Semper Solaris Construction

Sunny Days ahead with Semper Solaris! As a contracting manager in Healthcare, I performed my due diligence with seeking and receiving over 7 bids to install solar at my home. My motivation was of course the rising costs of electricity (no gas or propane in my semi-rural home) and the benefits of reducing the emissions footprint for the planet! The tax credit was also a great motivator! Upon review of my multiple bids I was shocked to find an approx. $10,000 difference in costs with essentially the same products and performance from the several bids, and I spoke to all the big players and a few small. Semper was my awarded vendor based on their customer service, Anela was excellent, and of course their competitive bid. Their install team was very considerate, professional, and punctual as well. My system required 34 panels and we also added a car charger. They worked closely with my roofer on the install and completed the work in a timely manner after permits were obtained. I am generating over 60 KW a day and could not be more pleased! Thank you Semper for your professionalism and overall exceptional care, service, and products!

With the ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP assistance of Rhami Hasenin, my Semper Solaris salesperson, my solar electric system was installed and operable in just 6-1/2 weeks with most of the time being spent waiting for permits. Yesterday, just 8 weeks after I signed the contract, the final approval from SDG&E was received and the system is now fully operational. Being a degreed Electrical Engineer who retired as Director of Operations from an energy management company, I’m not exactly an easy guy to please. When one of the design changes that I wanted did not “fit the mold”, Semper connected me with their Director of Engineering and together we worked out the solution. Being a veteran myself, I’m pleased to give Semper, a veteran owned and operated company, my business. They absolutely earned my 5 STAR rating.

The crew at Semper Solaris where amazing. The first initial meeting with Genevieve was where we got all the info on how the install would go and it went just as planned. The office staff Veronica and Vinney where also very informative on what was going on and where we would be week by week. Our system was installed in 6 weeks from meeting with Genevieve. Our project manager Mark and his crew where awesome and very clean on the install. I would definitely recommend this team for your solar needs.

We were looking to get a solar system installed for our new home because, quite frankly, we were fed up with these massive SDGE bills. Needless to say, it was a daunting task to sift through all of these different solar contractors to see who was the best contractor. Best to me is defined as a contractor that is going to do quality work on my home, use great materials and be competitively priced. I’m a serial researcher…meaning I don’t pull the trigger on anything until I do a TON of research and learn as much as I can. Let me just save you the hours and hours of time by offering two pieces of advice:

1) Call Semper Solaris
2) Ask to meet with Roland Obana

Roland is very knowledgeable and answered every question I could throw his way (from how the system would be installed, what it would look like, how much money I would really save, warranty info, etc). He really made us feel comfortable about this investment. Thereafter, Semper Solaris did their job and executed just like Roland promised. Things don’t always go this smoothly with other contractors but these guys are the leaders of solar in San Diego for a reason. Follow my advice and don’t look back. I’m saving a TON of money now!

We had Semper Solaris do our solar panels. Our experience w semper has been great. Throughout the entire process, Caesar Loche was excellent and supportive, as were other members of the SemperSolaris Team. To us, dealing with regular people and also with military backgrounds was key to choosing them. We love our Solar so far! Now we don't need to worry so much about running that A/C a little more during the hot summer months.

I am very disappointed in this company. It took over 2mo to get my roof inspection completed. Over priced my roof add-on my over 300%. No one ever emailed me a bill, discrepancy sheet, responding emails and seemed not to care about anything.

I never will recommend this company. I wish I never heard of them. They disgraced the military and Veterans for using them to sell there product. I am both.

I interviewed a few different companies to get a quote for going solar after getting a ridiculous *** bill. I went with Genevieve at Siempre Solaris. She was the most professional person I spoke to. She explained everything to me in a way I that I could understand. The company kept me up to date in every aspect of the install with telephone calls and emails right up until the turn on date. The installation crew was very professional. The whole process took less time than they estimated I couldn’t be happier. Thank you Siempre Solaris. And thank you Genevieve!

It is crucial as a Realtor, to seek out contractors whom possess the integrity and professionalism to perform at a high level of service for my clients. Additionally, the basis for choosing the right contractor weighs heavily upon the initial interaction and history of the company. I look for a company that will provide the most cost-effective and timely completion of a project. I also institute these principles when looking for contractors whom will service me on a personal level. I can sincerely say that service from Semper Solaris, from the initial point of contact with my sales person, Roland Obana and the project manager, Mark Kravchak, was superb. Their customer service was outstanding and the quality of work very professional. Prior to making my decision to contract with Semper Solaris, I met with four other solar companies. All of these encounters were exhausting and, frankly in some cases, a dishonest experience. Semper Solaris was upfront on all costs from the beginning. They constantly updated me so I would be apprised all of the details and what to expect during the process. I would recommend them to anyone whom is considering solar. I believe they deserve more than a 5-star rating!

Semper Solaris is the best when it comes to customer service. If you are military they truly honor our vets. We got a great deal for my husband's service and nothing but stellar service. They were on top of letting us know what the next step was and where we stand in the build out. After "interviewing" several other provides we decided on Semper Solaris just because of the customer service we received from Rhami Hasenin. He was very informative and went above and beyond to get us the best deal out there. If I could give them more stars I would.

I would not recommend Semper Solaris for solar as their customer service is horrible. The salesman will say anything but once you sign that contract they stop treating you like a valued customer. Be careful about trusting/reading reviews, especially on social media, as they will delete anything negative then block users from posting their experience with the company. Company is actively removing negative information about their company to make them seem better than they actually are.
I went with Semper based on their online reviews almost all of which were positive. As a veteran and family of vets, I liked the idea of a company that works with military/ex-military although this just seems to be a marketing ploy as they didn’t work well with this vet. They heavily advertise as military/veteran oriented but their company values and work ethic are far from anything taught in the military.
The salesman was nice and worked with me in getting the system setup and designed. Once I signed the contract, the communication from Semper basically stopped. I was assigned a project manager that would not respond to anything. I asked a question regarding the placement of panels as they differed from the original layout provided (panels are set under a tree so they get shade for a few extra hours a day). The project manager never responded. After not hearing back I contacted the salesman regarding the change. She stated that she reviewed it with the engineers and the placement wouldn’t change the output of the system (this was a lie as the output from those panels are about 20% less than similarly positioned panels)
The project moved slowly from there with my only contact being an occasional generic email from a random person at Semper that wasn’t specific to my project.
At this point I sent complaint regarding the lack of communication to their headquarters staff.
After my complaint to HQ I finally received a call to inform me when they were going to be installing (not to schedule a time that worked for me, they just told me when they were coming). Based on the timing and the attitude I got from the representative, I believe I only got this call because of the complaint. Otherwise my project might still be sitting around waiting for someone to work on it.
Install went okay and the crew got almost everything done the first day. One tech did come out the following day to finish up some details. He wasn’t able to get the system activated and said he would have to come out the next day. He never showed up or called. I called customer service to follow up and the representative said they would find out what was going on and call me back. They never did. Tried to call the project manager but I was never given her contact information. Was able to send an email to one of the people that had previously communicated with and she called me back. Relayed the information to her and she said she would look into it and call me back. She never did call back and the tech never showed up.
After a few days of not hearing back from anyone I finally got a call from someone that said the issue was likely as bad invertor and that they would have a tech out to check everything and that they would be bringing a spare invertor. Tech showed up and did not bring the replacement inverter (I guess they don’t communicate internally either). He did return and got the invertor installed and the system working.
That wasn’t the end of my horrible ordeal working with Semper. The final stage was setting up system monitoring. Spent the next 2 weeks trying to get the information so I could set this up. I even had the manager of the local branch in the emails but no one ever responded. After receiving no response I was able to hunt down a number for the monitoring department. The tech informed me that there was an issue with the internet signal. I informed them that this was an issue with my ISP and that I had a call in to them. He then informed me that they would send a tech out. I asked why they needed to send a tech when the issue was on my end. When the tech showed up I told him that the issue was with my ISP not them and that I wasn’t sure why he was there. He was able to get the monitoring setup for my system.
For the cost of solar you would think that the company would try and work with their customer and try to communicate with them. I guess once the contract is signed they know they can’t back out so they just ignore their customers and work at your own pace. As most solar companies offer panels from the same manufactures the only real difference is customer service. You are also stuck with the same company for 25 years since they cover the warranties. Everyone should do their research and find a company that ACTUALLY want’s your business and won’t just ignore you once they have your money. Semper’s prices were higher than most competitors and I was hoping this would reflect in better service which they most defiantly do not give.

Roland Obana from Semper Solaris was awesome to work with, and since we are new to the whole solar process he was very helpful, he met with us and explained every aspect of the process and even answered questions the other companies wouldn’t. I would recommend him to anyone looking for solar, his customer service was excellent and if we had any questions that would arise he responded to inquiries in a timely manner, he has been great about keeping us updated as to where we are in the whole process.

My husband and I decided after numerous exorbitant SDG&E bills, to go solar. However, we also needed a new roof. Ideally, finding a company that did both was preferred but we were open to going with two separate companies. Our goal was to have a quality solar panel system, roof and warranty. We ultimately received estimates from four, top rated companies. Two of them were strictly solar and the other two did both solar and roof. One of the four, was Semper Solaris.
Fortunate for us, Semper Solaris sent their sales rep, Chase Calkins. We were impressed from moment he walked thru the door. He was punctual, polite, sincere, conscientious, patient and personable. The more time we spent with him, his work ethic, integrity and honesty was apparent. Not once did we feel he was reciting from some sales script, rushed or pressure of any kind. His wealth of knowledge about the solar product was far superior. He explained everything thoroughly and answered every single question. He proficiently computated how much kWh’s we needed, cost and loan options at the appointment. Although Semper’s solar system and roof wasn’t the cheapest price, we recognized neither was its quality and depth of their warranty. We felt it was the best value overall. The decision to go with Semper Solaris was an easy one. Even after the sale, Chase checked in with us periodically to make sure we were kept apprised of the progress.
Roof and solar installment went smoothly. The foremen, leads and installers were knowledgeable, friendly and polite. They were excellent in cleaning up the job site every day they were here. To our surprise, the solar was actually installed in one day!
I highly recommend Chase and Semper Solaris to all my family, friends and colleagues and will continue to do so.
Sincerely,
Geri and Tim Gravelle

Semper Solaris told me they could do a solar system and put plywood on my roof for $30,902. I signed a contract and gave them a $1000 deposit. 2 weeks later they call back and say they want another $13,000 to do the same job. I told them to cancel it and refund my deposit. They did not do so. Now they do not even return emails. I just want my deposit refunded.

Where to begin? I will keep it simple. After researching several companies, we went with Semper Solaris. They talked a good game, and sure know how to present themselves to get you behind their mission statement. Well, what should have been a job accomplished in no more than 3 visits in less than a month took 11 visits and several months. It started with the system not producing as promised. This resulted in a crew coming out and replacing some faulty equipment. In so doing, they found workmanship errors from the first crew they had to repair. Well, withotu boring you, I would find an error (inverter computer not communicating, all panels not registering, weather tight junction boxes NOT being weather tight) and each time a crew came out, they also found other errors from prior repair teams that I had been unaware of. After 11 visits over multiple months, the system finally seems to be working right. NOW, we get to management. At one point upper management was fully admitting the errors were all due to poor communication and poor management at a branch level and that I was a "victim" in this "learning process". Supposedly the entire local maagement team that handled my case was replaced. However, shortly after this point, corporate management essentially did a 180 telling me that the errors were all 'cosmetic' only, the system worked as designed since the day it was turned on, and that basically I shouldbe happy that after paying them upfront I should be happy they FINALLY figured it out and got it working right. When I pointed out that the system most surely had NOT operated to specs the day it was turned on and took several visits to function at full cpacity, their answer was 'We are not responsible for that as it was the parts supplied to us by our vendor that failed'. WHAT?? I, as a consumer, did not choose this vendor or parts! YOU did. I paid you for the project, you installed the parts, and you are who came out when the failed to function. I paid you, Semper Solaris, you ARE responsible to the consumer for the failing of your contracted vendors parts. Well, at least my neighbors saw with their own eyes the fiasco of working with Semper Solaris, and are steering away from working with them. The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is beacuse at least now the system is finally working right, but what a long and tiring road to get here. Steer clear unless you enjoy long painful projects and needing to ride a company to the very end to make sure they do what they say they will.

I chose Semper Solaris because my Son-in-law did research on solar companies; & he recommended them (if my son-in-law recommends someone, I know they are good or are a good value). In addition, they are veteran owned (Im retired Matine Corps); & they offered a $500 coupon (downloadable from their site) to military.

My first contact with anyone from Semper Solaris was Genevieve. She was very informative and knew the product she was offering. She answered all our questions in a thorough manner.

Next was the project manager (John Renteria); who kept us inform or the process and where everything was in that process.

And finally, what an AWESOME job the install team of Garrett, Chris Y, & Miguel did in installing the panels, wiring, & all the conduit. To the breaker box. They arrived when they said they would, & installed the material in a quick & efficient manner. They answered all my questions (even though I’m sure they heard them a thousand times), & showed me how the system worked. Once the system was installed & approved by the inspector; Semper Solaris took care of everything that needed to be sent to SDG&E and John always kept us informed on where the process was & if there was anything we needed to do.

Everyone we made contact with from Semper Solaris was very professional, friendly, & knowledgeable about their product.

We are DEFINITELY looking forward to saving money, & not being tied to the high cost of electricity from SDG&E.

Thank you Semper Solaris for an AWESOME experience, & say, “it was a PLEASURE doing business with you!!!!” I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Semper Solaris for all your solar needs.

It's another glorious San Diego day, so I should be delighted with my wise decision to invest in solar. Unfortunately, that $17,000 array of panels on my roof is a sad testament to poor quality and pathetic customer service.

I wrote a glowing review of Semper Solaris when we had our panels installed in 2015. . . . but our experience since then has been extremely disappointing. We've had our system for just under three years, and it's now crashed six times.

After five service calls Semper Solaris determined the problem was with the inverter, so they installed a different model. One month later, our system is down again and Semper Solaris admits they don't know how to fix the problem. Semper Solaris has now informed us that we need to deal with the manufacturer in order to resolve the problem. WHAT??? Semper Solaris sold this system and THEY should make it right.

Additionally, Semper Solaris has now charged us $750 for installation of the replacement inverter. When the inverter was installed over a month ago there was no mention of any charge to us. It is such a "coincidence" this bill was sent the day after our review was posted on Yelp. Hmmm. . . .
We've tried to contact Semper Solaris to resolve this issue, but our calls have not been returned.

Semper Solaris proudly advertises itself as a "Local and Veteran Owned Solar Company", but if you're looking for honesty and integrity, you won't find it with them.

I had a great experience with Semper Solaris from start to finish. Genevieve Johnson did a fantastic job of explaining the different types of systems available and had a very informative, no pressure presentation.
Michael Cognetti did an outstanding job as a Project Manager as well making the whole process simple and easy.
My system is working great the monthly savings are already making a huge difference!
I’ve already recommended Semper Solaris to my close friends and would easily do it again
Thanks Semper Solaris!

We had the greatest experience with Sempre, Genevieve johnson was our rep that we got to talk with. She is very informative about solar, and stayed in touch with me every step of the way, even checking in after the job was done to see how we liked our solar installation. Thanks lady! You rock!!

Semper Solaris is the best, from start to finish! Salesman: Chase. No-pressure sales or negotiating because their prices are already the lowest. They assign a project manager who keeps you informed at every stage. Twenty panels installed in less than a day; I didn’t even have to be home. They coordinate with city permits and SDG&E (utility) to make the project seamless. Get multiple bids if you like, but you’ll end up going with Semper Solaris.

Solar panel and system was installed (finished) on 5/17/2018. They said they were going to send me a receipt for goods/services, but to this date failed to do so. I sent a message to John R a week ago, requesting a receipt. He said he was going to send one but has not to this date. Gavin P said he would also send one last Tuesday 6/5/2018, but hasn't done so. I spent $15,815.00 on the solar system, but have no receipt for it.