Solar Status

Install was July 21st.

Install was done by RCL Enterprises.

Home Depot was the original contractor, who sub-contracted to what I thought was BP Solar, but turned out to  be UR Solar who just used BP Solar products.  UR Solar then sub-contracted to Solular, who ran out of capacity and had RCL do the job. Just to make things more confusing, I’ve also been contacted by Green Energy People regarding all this a time or two.

Ok fine.

Financing is/was done by the Federal gov’t, state gov’t and third party financer I have to pay back over the next 30 years (not actually 30 yrs. Because it’s energy related the loan is special, like a school loan I suppose, and has an extended life span. Shouldn’t take that long to pay off). Upon install, 1/3 of the loan was released to the installer (UR Solar in this case. (but they didn’t actually do anything?)). Upon completion of the job and my satisfaction, the rest of the money gets released.

The job’s not complete. Here we’re approaching a full month since the install and my system isn’t operational.

I’m not releasing the money.

Today UR Solar called the finance company asking where the money was. The finance company emailed me asking was I satisfied.

They wait four weeks to do this?

Two weeks ago I called PECO (my power company) asking what the hold-up was. Since the install, everyone (RCL & Solular) has been telling me PECO will drag their feet installing their meter (unlike other states, PECO insists on their own meter to measure my production in addition to the meter installed with my system). The PECO guy was very straight forward and honest with me. He said as soon as he receives the fax (just a fax? that’s all you FN need?) from the installer stating the inspections were good, he’d be out in 4 days to install the PECO meter. He was the only one to give me any definitive time frame in this whole ordeal. Suddenly PECO moved way far up in the rank of respectable.

Ok, so the inspections happened exactly a week after the install. It was now a week and a half since then. Where was the fax? Who dropped the ball? Whose desk were those inspections sitting on? I called RCL, Solular and my sales guy from UR Solar. Nobody knew anything, but was more than happy to call around and call me back with answers.

Nobody called back.

I went on vacation.

I came back and started calling again. This brings us back to today when I find out UR Solar wants their money. I had everybody’s (RCL, Solular, PECO, financer) number except UR Solar. I called the financer and explained my situation. She sympathized with me and said she’d try and get a contact number for UR Solar. Not waiting for another call-back I didn’t expect to receive, I called RCL (who’s been pretty good, but definitely not running the show) to see if they had a UR Solar number. They did, so I called.

UR Solar had no idea what was going one. They had no clue my system wasn’t operational. They tried to play it off on PECO, but I called them on it. They took dubious notes, then promised to send an email on the status of things sometime tonight. I’ve received all kinds of emails regarding a bigger penis, bouncing boobies and Dr. Weil vitamins, but I haven’t received an email from UR Solar.

RCL called back though. Apparently they’re not used to doing installs in PA. Apparently they need to come back and fix something before PECO puts their meter in. Apparently it took them 4 weeks to figure this out. They’re scheduled to be here next Wednesday and trying their hardest to get PECO here the next day.

We’ll see.

In two weeks I have to make the first payment on the loan with the financer. I’m hoping my system is operational by then. I’m hoping I don’t have to charge UR Solar for warehouse space considering all I’ve done is store their FN panels on my roof for the last 4 weeks.

I signed the papers and made my down payment in January. How is it that seven months isn’t enough time to get your shit together to make this go smoothly in a matter of a week?

Meanwhile I keep working through my vacation and until 11 every night trying to get 6 – 8 weeks worth of work done in 3 for my own job.

Why do I bother working so hard?

-b