Compass Solar Energy - Pensacola, Florida

Joe C.

Last year Compass solar was selected by my roofing contractor to remove and reinstall so that I could get a new roof, $10,000. When they left I was told to give it a couple of days so everything could come on line. A few days later I noticed that two of my panels were not producing anything. I am told by Solar Edge that this also brings down productivity of all the panels in that group. I called Compass and they said they would do some on line testing and get back with me. No one came out to check anything. A few days later they called and said that two parts had to be ordered and replaced. After a couple of weeks they came out to install the new parts. The tech got on the roof and looked at the panels and said here is the problem, the two panels were not plugged in. He plugged them in and they began working. If they would have come out the first day they would have found there mistake and I would not have been withoug working panels for almost three weeks. I would have expected to at least receive an apology call but I never heard anything from them.

Last month my solar water heater stopped working so I called for repair. The tech was not here for more than 15 minutes and did nothing except listen to me about what the symptoms were and said that the actuator was bad. He would have to order it and come back to install. The initial call was billed at $270.00 and was not in my name but someone I have never heard of. I never received a ticket from the tech like I was told should happen. I never received an email bill because they had my email address wrong. When I called about the bill I was told that it would cost another $270 to replace the part plus the cost of the part which retails for about $230. So, $770 to install a clip on part and connect two wire nut connected wires. Is this a fair business transaction and good cutomer service? You decide.

After reading your response to my review I see a lot of apologies but no offer of any compensation. How do you expect to keep customers this way. Your information about what happened when the tech arrived is incorrect. I had already set up the water heater to operate on electric only before the tech arrived and told him I would leave it that way. Your tech did no work except to drain the heater after he refilled it, don't know why he did that. I feel that I was overcharged by at least a hundred dollars. It is a shame that all this occured because I find that you do excellent work and seem to be very knowedgeable about solar systems, but unfair charging without exceptions is a deal breaker for most.

Michelle M.

We bought a house with solar pool heat that was installed by Compass several years ago. We had them come out to inspect everything once we moved in (and repair a wire that was cut when the roof was replaced by prior owners).

Antonio was running late and called to let us know. By the time he arrived it was late evening and he ended up on our roof with a flashlight. Not only was he SO nice and helpful, but he recommended a few things for us to think about in the future. Cannot recommend Compass Solar enough, will definitely continue to use them. Shout out to Antonio too, he's the man!

David Y.

Built my home in 2007 and installed a solar hot water system. I discovered that the contractor was unlicensed when I applied for the Florida rebate. I contacted Dan and he agreed to inspect and certify my system....bailed me out! So, in 2017 when I decided to install a photovoltaic system, Compass Solar was the only installer I contacted. They designed and installed a 70 panel micro inverter system to meet the substantial requirements of my farm. I went from a big monthly CHELCO bill to monthly credits. This year I wanted to further reduce the CHELCO retail electricity that I used at night, even though the surplus I generated usually offset those expenses. Also I bought an electric car that I charge at home, so when Compass contacted me offering a battery backup installation, I signed up. Now, I have a pair of TESLA batteries, I no longer 'buy' electricity at night, the batteries recharge during the daytime and I recharge my car for free. These days I enjoy getting my monthly CHELCO bill/statement to see how much further ahead I am with 'credits'. The initial expense/investment is substantial, but in my way of thinking, I get free electricity and the solar adds to the 'value' of my home.

Daniel J.

I cannot give 5 stars to a company that quotes over $1000 for parts that cost me less than $100 and maybe 2 hours to install myself. Luckily, I was comfortable installing this myself but damn I feel bad for the person who cannot do something like this themselves with no other option.

To clarify, we called the solar panel manufacturer, Enphase, to help us set up our panels after getting a ridiculously high price to install the consumption meters from Compass. Lowering score to 1 star for inappropriate response from Compass Solar Energy to a low review.

Don't worry, we didn't plan on using you again so you won't have to worry about refusing us service 😉 We'll also let Enphase know about your amazing customer service skills so they can be aware of that before recommending you to anyone else.

Joshua F.

I had solar installed a few years ago by Compass. Everything went fine, but they were never able to have the hardware show the production/consumption since install. I never fully signed off on the install and tried going back and forth with the guy I was dealing with with no solution. I'm figured since it was producing, whatever. Fast-forward and I get a $165 power bill vs the usual $26 base rate to find my solar edge production stopped due to... Needing a firmware update.

I contacted compass about getting it fixed, and apparently the warranty stuff is just parts and they charge a $250 trip fee PLUS $189/hr to do anything to the system. This wasn't explained up front. So they come out and do the update, took the guy a little over an hour, almost $500 and my solar works again. Two days later, I get an email alert from solar edge saying something went wrong with an inverter.. Compass sends me an email.. do you want us to come out and fix it again for another $450+?

Super disappointed.

Edit: Turns out it was about $1200 for them to do the warranty replacement of the inverter that had failed, plus a few months of $170 power bills + the solar payment.

Also note, this is more of an issue with the SolarEdge product that was sold, and I realize Compass is business to make money. But dang, when they're selling people on the savings of solar, and I've experienced no net-benefit thus far vs having just kept paying my electric bill with the summer swings and lower winter bills... its just disappointing that getting any warranty work done is a $300-500 bill off the bat.

I'd say anyone considering solar should do their due-diligence before jumping on board the green energy train. I'm now finding there is very little value added to the home (despite the sales guys saying they add 10% to the value), and thats if the panels are paid off. Also, insurance companies are getting more selective about whether they'll insure homes with panels.

Costs will continue to go up for everything, and the payment for the panels is fixed. Just consider my experience of having to pay an extra few power bills here and there if/when stuff fails, along with paying to get the equipment swapped out.

They did come out in a timely manner when I had both issues, and got the system working again, so I bumped up my rating from my original.

JS W.

We had a rooftop solar system installed in 2019, and it was fine for a while. We have needed service a couple of times since, and because we live in Panama City, there is a $250 fee to come over and then a hourly fee for service. The techs are nice, but not often helpful. Essentially a $630 bill today so they could tell me I need to call the inverter company. They used to have an office in Lynn Haven, but no one useful was there and they seem to have closed it now. Totally NOT HAPPY about this company. Might be better if you live in Pensacola.

Jeremy J.

The folks at Compass are awesome to deal with. Their prices were better than anyone else I talked to and the service better. I would highly recommend Compass to anyone who is looking for solar options for their home or business. They have many different options that will fit any situation or budget. The crews that came to the house were very professional and cleaned up behind themselves. They make the process very easy for the customer by taking care of everything so you don't have any hassle to deal with. Compass is also a local company so when you choose to go solar you are keeping the money local.

James S.

Compass Solar is hands down the best company for a complete solar install. From the very first consultation to months after the install they are there every step of the way to answer any questions honestly and respond in a timely fashion. They actually listened to what we wanted as homeowners and it showed during the install.

Our sales guy was great, Bryan did not "push" us into signing as I felt other companies I shopped around for wanted without our interest in mind. We had choices of products and when I addressed my concern on colors (trim of panels) it was resolved by showing us the wonderful SILFAB panels that are all black (no white/metallic lines) and are very sleek looking. The prices for the panels I wanted with install were below what other companies quotes were as well we were not given a choice on panels selections. I felt that Compass Solar did not push their product that they had onto us but rather helped us make the choice of what we wanted. We still talk to him today as he contacts us just to see how things are. That's personable and nice to have in today's world.

Then the install came and we had Hernandez, Terrell, and Darius crew and they are amazing and professional. My house threw them a few curve balls due to location of attic wall to sub-panels on the complete opposite side of the house and their solution looks absolutely top-notch and professional. They also made each panels row level with roof line and parallel to each other with perfect spacing in between as well as no visibility or protruding edges over roof or sides. I have seen other installs that are both crooked or even staggered without thought to the appearance on the roof. The install team also cleaned up every day after themselves which is great nod to their professionalism.

The second install team (electricians) comprised of Duk and one more professional gentleman that connected the micro-inverters and panels to the grid and installed the combiner panel and connected the WiFi home extender as well as showed me how to use the app to monitor real-time production and usage were beyond awesome. Very knowledgeable and thorough in explaining everything as well as their work/install to the sub-panels through the brick was clean and done professionally.

The admin team (Stacey & Melanie) at Compass were also wonderful with their weekly updates as well as closing the loop in having gulf power receive the interconnection package with fee to have them accept and fully power on the system.

If you read this far, you can tell without a doubt that my choice to rave about Compass Solar is warranted! I tell everyone about them as I do not believe another company could have completed the job as professional and amazing as Compass Solar. Thank you for an over the top job on our house! I just had my first full month of solar production and it feels great to know my solar panels produced near 100% of what we used! I am beyond satisfied on all levels!

Thanks Compass Solar -

v/r Jimmy