1st Light Energy - Manteca, California

Mc M.

WARNING!! BEWARE!! Please- DO NOT use this company for solar panel purchase and installation!!

We purchased our (extremely expensive) solars from 1st Light and it has been the biggest mistake that we’ve ever made! Since 2019, we have had to file complaints, one after another for various reasons.

The current issue is that our dining room has turned into Niagara Falls, with a river of water coming into our home caused by the solar panels. The solar installation has destroyed our brand new roof, and been causing “slow” leaks that first entered our home in the fall 2022.

We contacted them IMMEDIATELY, via email, after our roofer was able to investigate and confirm that the leak was stemming from the “poor installation of the solar panels”. In December 2022, after TWO months of BEGGING them to send someone to take the panels off so that the roof damage could be further investigated, they showed up.

As 1st Light workers removed each panel, our roofer noted the damage that spread across the entire front of our roof; he sent them a new proposal after being able to properly inspect the roof with the panels off. The physical damage to the exterior and interior of our home was now $7,200, which is supposed to be covered under warranty.

1st Light claims that they are NOT liable and only offered to pay $1,800, which was the roofer’s original proposal; however after the panels were physically removed our roofer had a more accurate visual of the damage and it was obviously going to cost more.

Please take note that communicating each incident with anyone at 1st Light is like pulling teeth and with each day that passes, my home has turned into a flood zone because of 1st Light Energy’s negligence and lack of care and concern.

The worst part is that we cannot even begin the work until an appropriate offer is on the table. We did not expect this to happen, and as most hardworking Americans these days, we do not have $7,200 in our back pocket! Yet 1st Light’s response to this is, “You can begin work right away without the need of our company making any offer. This is a choice available to you”. It’s NOT a choice when it’s supposed to be covered under 1st Light’s WARRANTY!!

How is it that a professional window installer, a general contractor and a roofer, all specialists in their field who have PHYSICALLY INSPECTED the exterior/interior of our home, have attested that 1st Light Energy is solely responsible under their warranty. Yet, 1st Light claims that they made their own assessment and it was not “made by just 1 individual, but several professionals with years of experience in electrical and roofing”. How is this possible when there has been no PHYSICALLY INSPECTION of my property by “their professionals” especially since we live in NY and their “professionals” are located in California!!

As a consumer who has spent thousands upon thousands of dollars installing something that we thought would be environmentally safe for the environment and for our family, we absolutely do not recommend you use 1st Light Energy!

**Pictures are included to show the damage to our roof after the panels were removed and thus the interior of our home caused by 1st Light Energy’s solar panel poor installation.

Carla J.

Have called for over 6months to no resolve, and have had nobody return my call in over 5 months! the solar installation has ruined a huge portion of our roof and included interior damage to multiple rooms- their response, we will give you 10% off of your solar panel removal so that YOU can fix the roof. Steer clear!

Jeffry L.

Please beware! I had my system installed by them about 8 years ago. They were quick to respond and did a really great job installing. The system has worked really well and hasn’t had any problems until this past June when the inverter unexpectedly died. The solar inverter manufacturer (SolarEdge) was quick to send out an RMA’d unit which was really helpful.

The sad part is that 1st light energy wasn’t just slow to respond, but they never responded after 4 attempts. I’ve lost prime energy months and now had to reach out to other companies for help which includes much more than increased costs. If you’re looking for a company that doesn’t respond to their customers beyond the initial sale, then proceed with 1st light energy.

Janet B.

We had dolor installed about 5 years ago. It worked great for about 1.5 years. Since then we are paying both the loan for the solar and an electric bill. Have had the panels cleaned and bird proofed, no change. Called them and no return phone all.
Solar is not worth the hype and this company’s ability to provide support fails big time!!

Rick F.

This cob mpany is a nightmare! They lied and told me that their system would cover 90% of our energy it only produced 30%. Our true up bill was about 2,000 evey year. I at the time didn't know much about solar and so I didn't understand why we were getting such a high true up bill. When we went to sell the house the new owner didn't want the solar.
The department that does the installation and removal would not answer the phone and wouldn't call me back. After 3 weeks of calling 3 times a week I still hadn't gotten a return call. So I called billing and of course they did answer. I explained to the woman what was going on and that I needed to get someone out to remove the system. She was awesome and contacted the people I needed to talk to. It still took them another two week to come out. They charge me 1,000 dollars to remove it. The workers weren't happy to be there and they left a horrible mess. And to add insult to Injury they they told me that it would cost another 5,000 to install on my new house. Oh and by the way they said the new house would need 12 more panels and that would be additional 15,000. The new house is smaller then the old one so🤔.

Nicole O.

1st light is by far one of the friendliest and most professional vendors we come across at Public Storage . They are efficient and did I mention fast ! thought this project was going to take months and they were finished before I even knew it if I could give 10 Stars I could!!! And did I mention Kyle, Juan,Ryan and Hjalma all very polite and seem like they work together very well. Definitely recommend

Bradford B.

First problem, a sales person will sit down at your table and talk about a "call home" feature if your solar stops working, they'll know and notify you. Only that's a lie, because when it stops working and I catch it after a few months, I bring it up to them, and am told "it's my responsibility to monitor.

Second problem, I purchase a 40k dollar system that had a hardware failure in less than 5 years, and I have to pay $250 to get them to come out and diagnose it. Once they determine it's a hardware failure, I ask if the service fee is refunded. No, the warranty replacement doesn't cover their time and work. Except I bought a 40k dollar system that isn't good for 5 years, so you should probably stand behind the product you're selling.

Bottom line, look elsewhere. They don't stand behind their product or their sales promises. I'm out 3 very expensive months of solar coverage at this point plus $250 to get them to fix it. There are too many companies in this game to put up with this.

Update**Still no replacement, haven't had any solar since the end of February.

Shaun A.

They installed a powerwall at our house in Angels Camp months ago. We found out the work performed and paid for was not working properly when power went off this past summer. They came out and "fixed" the problem. It took them all day and the repair person explained the circut was not switching back when the power comse back on. They said they fixed it but now the power has gone off and we have no power at all. I called them and their warranty department is a voicemail. I called back and spoke to the receptionist Deanna and she would let Heather know I'm calling. I was transfered back to voicemail and now nobody is picking up when I call back. I live on 20 acres and am on wll. So right now my well isn't working and my family and horses have no water. I would have thought they would of made sure their work was done correctly before letting us know is "working"