Sunnova Reviews

About 14 months later and many calls and texts asking the salesman what the status is. He NEVER ONCE RETURNED MY CALL OR TEXT. A 2 man crew came from Houston to turn on the system. I asked what system. They still hadn't installed it yet. They said that it was supposed to have already been installed. They called the salesman and got into a cursing argument with him over the phone in my front yard. Then got back in their van for a 10 hour drive back to Houston. I heard nothing from anyone for several months afterwards.

I called sunnova they had me on hold and couldn't find anything about an order for me. I finally called them and told them I wanted to cancel my contract since they didn't install anything. They said that the order had already been placed and a contractor would install the next Monday. A contractor crew finally arrived on the Monday. And asked me where the equipment was. They were supposed to have it. Not me. They left and returned 2 weeks later with only half the equipment because they lost the rest. So they slapped up a few panels they had and left. They never returned. I called sunnova again many times only to get the runaround. Finally a different contractor showed up with more equipment and was going to finish the install. After two days they said that they can't turn it on because it was still missing equipment.

After another 4 weeks or so they returned and installed more equipment. But didn't turn it on because they said that they wasn't sure if they installed it right. This was the first time installing this type of system. But said if I wanted to turn it on I could. I was absolutely not going to touch any of that system. I called sunnova again relaying what the contractor said. I told them then that either they bring out certified inspectors or they were going to take it down and cancel the contract. Around a month and half passed before a completely different contractor showed up. And said that they can't certify it because it was installed wrong and if powered up would most certainly burn down the house. They then left. They never returned. Again on the phone with Sunnova again.

Finally an actual Enphase crew showed up several weeks later. They spent 2 days completely removing everything from the house and reinstalling it. I asked where the battery backup was at. The site manager said that the system was never designed to have one. I asked how do I monitor the system from the app. He said that the system didn't include the $30 sensor set to use the app. I asked about the power production ability and showed him my data that I gave to the salesman. He said there's no way this system would produce that amount. Everything the salesman promised was a lie. And the system shuts down during a power failure. But that's not all. They tell me to order the sensor kit and have it installed to monitor the system. I have an electrician friend that does this for me. Because I need to make sure the system even works.

As soon as the enphase app sees the new sensor, it displays that a panel isn't working. So again I call Sunnova. Finally 2 months later a guy in a sunnova van shows up and asks for me to give him the parts that they sent me to replace the inverter. But they didn't ever send me any parts. So he goes up on the roof and does something to the panels comes back down and said give it two days to show up on the app. Two day later now 3 solar panels are not working. So I go up to look and take pictures. The guy didn't remount the inverter to the bottom of the panel. He just threw it under and scraped it across the shingles and scraped a bunch of insulation off the wires. I immediately came down and cut the breaker off to the solar panel system.

Another call to Sunnova. And another 3 weeks later another contractor finally showed up and said that the inverter the last guy had worked on nearly caught fire. The second time sunnova nearly burned down my house. He replaced the inverter and fixed the problem causing all 3 panels to fail. Within 1 hour not 2 days the app shows that every panel is now working. So around 24 months have passed to finally get a working solar system. Only it's still not working as promised. The promised zero balance utility bill jumps from average $60 month to $155 a month and on top of that Sunmova is charging $146+. So now in total my electric has gone to $301. And it's not producing enough and have never gotten a utility company rebate as was promised to make the utility bill zero.

Oh that's not the end of the nightmare. Since then 3 other solar companies have stopped by asking who did my panels. They said I need to get someone out to inspect them because they can tell from the street that they are installed wrong. So I had another company come out. They also deal with Sunnova and Enphase the maker of the panels. And said the same thing. The system is undersized, etc...

This new company is providing the 11 missing solar panels and the battery backup in a second system as well as under the contract providing maintenance. And syncing it with the existing system. But I am supposed to call Sunnova so they can link the 2 systems as one so the app and utility company can get the accurate data. Enphase only needs for sunnova to contact them with the ok to sync them. Sunnova doesn't have to do anything else. So I call. The girl say they can do that but has to clear it with her supervisor. Puts me on hold. She comes back and says her supervisor said they can't because of some 3rd party issue. She then proceeded to lie to me and I caught her in the lie.

I asked to speak to her supervisor. She then tells me that she doesn't have a supervisor. I asked, "Didn't you just tell me that you had to clear something with your supervisor." She said yes. But now you don't have a supervisor. She said yes. So do you or do you not have a supervisor? Yes I have a supervisor. Then apparently you don't have the authority to take care of the issue I need help with. She then accused me of cussing her out. DIDN'T HAPPEN! Again I ask, "Let me speak to your supervisor." She puts me on hold for around 10 minutes hoping I would hang up. I'm calling her bluff and waiting. She finally comes back on the phone and said she discussed this with her teammates and said that they told her to tell me that I didn't need to talk to her supervisor. So there's no one for me to talk to. Then she begins to lecture me about what I should do.

The experience with Sunnova is horrible. They don't care about the customer or our needs. I'm stuck in a contract with them and can't afford the lawyer to get out of it. If I could I would have them get their stuff off my house before their inability to do anything right possibly burns my house down. As far as the enphase equipment. As long as it is installed properly and maintained properly I don't think there's any problem with it.

The problem is Sunnova and their lack of respect for the customer, their failure to provide properly trained contractors, their failure to provide service in the promised time frame, their failure to provide honest salesmen, their failure to provide what the customer actually needs and requests, and their uncaring, unprofessional despicable way they do business.

After all this they have the gull to send me an email for a positive review. They aren't getting it. Especially after treating their customers like dirt. Lying to me then falsely accusing me of cussing them out. I don't think so. Do your mental health a favor and stay away from the stress of dealing with sunnova. My health is not so good. I have heart and lung issues and dealing with sunnova is not doing those conditions any favors. It wasn't the best idea for me to get up on my roof. But this time it saved my family and I's life and home. If you deal with them make sure you get everything inspected by a certified or licensed professional before trusting them with your home and everything and everyone in it.

I signed up with Sunnova and within the first few months of the service being turned on it stopped producing. You get your bill PLUS the electric bill and wonder why you now have twice the amount to pay.. Then you try contacting their support and that's where the dance starts. Their customer service is nonexistent, their support laughable and all they do is tell you "they will forward your complaint to their escalation level" which is literally nothing. Now we are 3 months into 2 bills and not a single support person in sight to help.. Because they honestly don't know what they are doing. Now we are looking at legal fees to get out of this monster contract on top of having to pay for 2 services.. So whatever you do. You see their logo, RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

Secondly, they did the installation and punctured a hole in our house to pull electrical wiring through it to connect to the system. They looped the wiring and left it laying on the ground and claimed they would have a company come out and repair the hole and wiring. That was about 6 months ago. They claimed the installation was complete, but when I went to check the system I found out that the service connection and Gateway system was not connecting to the server, so the electricity we were apparently producing was not being recorded and our regular electric bill was actually higher than normal.

Contacted the company to report it, they opened a ticket to have it checked, then closed the ticket. Contacted Suntuity and they took nearly 4 months from the reported date to come out and fix it. This was all going on while we were receiving a bill for service each month. I have now contacted Sunnova several times to have the hole in the wall of my house patched, and the wiring repaired, only to be told they will contact us when they have a date to have the repairs completed. We are now heading in to fall with the temperatures dipping down, and heavy rains. Meanwhile, we are still receiving a bill for the services provided.

We were told during our installation that Sunnova was the largest solar company in the country, and so far I question how that can be the case with the customer service being as abysmal as it is. There are a number of solar companies operating in the country and I would venture to say that all of them are a far better option than this. I have never had such a run around from a company in all my life, and I've never experienced such a complete lack of desire to try and get anything complete without having to constantly hound them. All of the solar companies come at you with pushy sales reps. Would highly recommend you do your homework and dig deep in to all of the companies before signing on as they all like to dress themselves up to be better than they are. We were really excited about going solar, but now just left completely disappointed.

When I asked the customer service rep what they needed my POA for, explained that I was the buyer of the house, they would only respond, “we can’t do anything until we have it.” I asked who it was supposed to go to and what it was supposed to cover and the only response was the same, they just needed it. After speaking with my attorney I was instructed not to give Sunnova my POA. They held up the transfer, thereby holding up the closing, cost me more in interest and points because we had to go beyond the lock in and buy points to hold the new higher interest rate. Absolutely no one at Sunnova cared. No supervisors are ever available to speak to customers.

It took five weeks for the attorneys for buyer and seller to convince Sunnova to do the transfer without a POA. To this date I still have no idea why they kept requesting my power of attorney. On top of all of this, my electric bill is still high, which they couldn’t care less about as long as they’re getting their money, and they increased the lease fee by $17 a month!

To make matters worse, the Department of Energy approved the 1st loan for a 'virtual power plant' to this company, for the 'modest' amount of $3 BILLION DOLLARS back in April 2023!! While many consumers are paying outrageous amounts of money in their power bill, plus the lease on the panels, WITH NO CUSTOMER SERVICE, and even though they are from Houston, Tx., their call center is abroad. This company also has a load of lawsuits on their desk. LOOK IT UP.

2. I signed the contract with SUNTUITY which is a contractor for SUNNOVA, on 06/25/2022, also as part of the agreement I was expected to take down 6 trees from my property as these were casting a shadow on the roof where the panels were supposed to be installed.

3. Since my property is adjacent to a protected conservation area, had to go through multiple hoops with the town authorities to seek permission to cut the trees, eventually the task of cutting the trees was completed in Q4’22.

4. I kept following up with Suntuity for the installation, however, never got a confirmed answer on dates. Eventually, when the dates were confirmed, the process dragged on for months along with pathetic scheduling.

5. Every person involved would state something and the outcome would be something else, e.g., the scheduler would call up and state that the work is only required on the exterior and no adult is required at home however, when the technician would arrive, he would state interior access is required. Between me and my wife we had to take nearly 4 days off in total due to these unplanned requirement(s).

6. Once the panel installation was completed, we were told that someone would come for inspection and then install the meter and then the town/ utility company representative will come and connect to the grid. It’s been more than 4 months; it has not happened.

7. In the interim I was given a revised contract where the production capacity was reduced from 15,357 KWH to 12,260 KWH for the same price. For which I was not given any logical explanation. The reasoning I was given was that underwriting stated they felt there was still some shadow from the trees, whereas I cut down the exact same trees that Suntuity asked me to take down at the first place.

8. When I refused to sign, they offered me a credit of $2500, which I was told would be paid out as soon as I sign the revised contract. I signed the revised contract on 07/31/2023 and today as of this note, its 09/09/2023, I’m yet to receive that payment. When I called to enquire after multiple follow-ups, I was informed it will only be paid out once the system is operational.

9. As of this date, I have not been provided any ETA on when the system will be operational however, Sunnova still went ahead with generating an Auto-Pay for my monthly dues of $210. When I called Sunnova’s customer care, I was simply asked to talk to Suntuity as it was their mess-up. I was told that Suntuity updated the records stating the work has been completed.

10. It's been more than 14 months, both Suntuity and Sunnova cannot get a system up and running, yet have the audacity to charge the customer for services they are unable to facilitate.

Last call said, "If you cannot do it, I will ask other companies to do so I can change the roof." The customer service, "Sorry we will not be warranty the solar system if you do it." Hello! The company put us in the position should wait for endless delay and new raining season will come soon. If you are a potential customer, please be aware for our experience. I decide to use 3rd party or company to do the job regardless of the warranty since the roof repair and replacement more expensive than the solar system itself. Beware the company. I am a real customer with real experience with this company!

My children are afraid to sleep at home now because they think the house will burn down at any time. I'm literally trying to get them to fix these panel so I can sell my house and never have to deal with this company again since I cannot afford to remove them. At one point of speaking to yet another supervisor I threatened legal action and he said "We get sued all the time, I'll give you legal's address." I feel like that speaks to how this company operates. They should be ashamed of themselves.