Alternate Energy Inc.

If you are considering this company maybe look further!
We bought over the years our whole solar panel system, AC units and Tesla batteries.
Where to even start!
They do not have any set period where you get an at least one free support in person visit to check the system, if anything is wrong you are paying 200$ + .
Sadly, the worst part is not even that, reaching them to get help is a nightmare, 5 calls in, texting (and maybe a pigeon messenger at this point) we still can not get a person to come to the house to check the solar panels and battery as our Heco bill has gone up.
Now, if you have Ac units it can take a month to have someone in to service them (my guess is they do not have enough employees to manage the demand).
Once you do get a person to give you a call back, don’t expect a quick fix, the people answering the calls have no idea how to help and they call to tell you that a tech will call at some point with availability.
The systems are generally good, and the installation team and service team (the ones that actually come to the house) are good. I had the “pleasure” to deal with them for the past 4 years or so and their service just gets worse, it is sad but more than that very upsetting.
Do your research before choosing them, maybe other companies that provide the same products are actually easier to deal with.

Was really impressed with the work done by Alternate Energy. Great team on site and the installation of some additional panels and two batteries looks great and is exactly what I wanted. Great choice to go with AE and I would recommend to anyone interested in new solar or upgrading your current system. The entire process from sales to design was very smooth and organized; just a great experience from start to finish. Ten thumbs up!!!

This review is not as a customer, but as a co-contractor for a residential construction project. This is the first solar company i have EVER worked side by side with that arrives with the correct permits and licensed, capable and experienced journeypersons. As the primary electrician on the project, I did not have to do basically anything for them other than to utilize their gfci breakers for their final inspection to pass. All the worker were very courteous and respectful (was even asked if it was ok for them to tie in to my meter main, that was amazing).
I gonna use this company from now on.

Aloha Alternate Energy,

We want to express our delight and appreciation in working with Jeff Lum. Our project involved in acquiring a Tesla Powerwall and enrolling in the Swell Energy program. The project proved to be challenging with tight deadlines, unforeseen complications in cable routing and complex coordination. Jeff demonstrated professionalism and expertise in helping us accomplish a successful project. We are most grateful for Jeff's responsiveness and patience. Throughout the project, questions and concerns arose. Jeff was always available to us, he understood our concerns and advocated for resolution.

We appreciate Jeff and would recommend him to all.

Mahalo,

David

Faith Texeira and the entire AEI support team did an outstanding job bringing my entire PV system up to current electrical standards, installing high efficiency PV panels, replacing legacy Enphase micro-inverters and implementing two Tesla Powerwall batteries under the HECO Battery Bonus program.

My installation was fairly complex with 37 PV panels implemented in 4 phases under 3 vendors so getting everything to work smooth and seemlessly was quite an accomplishment. Yet, they were able to keep their pricing very reasonable and significantly lower than my original installation company.

Note: If you have an EV and want to use your L2 charger during a grid outage, you will need to install a minimum of two Powerwall batteries as a single unit will not handle the 6kW draw under L2 charging.

The Alternate Energy team was very professional throughout the process (from quotation, pre-check, and installation) of setting us up with new split system a.c. units at our home. Thank you to the entire team for their friendly and efficient manner to get our job done timely.

Amazing service once again from AEI. Mr. Jeff Lum genuinely cares about his clients and follows up with me. He made sure I took advantage of the swell program and that my equipment is doing well. Thank you, Jeff and team, for all that you do!!

Topnotch Crew! I cannot give enough complement to Dave Thompson (Sr. Project Mgr), the electricians, and installers from AE. This is our third solar installation and how we wished we knew Dave back then. We’ve interviewed multiple installers and Dave crushed the competition with his professionalism, technical competence, candor, and above all, saved us thousands of dollars. The installing crew were always on time, courteous, and explained in detail the scope of work for the day. They even thoroughly cleaned-up by day’s end. Stop searching. AE is the company you’ve been looking for. Highly recommended. All the best. Mahalo Dave & Team AE.

The whole entire team starting with Doreen and Jeff Lum all the way to the different teams who came during the two installs were amazing, patient with us "old folks" and clear/precise with instructions. Always so good to go with a family owned, Hawaii born company like Bruce's! Mahalo for helping us with energy efficiency!

Alternate Energy is a very professional and friendly company. They were very quick to respond to my concerns. I like the fact that they do both PV and Solar water heating so you get the honest reasons why you need both to get the most efficient system.

My electric bill was about $300-500/month depending on what time of the year it was. During the summer we ran the AC, we have 5 mitsubishi-split hvac units, so my kids run up the electric bill during the summer. In 2013, Alternate Energy installed my PV system and it took care of that electric bill down to the service fee of $26/month! Since then our system has paid off and recently we invested in adding on a Tesla Powerwall since HECO had the battery program which ended last year.

The installation the first time went smoothly. I was worried about my wood shake roof, but they had the right flashing products to properly protect and seal my roof with the penetrations of the railing system they used. Today was the first time we had a long power outage. I didn't even realize we had a power outage until we got an alert from Spectrum saying there was an outage in the area (for some reason when the power goes down, Spectrum sends us an alert for the cable going down). The power just came back on after about 4 hours and our refrigerators and freezers were safe. The power outages usually only last a few hours, but it can be long enough to damage the frozen and refrigerated food, so the one battery to cover that and some minor lighting is perfect.

Thank you to Alternate Energy for explain the battery system and providing us a great installation and investment.

I had a great experience working with Jeff at Alternate Energy along with the installation crew for our solar water heater. Everything was communicated very well, the work was done well, and they came out quickly when we had a minor issue. I would definitely recommend using them.

Amazing Service!
I hope I can express my gratitude by writing a feedback for “Alternate Energy”. In 2019 “Alternate Energy” installed 34 solar panels on our home. Was happy with the service back then.
Last week we had severe rain fall and a few leak spots thru underneath the solar panels. On Monday May 20th I contact the company, within a couple of hours and got a call from Alexis from Alternate Energy roofing department, she’s the coordinator, she told us would schedule a team to work on the leakage within a week, and surprisingly next day she called again and scheduled us the day after. She’s prompt, courteous and efficient. Very pleasant to work with her.
On Thur Austin (lead roofer) from Alternate Energy showed up 10 minutes prior scheduled time with two of his team mate Jaydon and Lono, Within a couple of hours and fixed the problem/damage. They were professional and friendly. Really appreciated for their service. And it’s covered by the company’s warrantee.
Over all had amazing experience with the people working for the company. Hope they continue to grow and provide excellent service.
Much Mahalo!

I’m happy with how AE has been able to complete my PV and battery install. We had some issues with the PV install initially but the technician came to my house every day to troubleshoot until it was fixed. Although it’s too bad we all had to deal with that, it means a lot for the company to prioritize getting it fixed right away. The sales rep was also great and patient about answering all my questions. He looked out for us and let us know about signing up for different energy plans and promotions.

Addendum: I wanted to update my review to reflect what has happened since posting. After no response from customer service since 3/19, I posted my review on 4/19. Within 2 hours, Roy contacted us to schedule a meeting to discuss what was posted. After a pretty heated discussion on 4/29, Roy agreed to send a technician to our house the next day. Within 10 minutes of arriving, Drew found that a current transformer had been installed backwards during the warranty battery replacement they performed back in December, which was causing the house to draw electricity from the grid despite adequate battery and solar power. It was quickly fixed and our bills have returned to the minimum amount. Roy reimbursed us for all the extra HECO charges and sincerely apologized for our experience.

I am hopeful that we can rebuild our trust in the company again, because as I stated in the first review, many parts of Alternate Energy are excellent. I would recommend talking to Roy directly if you are having problems with customer service because he really goes out of his way to try to understand the situation and attempt to fix it.

Synopsis: I would not recommend using this company for PV installation due to their poor customer service. If your solar panels and batteries have any problems, prepare to be ignored and gaslighted. It is a shame because other parts of Alternate Energy are excellent, but it has not been worth the frustration to go with this company.

Details:
We began to run into problems with Alternate Energy in 2023. The Powerwall began randomly shutting off in January and we notified the company. Terri contacted us and said they would try to fix the problem remotely, and the system went back online. The Powerwall started shutting off again in October and Kaniu told us they would look into it. Their manager, Trevor, emailed us "Everything looks fine with your system" on 10/19, despite us pulling larger amounts from the grid. I contacted Tesla and they confirmed with me that the battery was malfunctioning and needed to be replaced under warranty by Alternate Energy. I had to call Alternate Energy every few days since Tesla kept telling me the battery was ready to be installed, but Alternate Energy said they did not have it. Eventually Terri stopped answering my calls and we had no idea when the battery would arrive. I even left a message for Bruce, the company owner, to ask what to do but I never heard back. I was finally able to schedule for the battery replacement at the beginning of December. The technician was great and explained everything he did, but after several days, we were able to see that we were still pulling from the grid. I sent several screenshots to Trevor who again wrote back "I'm not seeing any issues or concerns" on 12/11. At this point, our electric bill has doubled and our grid usage has increased 10 fold from before we had battery troubles. Trevor's last email to us said "You can't take past data as a direct indication of all future data...there are no issues with the system. You'll need to talk to HECO." I talked to HECO and they said the grid is functioning properly at our house. And to top it all off, Tesla customer service instructed them to come to the house in March 2024 to evaluate the problem, and I received a phone call from Alternate Energy saying they do not have to come.

I've attached a screenshot of our electricity use from before the problems in October to after. I think anyone can see there is a change in what we are pulling from the grid and being billed for despite our everyday usage being the same. Also attached are screenshots of the app saying our house is using absolutely no power with a fully charged battery, which should not be possible. And we are fortunate our solar panels are still working or our electricity bill would be 10 times what it was previously. I think either Alternate Energy does not understand the product they sell, or even worse, they just don't care about their customers. Save yourself the trouble and look for another company.

I used an article that The New York Times published in December 2022 as a framework for trying to figure out what was best for my family in terms of technology and financing. Alternate Energy and their salesperson, Faith Texeira, worked with me as I checked through the boxes in my mind. Along the way I was never made to feel rushed; and I always had a sense of assurance that the company would be there for me over the long haul. To see the system, with batteries, finally up and running has been an amazing and gratifying experience.

I have used Alternate Energy for more than 10 years now. They first installed a solar water heater system and PV system. We have needed normal servicing for the panels and they have always been timely. We just added PV batteries through them and they continue to deliver a great product. I spent a good amount of time and research before making my decision to go with them, and after seeing their continued support and service for their products, I am happy that I made the right decision! Choose wisely as many other companies have since closed.

Hi.
I've been contacting your company since 8/4/23 about the red light and was asked to take picture and email to Kaniu .After that I have to call AE again to check if they can send a technician out, but they advise me to call Solaredge then SE told me to call Sunnova and I get the run around with these two company .Finally SE advise me to call AE who was the company that installed the panels and used SE inverter system. So I called and talked to Kaniu and was told she would call me back after check with her supervisor, but no one called back so I email no response .So I called again and was told it'll 12 to 24hrs for someone to call me back.This company is sucks I need some one in the company to contact me regarding the problem .

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?

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..

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.

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.

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.

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.

Melissa and her team were very professional handling my services and kind spoken during our conversations. Thank you for continuing your great customer service for me and my fam.

Current and future buyers beware. Quick to take your money, but when problems arise they don’t even call back. 5 calls already after they identified 2 panels were inoperable. Not one call back. Secretaries are nice and admit they have problems with management responding. Save yourself the headache and go somewhere else for your PV and solar

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.

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!

Electric bills are EXPENSIVE!!! Like holy moly. We run our A/C 24/7 since we have two fur children... so in the summer our bill would be over $400! We've always considered getting solar panels but never did the research and finally after being a home owner for 5 years... we decided to look into it because a friend who got it offered more information.

To be honest, we didn't shop around for companies. Since my friend went through Alternate Energy and raved about the guy he worked with... I decided to give him a text. Enter RADFORD. Alternate Energy GODSEND. Let me explain... some people do their job. Some people do it and go an extra step. He goes an extra mile, no joke! I got a text back within the hour. He asked simple questions (what's our bill like and if we have a copy) and within a couple days I had proposals. I'm the type of person that asks a ton of questions. He answered all of them patiently and explained everything thoroughly. A meeting was set up where he came over to explain the different proposals (panels without a battery vs panels with a battery) and all the pros/cons/options/etc. I'm telling you... I'm blown away by this guy and his exceptional customer service. A time was set up for someone to inspect our roof, and finance options were explained along with state and federal tax credits (this is why you get PV too!) Once the loan was taken care of, everything else easily fell into place. The process is kinda humbug I'll be honest... but only because you have to wait on HECO to do this and that... and we have an association so they need paperwork too... but he and his team took care of everything. The guys who installed the panels were nice, professional, and efficient. He came by to check on the installation and answer any additional questions we had. I always received updates on the status of the project along the way which was greatly appreciated because it's definitely a long process.

Fast forward a little less than a year later... my hubby noticed that our PV box wasn't displaying our panels how they should. I called the office and they had someone come out to diagnose what was wrong. My dad recommended that I text or email Radford (I sent an email) and got a phone call within the hour and follow up text messages helping me out... in the end, the issue was covered under warranty and a tech came out to fix it within the week. He helped that process along and followed up with me as well. Talk about CONTINUITY OF EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE! If you're in the market for solar panels I would definitely recommend Alternate Energy and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you ask for Radford.

A couple CRNA's that I work with got solar panels from AE and recommended him to my friend who got solar panels from AE... and so we got solar panels from AE and I highly recommend him... and after us... my parents got solar panels from AE via him as well. He's a great guy who is knowledgeable, friendly, and if you can't tell from my review, has amazing customer service skills and he's definitely an asset to this company! Save on your HECO bill and get PV... it's worth it! Our $400 bill in the summer was a little over $100 running the A/C 24/7! Thanks Radford... you're awesome!!!

We installed a solar water heater (replacement of inoperable one and relocated from inside closet to outside storage), 18 PV panels and a Tesla battery. I had already signed contracts and started the process with Haleakala but I paid $1500 to cancel everything with Haleakala and switched to AE when Haleakala could not tell me what kind of PV panels were being installed. Alternate Energy installed Panasonic PV panels whereas Haleakala finally disclosed a China brand. Made the switch and with only 2-3 months left in 2019 they were able to expedite everything to ensure 2019 installation so I could capitalize on the last year of the 30% tax credits. I really appreciate the quick install as I was able to get back around $23k on my taxes. I waited to post my first review until I received my first electric bill, which I just got, $26.25! I'm only paying the admin fee and green energy fee. I sold my dishwasher since I don't use one, but I'm happy that I can wash all my dishes with hot water throughout the day. I didn't have any hiccups or issues with any process of my installation. From beginning to end everything went fluidly.

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.

We had Alternate Energy put in our PV unit and AC for my home office last year. We were very impressed with their commitment to service and professionalism. They provided us with excellent advice regarding how big a system we needed and how to prepare our garage roof for the panels. This year we had to move our cable to reroof our home. We had gotten agreement from AE to move our cable before installing the new roof. We forgot to schedule their work, but when we called, they were at our house w/in 2 days to do the job. This was a great example of their commitment to service.
D.R. Ching

Very pleased with the PV system. They were not the cheapest of several quotes but their referral rebate made them competitive. Jeff Lum was able to assist me in deciphering and navigating PUC and HECO programs to select the right system for me with the proper number of panel sizing. Very pleased with their quality of work and follow-up of Jeff to insure that I got what was promised.

Top notch quality and service. The project went smooth and on schedule to design and install a split system A/C unit. Working with consultant Jeff Lum was great; he handled all the details and delivered as promised! No hidden costs, overruns or delays. Would highly recommend Jeff and the crew at Alt Energy for anyone considering A/C or PV work

Everything went smoothly with my AC install. Work done quickly and neatly. Jeff Lum had his guys there on time and the product was as promised and sized appropriately for our space. Thx Jeff!

I’ve had my PV system for a few years now, and it’s been great! Alternate Energy took care of all the details, filed all the forms for approval, etc. My sales rep, Jeff Lum (I see him on the ads!), explained the system and the process in a simple manner that I could understand. He responded quickly to any follow up questions I had. The installation crew was professional, efficient and friendly. Great company! I would definitely recommend them!!!

I have changed my review from a 1 star to a 4 star. Alternate Energy explained that due to staff shortages and changes there was miscommunication which caused the delay in fixing my leaking solar water panel. Also how the manufacturer of the panel warranty works. They wanted Alternate Energy to open a panel that was not designed to be opened and change the tubes. Alternate Energy's manager Jim came out to my house and personally explained why the delay had occurred and to make sure the repairs to my solar water system was done to my satisfaction. I will continue to use Alternate Energy and refer them to my friends and neighbors.

Saw their add on Facebook, contacted them on 5/21/2015. Roy S. returned a quote in less than 24 hours. My 24K BTU Mitsubishi was installed 5 days later. Included filing for City and County Permits and HOA forms as needed. Can't beat the best warranty package 12-yr deal. AEI even went out of their way in providing me with the rebate form, self addressed paid stamp to Hawaii Energy. I highly recommend Alternate Energy Inc and stay cool for the rest of your life.