SolarCity Installation Timeline

From dtype.org
Revision as of 17:12, 7 July 2017 by Drew (talk | contribs)

While I picked SolarCity for a number of reasons to provide solar power, the installation timeline and process has been a bit frustrating.

Note that this is a cash buy, and every invoice has been immediately paid, so there should be no financing approval process anywhere in this timeline.


  • June 10, 2017 -- Submitted initial paperwork while the very professional "Energy Consultant" was on site. Paid $500 deposit and scheduled visit (for June 16) by a surveyor to measure the roof, etc, so I could get an official proposal. Initial proposal with energy consultant ended up being the one I would want to go with (which put a set of panels on a less efficient but back roof to complement the main set of panels).
  • June 15 -- Got a call from the surveyor that he was available earlier if I was, and got the survey done early!
  • June 15 -- Received design proposal, which was different than the one I went through with the energy consultant, but was more efficient. I immediately responded and asked for a re-design, moving the 2nd set of panels to a different roof, and consistent with the initial design I went through with the energy consultant.


  • June 15 - June 23 -- Energy consultant asked on my behalf, but radio silence from engineering team. No redesign in sight.
  • June 23 -- Posted to social media about delay. Got immediate response. Engineering hopped on things and I got new proposal on the same day. I signed off on the new proposal within an hour.
  • June 26 -- After finding out permitting wasn't submitted on new redesign (probably due to a process circumvention on the escalation), got installation scheduled for July 1.
  • June 28 -- Received timely and clear invoice from finops@, paid $14331.28 half-invoice within an hour over paypal.


SolarCity Installation
  • July 1 -- Installation team arrived right at the beginning of the scheduled window and were very friendly. But they proceeded to put mounting hardware on the roof inconsistent with the proposed design. Rather than re-route an external plumbing vent pipe as proposed (and have a clean rectangular design), one of the panels was being mounted offset and avoiding the pipe, leaving a less desirable (and not agreed-to) design. After I informed them of the error, and an assist from my energy consultant, they moved the mounts and put things up per the design.
  • July 1 -- Was informed by installation team that they couldn't connect their breaker to the meter because paperwork had not been submitted to PG&E as it usually would have been. Installation was left incomplete, with a promise that a followup team would be by to finish things.


  • July 1 - July 7 -- Radio silence. My energy consultant and concierge have asked several times on my behalf, but zero response nor scheduling communication from ops team, whom I'm told are overworked, but at this point I have an incomplete installation that sits this way because of a SolarCity process error. I can't even get to the expected wait for inspections, because my physical installation isn't complete.