Sustainable Energy Group

We have spent the last four months trying to come to a resolution privately with SEG. We have been patient and my patience has finally run out. So here we are leaving a detailed account of our experience with SEG. The initial quote and installation of our solar was quick and straightforward, SEG was eager to earn our business; and they did by word of mouth and their customer service during the initial quote period. The "we have never had a roof leak in 19 years of business" was also very appealing, (because nobody wants a roof leak). This year we experienced a rather unexpected leak in our roof, under the solar panels. SEG came out, the tech inspected the area and emptied three tubes of black caulking into the area but claimed they didn’t see any damage they would have caused. This did raise some red flags for us. Why would a company try and fix damage they didn’t cause? We water tested our roof but ultimately did not trust that caulking was the fix we needed and that it would hold up over time. We are very glad we thought twice about it. We needed the damage fixed properly and inspected by a licensed roofer, which is what we did. Fast forward to a roofer coming out and discovering (and documenting) that the foot of the solar panels had damaged the flashing and jarred the Ohagan vent on our roof causing the leak and thousands of Dollars worth of damage to the inside of our sons room. Water had come in and frozen over and over causing the space where water entered to expand until it was a very big problem. This has put my 9 year old medically complex child out of his safe space and scattering his things to every available space throughout our home. This leak flooded his room in February, it’s now September and he’s still sleeping on a mattress on the floor. After being provided evidence and a full report from the roofer SEG has said they can’t rule out that they were not at fault (a fancy way of saying "maybe it wasn’t us but maybe it was"). But Brian Gardner assured us since they may be at fault he would get it taken care of. As requested Brian has been provided the invoices from our abatement and personal property loss (what our insurance has paid out this far not including rebuild or the deductible we paid to our insurance). It’s been radio silence after doing so. We filed our insurance claim immediately to make sure to prevent further damage so we could investigate the cause. We found the cause and SEG has tucked tail and refused to prioritize coming to a resolution. *SEG came out at the end of May to investigate and caulked the roof. *We first made Brian aware of the cause of the leak on June 17th after our roofer came out and fixed it. Brian was also presented with a full report from our roofer. *my husband had a phone call with Brian (finally) on August 1st we followed up by email with our invoices from remediation. *we followed up again on August 11th giving Brian until the end of business on the 15th for a response. *Brian responded on August 14th stating his intention was to make this a priority to be done ASAP. *we followed up on September 4th with no response from Brian. *we followed up again on September 19th expressing our frustration and asking for a resolution plan to be presented to us in writing by the end of business on Friday September 26th. *Kindal in the office did answe the phone when we called and assured us we are still a priority (one month ago). we have heard nothing. Since we received no communication from Brian directly here we are. We are currently in the process of escalating this issue through the proper channels since we have no other choice. We are regretful in our choice of who to trust with our solar needs. SEG has not lived up to their reputation in our case and has put a very sour taste in our mouth. This has been an absolute nightmare with no end in sight. Our goal has been and remains getting our son back into his own space and finally getting our home put back together.

SEG came highly recommended to us by another reputable contractor in the construction industry, as well as some of our clients. SEG met and exceeded our hopes and expectations at every phase of our Solar Project. My wife and I are both extremely pleased with the entire process and with our dealings with every member of the SEG team. Congratulations to a professional and ethical team. SEG should and do take pride in the excellent work they do.

I am so sorry to do this, but I have called this company three times in the last week and a half. I've left messages every time I've called asking for two things. Costs on cleaning my solar panels, and an estimate for a solar back up battery. No one has called me back, not once. I will stop calling and I hope someone reads this and understands that you can't be in business if you don't have the courtesy to return peoples calls.

Sustainable Energy Group has stayed a small company because they care deeply about what they do and every single one of their customer's. Watch out, cause now they're growing cause EVERYONE want's good service and a well designed system! This is the PREMIER renewable energy contractor in Nevada County!

I have done several projects on an apartment building with Sustainable Energy Group. The work was always great, but on one of the projects PG&E was dragging its feet on their part of the work. SEG diligently called and emailed PG&E every week until it was done. They went way above and beyond to make sure the project got completed. You can really count on these people.

Everything from start to finish with SEG has been great. There were a few very small glitches in operation (between the battery and switchover) and they immediately trouble shot and fixed the glitch. Even went so far to monitor it for weeks to ensure everything was fully operational. I haven't paid an electrical bill since installation almost 2 years ago. SEG is fabulous!

These folks are great, friendly, and trustworthy. We thought we had a problem with our inverter and they immediately scheduled us for an inspection at a very fair price. When I cancelled our appointment after discovering we had a switch turned off, they refunded my inspection fee with a cheerful with a pleasant attitude. Kindal is an excellent customer service representative.