Clean Solar

Project: add whole-house battery backup to a 20 year-old home with existing solar PV system. I had three goals: 1. Load shifting (provide electricity during peak energy charges) 2. Provide backup power in case of a grid outage. 3. Qualify for the battery backup rebate before it expired. I recommend Clean Solar without reservation. Everyone I have interacted with at the company has been professional, polite, and clear in their communication; everything they said they would do they have done. More details: In June 2025 I decided to explore getting a battery backup for my house before the incentives expired at the end of the year. At a local Art & Wine festival, I spoke with two companies and gave them my contact information. Then I did a Google search and found two additional companies that were highly regarded, and reached out to both--one of which was Clean Solar. Clean Solar was the first company to get back to me. Their Design Analyst, Art Balaoro, explained the process to me including the timeline--with so many people trying to get battery installations done before the end of the year, every firm was super busy. He said it was going to be tight but he believed it was possible. After discussing my goals, Art produced two quotes, one using a Tesla Powerwall and another with a Franklin battery. I wanted to avoid Tesla and liked the higher capacity of the Franklin battery. They sent out a technician to look at my home details--main panel type and location, possible battery locations, etc. They determined that the Powerwall would be the more cost effective option because the Tesla Backup Switch would fit in my panel, whereas the other solution using the Franklin battery would require adding a new sub panel and a lot more wiring. I originally wanted to put the battery inside my garage because the only logical outside location gets very hot in the summer sun. However, putting it in the garage would require adding a "heat sensor" that had to be tied into the house fire alarm system, which would significantly add to the cost. Only one of the other 3 companies I had contacted got back to me, so I eliminated the two that didn't from consideration. This other company I had to repeatedly call to get a response; they never sent anyone out to look at my home--I had to take and send in photos of everything. They eventually did produce a quote that was within a couple of hundred dollars of the quote from Clean Solar--and Clean Solar was cheaper! Final quoted price was just north of $20,000. Given the responsiveness of Clean Solar, the effort they put into understanding both my goals and working around the unique constraints of my panel, I chose them as the vendor. They were very clear in keeping me informed as to the state of my project and who I would be interacting with at each stage. It took nearly six months--the system was only installed in late November and final inspection was in early December--but everything went according to plan. Their installation crew was professional and experienced; very neat in their work. The last step was the city inspection. Cris, the technician from Clean Solar, arrived before the inspector was scheduled to come, checked everything over, turned on the system and verified correct operation (he had to install firmware updates and make a few minor tweaks). He also helped me configure the Tesla App, and had all the information ready for when the inspector came--which took only five minutes because all was according to code. A week after the inspection, I had a final call with Art the design consultant where he wanted to confirm everything was to my satisfaction. It is!

The solar product itself and the quality of the installation work are pretty good. Unfortunately, the customer service experience has been consistently poor, and that has overshadowed what could otherwise be a positive experience. We signed with this company in 2020. Even the initial installation was delayed due to their scheduling to start work but forgetting to pull permits. Since then, ongoing service, warranty, repair, and recall support has been extremely difficult to navigate. Communication is a major issue. When problems arise, it often takes weeks just to receive a response from the support team, and even longer to get work scheduled. Follow-through is unreliable, and updates are rarely proactive. Most recently, we dealt with a manufacturer recall. The company arrived to complete the replacement only to discover the parts they brought were incompatible with our system. This was especially frustrating since they originally installed the system and had full access to our schematics and system details. As a result, we had to wait an additional month for the correct parts to be ordered. This is consistent with the lack of organization and planning within their company that has been an issue for years without them making any noticeable attempt to improve their operations. Scheduling and technician management are also problematic. We are never given clear timing for when technicians will arrive. Work routinely takes longer than promised because technicians do not work full days. On multiple occasions, technicians arrived late in the morning, left early in the afternoon, or sat parked in their car for extended periods before starting any work. The ongoing disorganization, poor communication, and lack of accountability in service and support make it very difficult to recommend this company. Don't use them If you value responsive service and reliable follow-through.

After a series of incidents, I've built enough confidence to leave this review. I chose Clean Solar over another well-established local company with 15+ years of experience and paid over $10K more for their promised superior warranty and service. Unfortunately, the outcome has been the opposite. First of all, the quality of the installation is subpar. The most recent issue was that my system failed to detect a power outage and continued charging instead of powering the home. This was the very first outage since installation--just two months later. It's clear they never properly tested the backup mode. There were also several smaller issues before this one. Secondly, their customer service is slow once the contract is signed and payment is made. In the incident above, I received no response even after one full business day. They don't provide a phone number, so the only option is to email and wait--sometimes until the power comes back on its own. The difference in responsiveness before and after installation is quite obvious. Such support and workmanship might be understandable for a budget installer, but for a company that markets itself as premium and charges at the top of the market, I expected much better. With this level of service, I honestly worry about how well they can support customers over the next 10 years.