Alternate Energy Inc.

Seven years ago we had three "different" Alternate Energy salespeople and three "different" Alternate Energy proposals before we had a 29-panel PV system installed on a newly constructed home. After the builder was finished with the home, our Closing and move-in, Alternate Energy failed to provide any instruction or customer support related to the PV System. Seven years later, we were informed the on-line Envoy performance reporting system had never been downloaded, was now overloaded with data (broken) and would have to be replaced at our cost. Had Alternate Energy bothered to check their initial installation and/or the actual performance for their System, Alternate Energy would have known there was a problem well "before" anything had to be replaced. Other than the Envoy problem, the PV System is working well. The Field and Technical staff are very competent, responsive and professional. However, our experience is the Owner, the Sales staff, Management and Administration are seriously lacking customer empathy and/or any interest in continuing customer support..

AEI my updated response. Yes I was not charged anything But only after calling 3 times to question the charge. AEI has records of my purchase date & warranty. I spoke all 3 times to Caitlyn who stated that this charge was in effect a long time but would not give a date.On my third call her tone & voice was very irritated that I dare question it again. She said this time only would the charge be waived & be prepared to pay next time. After I wrote first review in less than 24hrs Kayne called & asked if I would update or delete my review. He informed me that this practice started in 2018, 4 yrs after my purchase.Which means if I have issues before my warranty runs out I will NOT be charged this fee. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay this. But it left me with a bad feeling. If I didn’t pursue this I would be out $157 unnecessarily. I wonder if other clients paid when they shouldn’t have.

PV system was purchased & installed by Alternate Energy & still under warranty. Had one panel replaced in a timely manner. What I don’t understand & agree with is the service charge of $150+tax. Received text explaining it’s for “technician travel time, cost of fleet of vehicles which includes purchases, fuel, insurance, maintenance & etc.”
Shouldn’t this be part of doing business to maintain warranty?

May 12, 2023. Update.
I made contact with Radford. We had a great conversation and I received a lot of information. More updates to come....

May 15 update. I met with Radford and he was thorough and answered all of my questions. He compared the options available so I could make an informed decision on how to upgrade our PV system while taking advantage of any available inventives.

More updates after the project is complete.

1/6/23) This is an update based on the response from Roy at Alternate Energy Inc.

1) If you had sent out a technician to speak with me personally about the design, there would have been less back and forth emails. I only made one request; to not place anything on the back wall by the surf racks. But if you recall, when your technicians were supposed to show up the first two appointments, they did not come at the designated time.

2) Your email about the confirmation was for the installation date and not for the plan review. My request for the updated plans was already sent. I even attached a specific photo with red outline of where the system should be placed.

3) Even if the email from the 20th was a mistake, why would you send it again so close to the installation of the system. Shouldn't this have been handled weeks in advance?

4) Of course I would want to cancel the installation of an incorrectly placed system. Anyone would want to do this.

5) The morning of the installation Chris called and also texted that everything was going to go through with the installation, and he explained the need for the bollard post to protect the system from damage by our car. My only request from Yuko is that the additional $250 charge be covered by the company and not by Chris' commissions. I asked her to confirm this with management. Here is the email thread for this:

On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 8:01 AM

Brandon,
As you suggested earlier we will go ahead and postpone or cancel the installation for today and tomorrow.

Yuko

On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 7:51 AM

Hi Yuko,

Please get me a confirmation from your manager.

Brandon
~sent from iPhone

On Dec 21, 2022, at 7:49 AM

If you are referring to the bollards charge Chris will work it out with the company.

Yuko

On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 7:46 AM

Hi Yuko,

Please answer my question from the email. You seem to not respond clearly to communication.

Brandon
~sent from iPhone

On Dec 21, 2022, at 7:44 AM

Brandon,
Per Chris we can put everything on the wall and not on the surfboard wall. The prelag crew are scheduled to go out this morning.
Please confirm.
Yuko

On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 7:18 AM

Hi Yuko,

Good morning. Per my conversation with Chris the decision has been made to install a “ballard” to protect the battery. I would like this cost to come from your company (not Chris’ commission). I feel that the breakdown in scheduling and communication has come from the main office. Please reply to confirm.

Thank you,
Brandon

Roy, yes AEI did cancel the installation without mutual agreement. It was a unilateral decision on your company's part. I was told by Chris it was going through until Yuko emailed me that it was cancelled.

6) Thank you for the refund. I have contacted another PV company and will work with them.

Original Post:
I was working with Yuko Ahina at alternate energy for 4 months from August 2022 to December 2022. They didn't come at the proper time for their first two scheduled visits to evaluate the site and never sent a technician to follow-up. Then when I requested a different location for their equipment they did not follow through on the proposed change. The day before the installation I notified them that the proposed design plan was incorrect. After speaking with their representative on the morning when the installation was supposed to occur, he said everything was going to go through and the change would be taken care of. I then receive an email from Yuko that they cancelled the installation and will not have any further openings in 2022. The behavior and business practice of Alternate Energy was unprofessional and the communication with Yuko was poor. She twisted my words to get out of installing the system as scheduled, which is unethical. Taking two days off of work and making all of the arrangements ahead of time for PV installation is a daunting task, but apparently they are too busy to care about customer service. I'm providing this information as an account of my first-hand experience.

Alternate Energy Inc. was contracted for a solar related installation at our neighbors property back in January 2017, almost two years ago!
They asked to dig a 6inch trench through our front yard and agreed to repair it. We had just grated the yard, landscaped and planted new grass. Today, we still have a 2foot by 30foot trench line with no grass growing, a yard full of small rocks, a huge pile of dirt next to a plywood covered hole.
We have made requests that you fix it, we were fed lies about who is responsible and the project status.
The bottom line is that you have shown your business ethics to be minimal if existent.

Having issues with replacing a micro inverter and after 3 months and repeated calls, now entire monitor system doesn’t work. Called several times and each time they tell me they will call me back and nothing. No call backs. Really disappointed.

Updated on Sept 22

I’m updating my review because Teri called me back and arranged for my new enphase monitor which was installed today. Josh did a great job with the install and Teri was really honest to let me know that i had 15 years left on my existing warranty.

Would have gave 5 stars but I am still a little irritated that i had to pay for the enphase replacement. The warranty should match the timeframe of entire system.

Everything to process the paper work is quick but sloppy. Office guys don't know how the field guys does the work so the plans always changes. Field guys are good but only want to get the job done then bail; they don't care about their mess they leave behind etc. Getting assistance after will cost you. There are some great guys but over all for installation, they don't work as a team, rather as independent groups.

05/09 - response to owner
I have no issues with working with Trevor and understand the whole internet setup - no grips about that. Just stating the fact that some after installation services are not included, for public knowledge. Trevor is one of the better knowledgeable technicians and has been super helpful, efficient, and responsive.

I had my A unit cleaned by Cory, two years in a row, and I got to say that you need more employees like him out in the field, he very courteous professional. The last person I had before him did not do a very good job. He did not even take a look at my unit outside to clean it or inspect it.
Thank you Cory for a job well done.

Feedback for Cory! He deserves special praise for his hard work for us, especially with fixing our air conditioners. Cory has been an outstanding employee for Alternate Energy! He is so courteous, kind, very competent and helped create for us, a plan for managing our systems including our air conditioner units associated with your system of solar panels. Cory was very careful to take the units apart, analyze the problems and resolved the issues thoroughly and professionally. We had a AC water breakdown, some months ago, and we were very fortunate to have Cory fix the first unit. He was so professional and caring and kind, I asked to have Cory come back to help us again!! He diagnosed the different problems of these two units on Friday and fixed them expertly! He is so caring, kind, expert and competent, I hope you will consider him for future promotions within your company! As a customer, Cory really represents the best of what I value in your company, products, and the personal caring professionalism of your services!

After shopping around for PV for months, a close family friend referred us to Alternate Energy and we’ve been loyal customers ever since! Roy Skaggs took care of us when we purchased our original system and continues to provide excellent service when we called to add battery backup capabilities to our system. The installation crew are always very professional, friendly, and neat, answered our questions, and followed up after the install as well. We’re very happy with our PV system and would highly recommend Alternate Energy to our family and friends! If they sold systems on the Big Island I would definitely go back to them for a PV system on our daughter’s house.