Creative Solar USA - Kennesaw, Georgia

Susan Davis

The Creative Solar staff members were initially very helpful and responsive in doing the groundwork for my solar project. However, after I paid over $14K, the project was delayed multiple times and communication with the staff became less and less reliable. Over 9 months after my initial projected installation date, I received notice that the installation was delayed indefinitely. My requests for a refund have been unsuccessful to date and so I unfortunately had to file a case with small claims court.

In reading through other recent reviews, it seems that my experience is not unique. I recommend that others who are having similar issues with Creative Solar file complaints with the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division (consumer.georgia.gov). There is strength in numbers.

Rob N

I would HIGHLY recommend Creative Solar USA to install solar panels for my family and friends. I'm writing this review in response to the large number of scammy & misleading solar companies appearing on local news team investigations across the US.that are tricking and misleading. Creative Solar is one of the good guys.

Overall Creative Solar USA was professional, transparent, communicative, and installation days were fast & efficient.

INITIAL VISIT
Learned about Creative Solar USA through a crowdsource neighborhood meeting called Solarize Atlanta 2.0. We set up the initial meeting, a professional & knowledgeable tech (Matt) came out and talked to us about panels. He set our expectations, and did some measuring of the roof to make sure there was enough space and a clear line of sight to the sun during both summer (high sun) and winter (low sun).

As soon as we agreed to the project, we were assigned our own account manager, Mary. She rocks! At the minimum, Mary would call every two weeks with a status update. Even if there wasn't an update, she would call and chat for about a minute with any news.

PROCESS
They had a web app showing us each of the 5 phases of the project, and payment installments. We saw when permits were pulled. This was in fall/winter of 2021, so we experienced supply shortage delays on our inverter.

INSTALL DAYS
Overall it took 2.5 days. Creative Solar had prep team come install the rails and run wire on the first day. The 2nd day was two days later due to weather and they installed all the panels in a half day. Another day, the electrician team came out and connected the panels from our detached garage and our 2nd story roof to the inverter and our breaker panel.

ONLY ISSUE
The only hiccup we had along the way was with Georgia Power. Georgia Power was notified by Creative Solar that it was ready for the official test to connect to the grid. Georgia Power came out twice to our house, and left the 2nd time without passing us with no reason why. As the customer, we let Creative Solar know, and they contacted GA Power to understand what went wrong. No response from GA Power for 2 weeks, and then without any notice or additional visits we were notified that we passed by GA Power.

Melissa Hatcher

I am truly hoping that this review will get Russell or Mary Meeks to give us a call back. They have a lot of our money AND we have no solar panels and no one is communicating with us in any way. We have paid over $14,000 to this company we deserve better I have sent several emails and left several messages

Rev. Dr. Anthony Burton

The staff of Creative Solar USA have been excellent, going out of their way to make sure that our installation was correct and functioning as it should. We now have two fully loaded Generac battery cabinets, with 36 panels, and have seen fantastic performance from the system. Our power bills have dropped drastically, and we are selling money back to GA Power. In fact, I just looked at the panels, and our battery banks are both 100% full... we are powering our entire house (HVAC, well pump, and all) and still are sending back over 5 KW to the utility company... which they will pay us for. (Albeit a pittance, but it's better than nothing.)

The installers, the electricians, and the project management have all been excellent ambassadors for Creative Solar, and I highly recommend them!

Admittedly, Generac themselves have been a little slow to respond to requests for help with an issue, but that has not impacted the performance nor the output of the system.

Chris Nakagaki

In the face of covid and all kinds of delays, Creative Solar has been forthcoming w/ delays and willing to adjust their prices for failure to deliver in timelines promised. This is without any complaints from my end as I understand, "things happen". I'm still waiting on my Tesla Powerwalls, but Creative Solar gave me the option to have my panels installed while waiting on batteries even though this comes at an extra cost to them. Basically what I'm trying to say is that Creative Solar bends over backwards for their customers out of their own initiative. I cannot recommend them enough.

Beverly Marshall-Goodell

I can't say enough good things about Creative Solar. The process for installing a home-based solar array is long and complicated. Fortunately, Creative Solar kept us informed every stop of the way. When our installation was delayed because of issues with the structure of our roof, they were able to help us think through the options and choose best solution to achieve our long-term goals. Now we are reaping the benefits of their commitment to service.

Henry Holst

Great company, would absolutely work with them again in the future. If you're buying solar, I 100% recommend you reach out to Chaia Lewis there to start that process.

The good:

- Everyone at Creative is really knowledgeable, informative, and the buying experience was smooth.

- Shout out to Chaia--she was wonderful to work with, and is the reason I went with Creative rather than another solar company. She is super knowledgeable on everything solar, super responsive, gives honest and well thought out advice, and does a fantastic job walking you through the process / contextualizing technical issues in ways you can understand. I definitely felt like I was in good hands which is important for this sector, given that most solar installs are probably for first-time-solar-buyers.

- Additionally, the installation crew was great, no snags (so far).

The only snag was the total time it took to get installed. Now, BIG CAVEAT: solar companies are entirely dependent on good weather to install, and I believe this challenge is common to ALL solar companies. I want to reemphasize this point--that solar companies do have a challenging environment when it comes to install date projections.

However:

I put down a $6,000 down payment around Sept 1 and was told we'd be installed before January (within 4 months), but didn't get installed until late February (close to 6 months). This isn't that problematic, as very little solar savings are possible during the winter, but rather because Creative held my $6,000 deposit for 6 months. That's a bit longer than ideal, IMO. Creative has been around for a few years, the average # of install dates during Fall/Winter and their Crew's capacity should be pretty well known, I feel like there is room to improve this process a bit so that perhaps in the future the deposit hold time can be reduced

Owens Freeman

Creative Solar is one of the best in the state of Georgia. Their customer service is exceptional. The leadership team always respond and fix any issues related to customer solar system issues. Better Tomorrow installed our system, and did a horrible job. Creative Solar came in, took over and fixed our system. If you ever looking to get solar, contact Creative Solar. Ask to work with Richard, Allen, and Chad. They are extremely professional, and they do quality work.