Semper Solaris Reviews 

Found this company on Yelp when I needed a small gutter added to my home. They responded as a potential group to help me.

The initial contact was outstanding. Staff friendly and quick response. From there is did not do so well.

1. The individual who was sent to give me the quote, Cody, was late with no call or text indicating that he was running late. I had to call.

2. Once here, I learned he had not done gutters or the type of corners I was having trouble with.

3. He tried to upsell me with other services. Running through a list.
Tried to sell me solar, roof, air conditioning, house wind. I already had solar with a well known company that is very much still in existence. But he did not even recognize the name of Sunlux, assumed they were out of business. (Nope)

4. Never received the quote he promised, to be sent hours later.

Seems their focus is really solar or air conditioning. Not gutters. Why even quote me then? Why respond ? I said it was an extremely small project with photos.

I liked the initial appointment staff, was even ready to hire them in the spot if the quote was reasonable... but the lack of follow through and extreme high energy and loud voice of the estimator, ended that .

I was expecting a person who would do the work themselves or who leads a team. I got someone who had no direct experience and needed a computer to give a quote.

I liked supporting a veteran owned company, but no thanks. Complete waste of everyone’s time.

I have had nothing but service issue after service issue. tech support is a nightmare and not proactive. I have to follow up on everything and even after paying $700 for the service the system didn't get fixed and is actually performing worse.

I have even reached out to their senior leadership directly... they hand off to support, no follow up or follow through.

Just a disappointing experience overall with this company. I think anyone looking to use them is rolling the dice and I would definitely recommend going with another provider.

Installed additional solar panels to help us increase our output. Instead that destroyed the existing inverter - refused to fix it - now my production is down to 1/3 of what it was before they added panels. Electric bill jumped over 300%. Customer Service is a joke - you get an office that sends messages to have someone call and then all they do is leave VM saying they are trying to talk - won't call a land line because they can't just leave a VM the phone actually would ring. Set up a time to call and then failed to call. NIGHTMARE of a company!

Everyone is correct when saying everything goes good as far as selling you the system and getting it installed. However, if you need Warranty work on it, do not expect a quick response. It literally takes a week to get a technician to call you back. Then 3-5 days for a "virtual" appointment. (Which is no good because they do EXACTLY what Solar Edge does) Then another week to get an actual technician out to your house to find the problem. NOW, let's wait for a part! A month of no production later....what's the point??? Customer service sucks!!!

This is Far the Worst Company I have ever felt with!!!
Went with them as were retired Navy.
They installed the solar panels, we were paying $650.00 a month with SDGE.
After a couple months we were still paying $650.00 a month plus they’re $415.00 a month for the lease. I kept calling them and nothing but the runaround. After almost a year!! They made me an apt to talk to someone on the phone. Punched in my info and said, Ow. She then told me it should be better now. Next month our bill dropped to $250.00 a month. So got screwed out of $425.00 a month for a year!! Thinking we’re never going to see that again!!

Semper Solaris is the worst company I have ever worked with in my life! BUYER BEWARE!

In April 22nd of 2023 we signed the papers to purchase solar panels from them and have them installed, and put the deposit down. They said that it would be within about 6 weeks and that the installation would take a couple days. They also promised an HVAC inspection and maintenance that never happened. We heard nothing from them until July of 2023 when they called to set up an installation date. The dates they offered were near a pre-scheduled trip of ours, but they assured us that it would only take 2 days, we wouldn’t have to be home, and that they would start early and end late to make sure that it was finished within the two days.

July 25th they showed up late, we had to call to even locate the team and they didn’t start until after 10am. Their electrician hit our mailbox with his truck and they still haven’t paid us for that. They left early because it was too hot for them to work. That was when we started losing power on and off to half of our house, during a heat wave in southern California that kept knocking out our air conditioning. When we checked the electrical panel we discovered that one of the metal teeth of the bus bar was damaged when they switched out the main breaker. Instead of fixing it or replacing it, they improvised a brace using small pieces of wood, that would surely have caught fire if we had left it like that.

Because of all the problems surrounding this and working with them, my husband had to cancel his trip last minute. For three days we went without air conditioning or power until they replaced the bus par after we called them repetitively to complain and showed them the pictures of their shoddy work. The pictures actually even came from their own electrician who had done the shoddy work!

We had to go up on the roof to clean out our gutters and we discovered that they’d left trash, heavy trash, all over the roof. If it had blown off the roof it would have cracked a windshield or caused a head injury.

After that we heard NOTHING. We called and called trying to get them to set up the inspection with building and safety but they literally ghosted us. It wasn’t until September 11 that we were got the first inspection, which they failed. Their installation didn’t match their schematics that they submitted and they needed to move a panel because they hadn’t left room for an emergency exit. They didn’t come back until December 7th to do the work, but all they did was move the panel. So they failed the next inspection on January 31st too because they still weren’t consistent with their own designs that they’d submitted to building and safety!

So the THIRD inspection, on February of 2024 we finally passed. The solar panels generated for about 2 weeks, then completely stopped. As of today March 6th, we still have not been generating for the last 2 weeks because the system says that all of our microinverters are not responding. When I call their customer service they say they’ll get back me in 10-14 business days, but I know from working with them that you can always expect to double any amount of time that they give you. Also when I try to explain the problem, it is quite apparent that the customer service representative doesn’t know a microinverter from a microwave.

It has been almost a YEAR now and all I have are $63,000 roof ornaments. During this whole process all we have gotten from Semper Solaris is excuses, finger pointing, and outright neglect. We have now worked with 2 project managers and an customer service lead. They assure us that the 1st project manager no longer works there, but no one is willing to take responsibility for the problems, and I personally don’t care who created the problems because no one is bothering to solve them.
Every time we call we are told “There is a higher than normal wait time,” but if this has been going on for a year, then it is the normal wait time and they just don’t care about their customers. Of course, there is no direct line to anyone, and no ability to directly call anyone, so we are stuck talking to customer service and leaving messages that go unreturned.
Don’t go with this company if you want anything to get done or if you value your time or mental health!

This company is a scam 100% through and through. The owners sucker veterans into doing business and really ruin their lives in the process. Systems never work, constant problems and the owners Kelly Shawhan and John Almond don't care at all. They are pure scum.

Update 3/6/24 - As of right now Semper Solaris is working with me to fix this issue and I will continue to update.

I’ve put off writing this negative review for a while now hoping that things would get better. First, everyone I’ve dealt with at Semper Solaris has at least been nice, but it just doesn’t make up for the disorganization and utter lack of communication. The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis. Any Marine would know the company was founded by a Marine by its name, Semper Solaris. I’m also a Marine, just like their founder, and the fact that they associate their name with the Marine Corps is actually a bit insulting to me as a Marine because everything has been so bad.

Initial Expectations vs. Reality: Despite a promise of a few months for the installation of 3 Tesla Powerwall batteries, the process extended to over a year and a half. This significant delay, seemingly unusual compared to other customers, was exacerbated by a lack of clear communication and updates, which I often had to initiate.

Mismanagement of Existing Systems: My existing commercial Generac generator, which I explicitly requested to remain unchanged, was altered during the installation. This modification has compromised its functionality, including its ability to charge my cars, contrary to the assurances given by the sales representative.

Installation Issues and Lack of Consultation: The installation process involved significant changes to my property, including moving my electrical panel and car charger, without my prior knowledge or consent. These major alterations were done despite my garage being finished with custom cabinets, and had I been consulted, I would have preferred the equipment outside.

Disregard for Customer Preferences and Belongings: The installer made unilateral decisions regarding the placement of the third battery and removed a $400 Sense energy monitor without my permission. This action, bordering on misappropriation, was followed by misleading and inconsistent information regarding its whereabouts and return.

Poor Post-Installation Communication and Service: Follow-up interactions have been marked by discrepancies and a lack of accountability, with documents being provided post-installation and not reflecting agreed terms. There is also a palpable sense of these issues being recurrent and familiar to the sales team, though not explicitly acknowledged.

Overall Impact on Trust and Satisfaction: As a fellow Marine, I find the level of service and the handling of this installation by Semper Solaris deeply disappointing and contradictory to the values associated with the Marine Corps. This experience has significantly eroded my trust and satisfaction with the company.

Final Assessment – Run Away

If you are looking to have a solar system or Tesla batteries installed, I have to tell you in no uncertain terms, find another company besides Semper Solaris. There are too many companies out there to risk having an experience like mine.

System installed in 2019, now need to have the SolarEdge inverter replaced as a warranty service.
Semper Solaris isn't interested in performing warranty service. They had rather rake in thousands installing new systems, over hundreds doing warranty work.
SolarEdge was responsive and had the warranty inverter shipped directly to me within a few days.
Now weeks later, cannot get Semper Solaris to respond.
SolarEdge is now going to try Sunnova, hope they are better.

As a follow up I will say that working with SunNova was an efficient and enjoyable experience. The communicated well, scheduled my warranty service promptly and performed the work in a professional manner. I wish I had purchased my system from SunNova instead of Semper Solaris.

need to add to the long list of bad reviews.
Purchased system about 5 years ago from Semper Solaris.
Worked fine till about 2months ago we received an mail from solar edge to inform us that the inverter is not working and we need to confirm address so they can send us item, as soon as I receive item to let them know so they can schedule installation. So I did! SUNNOVA scheduled my appointment for 11/21 at 1:32 pm 4 days ago. Today here I am, took day off from everything waiting for them, when at 10am I received a new email saying that my appointment is scheduled for 11/27 @ 9:43am.
I called everyone and sent email to solar edge, they do not know what is going on and can't promise someone will come today..
I calked Semper Solaris, who had the guts to tell me that I SHOULD CK SYSTEM WEEKLY!!!! really? You pay for service but you need to do the work?
1 MONTH TO SEE THAT INVERTER IS NOT WORKING???? REALLY??
Really upsetting, but I see a lot of people here have similar issues..
Is SEMPER SOLARIS a SCAM??????
If they would be a reputable company they won't rely on scam monitoring company....

Semper Solaris installed Solar Panels on my roof and since installment the Lifetime roof has been leaking called several times to Semper Solaris and they send technicians who are ill equipped and do not bring enough materials to fix the issue. They have been out 4 times and every time their excuses are (either they do not have enough material or the person needs additional help. Every time I have to take days off from work so I could accommodate them. Upon calling the company the owners do not respond and the employees do not answer phones and even if they answer the phone call, they start making excuses. I have spoken to Rachel, Alexandra, Kristin and many others to no fix in site. Due to their negligence, I will now have to replace my entire roof which is a cost of over $25,000.

I will be also taking legal actions to recover my cost of replacing my roof and legal fees along with other damages .

I am also going to contact local news channels to come and see the work Semper Solaris has done and air their findings so no other persons are duped by this company and its owners John Almond and Kelly Shawhan.

I believe that they are in a business of giving bad name and reputation to our service men & women in armed forces by using their reputation as veteran owned.

My advise to future customers of this company not to do any business as some of the reviews posted are either paid or by their employees so please beware of this company.

Did not get paperwork in time for NEM 2.0. Contracted in plenty of time to get paperwork in to get under NEM 2.0 and they called and said project was not approved and told me to write a letter to SDG&E and I called instead and was told that Semper Solaris was 3 days late in getting paperwork in. When I called Semper Solaris they admitted and they got paperwork in late and said that there was no way for them to get paperwork done and I would just have to spend another $25k for a battery. I laughed and said I will use a different company. They are a joke.

Rachel Korp was fabulous in attending to my issues/needs at Semper Solaris. Wonderful ambassador for this company for all consumers!1

Let me be very clear here, I was a very satisfied customer UNTIL something went wrong. My solar system that was installed by Semper Solaris went down at the end of March. I never would have known this because, like most people, I religiously watched my solar production for the first year of so of solar ownership and then I gradually neglected it more and more. Luckily the company that installed my home battery (NeoVolta) noticed I was no longer feeding the battery from Solar and called me the same day they noticed it.

Thus began the nightmare that we will call customer service from Semper Solaris. The never answered phone calls and always returned emails with generic responses that did not address my problem or how to fix it. Eventually we spent 2 weeks going back and forth verifying that the system was in fact not working and that my internet connection was not the problem (despite the fact that I verified that the system was not feeding the battery so it was obviously a larger problem). By middle of May after several emails with photos of my system with no lights showing (because it was broken) we scheduled a service tech to come out in the beginning of June. That service tech merely verified that the system was in fact broken and I needed a new inverter (that they would have to order from the manufacturer….you guessed it they will call to set up an appointment when it comes in.)

Now around the middle of June someone calls me with the great news that they could schedule someone to come out July 10. I was informed that I should feel lucky that they were able to call in technicians from Northern California to complete the job so quickly (yes almost 4 months of no working solar was quickly). I received another phone call at the beginning of July letting me know that they scheduled my appointment for a travel day for the technicians and that they would have to reschedule 2 weeks later. After some not so nice discussion and threats of legal action we rescheduled for the 13th at 8:30 am. I was told that they would not need to turn off the power to the house. By 10:00am on the 13th I had not heard from anyone so I called and received no response…UNTIL I called the sales line and explained that they WOULD be getting this done today or they would be hearing from my attorney. About 45 minutes later my tech called to let me know he would be there at 12:30 and it would take 2 hours to complete the repairs. When he got to my house he told me that because I had a different battery that they didn’t install they would be turning of the power to the house. For those of you not in San Diego we are in the peak of a heat wave.

I know this is a lot of review BUT when you are spending this much money on something you SHOULD read all of the review because the customer service of this company is horrible! It will cost you thousands of dollars in lost power generation (that the warranty explicitly does not cover) and it will annoy you even more because every time you contact Semper about your warranty problem that they don’t have enough technicians to keep up with they will call you, text you AND email you within 5 minutes from their sales department. They have a great sales team and they do very well at marketing on the name of military owned and the “Semper” name. Honestly I don’t know how the ex-military owner of this company sleeps at night linking his horrible customer service company to the honor, faithfulness and loyalty of the US Armed forces and Marines specifically. They are not the most affordable, normally that means higher customer service and better equipment. Do not use Semper unless you want to go through the same thing in the event that something goes wrong with your system.

There is too much to write here, but suffice it to say that Semper did not deliver on ANY of their promises, they had poor communication and never reached out to us without us prompting the communication. Our job was completed on 2/23, and the inspections all done with a week or so. Then Semper submitted TWO applications so SCE didn't know what to do with it and then a month later, Semper sends a new application. Semper kept telling us they couldn't get any information from SCE, but we were able to get information from them about the fiasco in the submissions (something Semper NEVER disclosed to us, even though we were asking for updates regularly). SCE stated we would probably be turned on by the first of May but then SCE had to reach back out to Semper for justification as to why my 1650 sq ft house required 42 panels (we have a large tree). So Semper sends an "Equipment change request" to SCE on 4/29/23 and the clock starts over now with the power company. Why Semper didn't realize they would need substantiation is beyond me. It's not the first time they've had to do something like this, I'm sure. And it makes me definitely question if they lied to us about how many panels we needed to purchase.

They sloppily submitted our PTO to SCE and it has now cost us an extra TWO MONTHS, and it will be at least another 45-60 days based on what SCE told me today when I called. Do you think Semper at ANY time in all of this has ever tried to stay on top of it or provide updates? Nope. They have gone totally silent because they are sick of hearing from us, I'm sure. They do not follow through on anything. The actual workmanship is great, but the service from the company itself is the worst of any I've experienced or heard about. The fact they use the military as a "pull" for customers who are supportive (as are we) of the military is disgusting to me. We were told over and over that they run their company like a military unit - precise, on top of everything, accountability for everything they do, communication top priority. Unfortunately they do not hold to any of those traits. We are now approaching the hottest time of the year in central CA, where our SCE bills run $800-$1000 for three to four months. We contracted with them 8 months ago so that we would be completed far in advance of the summer season. Now we are paying on a $92,000 loan for something that doesn't even work yet. So we are paying $313 a month along with a full SCE electric bill until the system is turned on. We will be expecting Semper to reimburse us for all charges we have had to pay in excess of the $313 loan payment until our system is functional. Do we think they will do the right thing? No, unfortunately we do not. If you value getting things done right, you should definitely look for a different company.

Solar Review

For the second time in two years my inverter has gone out. The first time I was unaware that I would not be notified by the company if anything breaks-I lost a month and a half of prime summer solar. I check my production myself regularly now and realized my solar had stopped working AGAIN. After being bounced around from person to person for two weeks and being told to turn it off and turn it back on several times, someone finally called back to schedule a tech to come out. Apparently the soonest they can come is in a month, and that is only to determine what’s wrong! I am going to lose an entire summer of solar production. When I stated this they were completely unapologetic and just said that they are very busy with repairs and did I want the appointment or not. They said if I didn’t accept this timeline then quote “you are going to have to wait even longer.” My system cost $22,000 and is supposed to have a warranty for 25 years on all parts. What good is this so called amazing warranty if the system goes down all the time and the company refuses to come and fix the problem?????

My roof has given me constant leak problems and is only 5 years old
Semper subcontract their roof jobs to others and the quality is suspect.
The latest issue is to replace all the ridge shingles because of water damage to my ceilings.
Now they will not reply to any service requests despite me having WARRANTY BY SEMPER SOLARIS
When they did come out they damaged my gutters because they didn't use gutter protectors when placing their ladders.
So I would NOT RECOMMEND Semper Solaris for roofing.

Extraordinarily poor communication both within the business and with their customer base. Serious employee turnover as well.
As is the case with many others, we were impressed with the Marine motto and expected somehow that this would be the guidepost for the day to day operation. However it is clearly a only a marketing ploy.
To make a long story short, we signed on for just two Tesla Powerwall's in July 2021 and here we are in late February 2023 still not fully functional. When the system did not work they sent out 5 different employees and wasted over 20 hours of my (their) time to try to pair the inverter we had from an older system with the new batteries. Eventually, I suggested putting in a new inverter. They then installed one that was missing a part and kept me waiting about two months for the part to arrive. Finally, I pushed them to simply swap out the bad inverter for a new one.
Here we are some 18 months later and they have stopped returning calls and emails since the 1st week in January. I do see that a few people had luck with a solid installation team but overall I sincerely hope that you can easily see that this is a very poor company to trust with your project. I can honestly say that this was the poorest customer care I have ever received!!!

It started out great! Great sales person, answered all our questions. Installation was good, technicians were very courteous and careful. That’s where it ended being good and went to terrible. Our system which includes solar panels and batteries has not worked correctly in 2 months, it was installed in December, it is now February. Customer Service is unresponsive. We are so disappointed and frustrated.

Every experience with this company was awful. I initially install with them, now wanted to upgrade, and I never can get same answer. I am so sorry I install system through them. They are unprofessional, unreliable, and all negative reviews about them are true. Go with someone else, or you will e in hell experiencing worst of all of them with impossible performance and reliability. Oh and by the way they false advertise they are upgrading to IQ8 micro inverters, I hope someone will sue them for false advertisement.