a few days and they were awesome. Super nice folks & I got to go up and see the work-in-progress.
The main electrical install for the solar was done the following week. It seemed like a pretty clean install. They found a nice way to route the DC cables along the outside of the house, in a way that is short and mostly out of view. Also a good spot for the inverter (outside, shaded location to keep it cool, easy to service). They were able to route the solar power to the electrical panel without needing to punch any holes inside the house.
I didn't really have any problems at this point, except the next day I noticed the Tigo online system was misconfigured (not showing one panel, some positioned incorrectly). I figured since SolTerra set things up, perhaps they could fix it, but I wasn't able to get any help after brining this up several times with different people. They made it sound like they'd raise the issue and get back to me, but never did, and also like Tigo support wasn't getting back to them. After waiting a few weeks I contacted Tigo Energy (the module manufacturer) directly and they were able to fix the problem immediately. Everything's good now, but it felt like SolTerra didn't have a system in place for following up with problems.
There was also some confusion on the paperwork. I got a lot of things to sign after the install that were supposed to come before the install. Not a big deal, but it felt a bit disorganized.
There were a few issues on the EV charger install. There wasn't a lot of communication about scheduling it, and it seemed to drag on for a while, which meant more days working from home for me and rescheduled meetings. At first it wasn't totally done and the city inspector had to ask for it to be fixed. Seemed like maybe they don't do EV charger work much.
Another odd thing: they said that the down payment was to pay for the solar panels. But that did not seem to be the case, as I got a notice from the electrical supplier that things had not been paid for, and they had a right to take a lien against my house. This was like a month later. I made sure that the supplier had been paid before I paid off SolTerra.
The good news is the work is overall seems to be very high quality. So I think this might just be growing pains, as they seemed really busy and with a bunch of new staff (many who were excellent and very helpful). In some sense results are what count, and everything's done now and working well. I think they're a good company overall & will get better over time.
The system numbers:
6.44kW, 23x280W Itek panels, made-in-WA 
Solectria 6600 inverter, made-in-WA
Tigo: 23 optimizers, 1 gateway, 1 cloud connect

The Solterra installation was professional, on time, and absolutely seamless from start to finish.  We worked with Matt, Geoff and
Aimee.  Aimee (our sales representative) was ready with answers to all of our questions about the project and how it would proceed. We are currently producing (for the month of May) over half of the electricity that our 4,000 ft. house uses.  We are 
thrilled with the system they installed!

We did have few glitches with the installation. There was some delay and the guy who was dealing with us went on with another project and there was nobody who could really oversee the deal. It is actually very complicated. Once you have the panels up, there is a whole bunch of stuff that happens. The electrician has to come out, the state has to come out and the city has to come out. So Terra did fall down in that aspect and they did not get the right paper work submitted in order to get our rebates. But once they knew that they didn't do it, they did it right away. They were also a bit expensive.

unknown

The quality of work was excellent. Our neighbor had worked with them, and that is why we went with them.

unknown

We enjoyed interacting with the brilliant young professionals at Solterra.  While the biggest concern for most of our neighbors and friends seemed to revolve around how it would look, or whether it would ?pencil? out, our first priority has been to provide clean energy to our house.

Yes, we are delighted with ?how it looks.?  Yes, this project does in fact ?pencil out.?  Yes, we are not only supplying clean energy to our house but creating surplus energy to be shared with our neighbors.

We will submit a picture of a graph on how our 30-Panel solar system has performed for the past 30 days.  The eGauge display is available to us anytime on our home computers.  The dollar amounts are calculated based on $.09 per kWh (a severely conservative calculation, actual retail rates are probably $.10 or more).  We chose the most conservative calculation to make sure whatever we save/earn is in fact more, not less, than what our eGauge shows.  The day shown on the graph is for Sunday, March 23, 2014.  The blue panel on the upper left side shows results for 30 days, the green panel on the right side shows the one day result.  The graph shows we have generated more electricity than we used during the 30-day period ending March 23, 2014.  We will also submit a picture of how the inverter and battery back appear as installed in our garage.

We have a turnkey solar electrical system including backup batteries.  The cost of solar systems are often summarized as a ?cost per panel.?  That approach would be somewhat misleading for our system because we added the battery backup system.  Also, we added specially treated dark colored rails and risers to mount the solar panels on our roof.  The rails are colored dark to make them visually ?disappear? when viewed against the dark colored roof.  The risers hold the panels high enough to clear all the pre-existing vent pipes on the roof.

Aimee Carpenter and Matt Molzan of Solterra responded with close and timely attention to any concerns raised by us before, during and after the initial install period.  Matt made sure he was present February 14 when PSE arrived to install their meters.  This made sure his expertize would be there to respond immediately and directly to the PSE technicians should their inspection of the system require further clarification.  Battery powered backup systems are not very common (yet), so the meter installation went as efficiently as possible with Matt there to talk electronics with the PSE technicians.

Matt was also present for the inspection by Washington State Labor & Industries, and again when the City of Sammamish sent its inspector to the site.  Aimee handled the initial paperwork, including the required filings with the City of Sammamish to obtain the city permit on the project.  We live within a homeowners association, and Aimee also helped us obtain the information we needed to stay within the rules of the association?s architectural controls committee.

The project involved a great deal of coordination between multiple governmental agencies, businesses, and others (including us).  The industry (grid-tied solar panels in general and battery powered backup systems in specific) is in its infancy.  Some players (my homeowners association, for example) are being asked to respond to the industry for the very first time ever.  Others, my local fire department, have responded to individual requests in the past but are still writing up a proposed set of uniform standards.  So, we were particularly happy to find that Solterra?s depth of knowledge and skill within the industry kept the project moving with sure footed confidence from beginning to end.

The project concluded within the time frame expected.

The quality of the work was first rate.

Work went very well, professional, service oriented, high quality work and efficient.

We have been very pleased throughout our process with SolTerra Systems to bring solar energy to our residence. Our SolTerra representative, Kevin Moen, has been instructive, patient, and responsive while providing us with a quality product, a cost-saving solution and a quality installation. 
We found that the employees of SolTerra exemplified all the attributes we would want and expect in making our decision. It was a pleasure working with them and, especially, with Kevin. We would highly recommend the SolTerra team to any prospective customer. 

Excellent experience.   Solterra did everything they said they would do, and they did it well.  Our salesperson was Aimee and she was very knowledgable about solar energy and how our rooftop panels would connect to and interface with our electricity provider, PSE.   I asked her alot of questions about the details and she had all the answers.   She was informative and very pleasant throughout.   There was never any pressure.   She gave us the facts and let us decide.  Truthfully, the photovoltaics system really just sells itself.  She was up front about all the costs so there were no surprises, and there were none.  The installers did a great job, too.   There was a minor hitch with part of a bracket but they fixed it right away.  I actually told their supervisor they could wait for a few weeks to fix it, but he told me he wanted to do it right away because completing their job correctly is their priority.   I have dealt with a lot of contractors over the years, and in my experience you don't always learn the true charactor of a contractor until there is an issue.   The way the contractor deals with any issues that come up is the true test, and Solterra exceeded my expectations.  Our panels look great on our roof, and in fact you have to look closely to even see them.  They are working great and generating electricity for us.   I just had Solterra add a monitoring system so I can see exactly what our system is doing.   Our panels have been on the roof for about three weeks and so far we have generated about 10% more electricity than we have purchased.   Not bad for a family of four.   Of course this is June which is one of the best solar months of the year.  I highly recommend Solterra.

This past fall/winter (2012) we began looking to have our roof replaced.
The first company we dealt with was one step short of a scam and made
the road ahead to a new roof appear quite bleak. Then were then turned
on to Solterra by a friend that was getting a new roof from them as well
as solar panels, something we?d never thought about getting before. We
met with Kevin, who clearly explained the process and technology, as
well as the incentives for putting in solar (like a great tax credit).
We also had the perfect roof for solar (south facing). We were sold!
Kevin was great to work with, answering questions and keeping  us up to
date on the entire project, helping us with financing from Puget Sound
Credit Union (who also was very good to work with), and guiding us
through the multitude of forms from the city. The roof was on very
quickly and efficiently (and much less than the cheapest offer from that
first roofer), followed by the solar panels and new electrical panel.
Everyone involved were very professional and did exactly what was
promised in the time indicated. We highly recommend them.

After contacting Solterra to give us a bid for a roof and solar panels, Kevin quickly made an appointment to bring us an estimate. Kevin spent over an hour with us giving us detailed information about the different solar panel scenarios. He was very knowledgeable about the 3 different products he as able to offer us. He also had detailed information about the cost versus benefit of the panels and was able to answer all of our questions. Solterra works in conjuction with Puget Sound Credit Union to offer financing for the solar panel projects, so he was able to talk a little about that too. He didn't have detailed information about the roof, but he was able to get us an estimate within the next week. We made what we felt was a very informed decision based on the information he provided in the estimate. We didn't want to pay any money out of pocket, but rely on the financing so Solterra worked out a proposal that was within our budget. At no time did we ever feel pressured to make a decision.
Kevin was able to get work started on our project, roof and the installation of the panels, began within two weeks due to an unexpected opening in their schedule. The workers were on time, tidy and quick. In total, roof and panels, it took 5 days to complete the job.
It took a bit longer for the city to get the meters installed, but overall, the process was quicker than we anticipated.
We are completely satisfied and have already referred Solterra to a friend of ours who is getting a roof and panels as well.

For the most part the experience was great. There was a time where I did not hear from the PM and had to call the office for assistance to see where we were. After that though the company worked with my roofer to complete the project with full satisfaction.  The representative came out a few weeks later to go over all of the warranty and additional features.  Will work with them again!

We bought our house 4 years ago and the roof was replaced at that time.  The old owners paid around $20,000 at that time.  The roof had low spots where water accumulated (called ponding).  With standard roofing, ponding will negate any warrenty.  Obviously, the roofer at that time over-charged the former owners for an inferior roof.  We got estimates for a new roof this past summer and all came in around $20,000+ with multiple different recommendations.  I wondered if we replaced the roof at the same time that we installed Solar, if it would be advantageous.  We contacted Solterra and were immediately in touch with Kevin Moen.  He was courteous, knowledgeable, believable and obviously loved his product.  He came when he said he would and followed through every time (unlike the other 3 roofers).  They made recommendations about safety issues with our electrical panel and some deterioration on the structure of our roof.  We never had to clean up after any of the workers and they were all a joy to work with--uncommonly courteous and delligent.

Our experience was the best that we have ever experienced in our 30 some odd years of owning houses and rentals.