Save A Lot Solar

I love Save a Lot Solar! I had them install a 6-panel solar system on my small bungalow in Oakland, followed by a 10kW battery system a few months later. Both went without a hitch, and everyone I interacted with was super friendly and knowledgeable. The entire experience was as painless as can be, truly. It also ended up being more affordable than other quotes I received, and their hardware is higher-end than what many companies use as well! Cannot recommend enough.

Once we got our line of communication sorted, they have been super responsive, set and kept appointment, very competitive pricing - so far so good

Fantastic experience. Knowledgeable, no-hassle, local, patient -- and the price was good. Quality work. System is working like a charm (so far). Would happily do business with again should the need arise.

We have been waiting and researching solar for 10 years and never felt comfortable with any company till Save A Lot Solar. We cannot be happier with the service. AAA Bruce Bowles

We are very pleased with our solar installation with Save a Lot Solar. The team was communicative and professional. The install took 1 day - 9 panels plus all the electrical connections, attachment to roof, grounding, etc. Passed inspection on the 1st try. The team made everything very clear and were patient with questions. I highly recommend Save a Lot Solar.

My husband likes to do a lot of research whenever we need to do work on the house. Save A Lot Solar provided the best price. But more than that, they were easy to work with and communicative once the date was scheduled. The install was completed in one day. Another staff person came a week later to handle the inspection. They took care of all the permitting and communication with PG&E. Less than 1 month after the installation, everything is set up with PG&E and we hope to start seeing the lower bills.

From the owner to all the people involved, Save a Lot Solar is awesome. Fair price on a great product. On time for everything through installation. Lived up to all promises throughout. I highly recommend them for your Bay Area solar needs!

We are really happy with our solar array installed by Save a Lot Solar. The installers came early, staged the area and installed the panels, hardware and electrical to our existing panel- ALL IN 1 DAY! The guys were polite and left the work are spotless. We are getting the full potential from the sun now! We did have a small electrical issue a few days later that popped up- our site manager, Joe and their electrician came out to see what the issue we were having- It wasn't even related to the scope of their work, but they investigated, narrowed down the issue and replaced a GCFI that faulted because of an incorrectly wired breaker. Thank you Joe and Save a Lot Solar for over the top customer service- Kudos to a top notch outfit.

We checked several other businesses and felt that Save a Lot Solar gave us the clearest explanation of how things would work, what they could do for us and their timetable also worked for us too. The installation was professionally done within the time schedule promised. We were very impressed with how they safely handled our 3 story house without the expense of scaffolding. Additionally their crews were very personable and gave clear explanations of what they were doing.

The follow up service answered all our questions and we are now happily using and feeding solar power to the utility. We never felt that our questions were a problem and they were happy to share their considerable experience with us.

Save a Lot Solar is a great company. I am satisfied with their service. All the process was smooth from the start to the end. They were kind and responsive. We installed 9 panels a month ago, and it is good so far.

Save A Lot Solar made the whole process easy from beginning to end. They take care of the permitting process, keep you informed throughout the way and do great work.

Nothing but good things to say about Save a Lot Solar! They installed a 6-panel system on my small bungalow this fall and did a wonderful job. Their initial sales contact was informative and patient, their pricing was shockingly affordable, and they took care of all the hassles with PG&E without needing to get me involved at all. Will definitely be going back to them for a battery system in the near future. Overall just a really helpful, knowledgeable, professional company.

I'm very happy with our solar installation. Joe, the project manager, quickly dealt with a couple of small issues and made them right. Save-a- Lot Solar took care of all the permitting and inspections and made the process painless. I like the Enphase app which provides real-time status of the system.

Save A Lot Solar is terrific. From analysis of our needs to completion of the job this was a super professional and well done job. Thanks!

Save a Lot Solar was great. Everything went smoothly from our first meeting with the owner who explained their process very well. The installation team was punctual and hard working. The were experienced, very professional and highly recommended.

Save A Lot Solar installed a backup battery system into our existing solar system. (they also installed two more solar panels - we found we could use the extra generation for our house) They were very communicative and knowledgeable. It was refreshing to have contractors that were willing to take the time to explain the installation process; discuss options for where the equipment could be located; and how the system works and what the different switches are for; etc.

There were responsive to follow up questions, etc. Along with their competitive pricing, it makes it very easy to recommend them. We also were glad that they have been around for a number of years, and based on our experience, we expect them to be responsive to any support issues that might come up.

Savealot are a fantastic team to work with! They are use quality products at a reasonable price. The installation was on schedule, and they take care of everything - including integration with utility company.

They were fantastic from start to finish: from clear, extensive explanation of how the system would work and what it would cost; to on-time, efficient installation; to filing the necessary paperwork with the city and PG&E. Quick responses to all our questions. Nothing but good things to say about John and the entire operation of Save A Lot Solar.

Joe Sepharin helped to install 6 extra panels on my roof. I originally had 15, 345 Watt Panels installed in 2015, but this wasn't close to enough to match my energy usage (3200 sq ft multi-story home in San Mateo, CA that runs natural gas on everything possible, and I've switched ALL lights to LED. I do have a 4-ton AC that I use sparingly.) Joe very quickly responded to my request for this little project.

It was difficult to find a contractor who would do a panel addition project but joe was happy to help. Joe got on the project ASAP and did it right the first time. He gets high grades from me for swiftly executing the project and easily finding locations for all 6 new panels. I do recommend save a lot solar.

We waited a few months before writing our review. Everything was great with John and his team. Thank you Save a Lot Solar for making everything so easy. It was great working with the whole team. John and his team completed our solar installation at the end of February. The initial meeting with John was great. He was well prepared with the data for our home and had a "no sales" pitch.

He gave us a lot of information and told us to do our research as well. He left the meeting telling us he will not call us and we can call him when we are ready. After reviewing our options, we signed with Save A Lot Solar. They prep the permit, completed the installation within 2 days, and had the inspection completed with PG&E within the week. We are able to track our energy on an easy to use app. Our first bill from PG&E after the installation was a blessing.

Fast reply, thorough explanation of the process and a great price. John and his crew were helpful and made it a painless experience.

Excellent! John at Save a Lot Solar explained the whole process very clearly, provided a great quality product at a good price, scheduled the installation within a short period, and completed the job as promised in two days. I am happy to recommend this business.

I have been shopping around for solar for several years now. There seems to be a lot of shady stuff going on in the solar world. High pressure sales Shell companies that are basically just salesmen who farm out your contract to god knows who, Larger multi city general contracting firms with little local experience and rotating staff that are looking to capitalize on the solar market through some clever business model.

Then you have what I would consider the legitimate options: A local, well managed and reputable solar shop. Or one of the Big Name players like Sunrun or Tesla etc. I chose the local option primarily because I wanted to ensure some coordination with me and the roofers, and discuss a few specific concerns with an actual person who has some oversight on the project.

I chose Save a Lot solar for multiple reasons: reputation, cost and quality. And I'm glad I did. The whole process was simple, well scheduled, drama free, and well explained. John Orfali and his crew are a well run shop that delivers top quality work at a nice price. If you are shopping for solar, you should definitely ask John for a bid.

Update: Aug 8, 2020 3 years after John and his team successfully installed our solar panels, they came back last week to install the Enphase batteries. Another efficient project implemented by John, Joe and Save A Lot Solar team. The thought of having a functioning home with a working refrigerator, internet and WiFi during the planned and unplanned power outages seems unreal.

And all on solar power! We got proposals from 5 other solar companies before meeting John Orfali from Save A Lot Solar. His proposal was reasonable given the quality of panels (SolarWorld Model: SW 285 Mono) and the micro-inverters (Enphase Energy Model: M250-60-240-S22) but it was his responsiveness to our questions and concerns that got our attention.

Once we called his references and talked to previous local customers, we made the decision to go with Save A Lot Solar. The process went exactly per the schedule he had quoted and the installation started on time. One panel came in damaged which he replaced immediately so that it would not cause any delays. He took care of the permits and supervised the entire installation without our need to be present.

Since we had a very large system (70 panels) and the installation was a hill-side ground mount in a difficult-to-reach spot in our back yard, we give the team a very high score.never heard one complain from anyone! The installation finished on time (right before the rainy season started) and the system was connected to our main electrical panel through a conduit they ran inside a ditch they dug between the hillside and the garage. John filed all the paperwork with PG&E and attended all inspections including the final one.

We couldn't be happier with Save A Lot Solar and would recommend it to all potential customers. (I wrote this review in November 2016 upon the completion of our project and didn't realize it until today that it never got posted! I still have the same comments today, over 3 years

John and company did a hassle-free job. Signed up on-line, got scheduled a couple of months out as they were very busy, they showed up on the day they scheduled and finished the installation in 1 day. City inspectors came 3 days later and PG&E signed off early the following week. Absolutely a painless experience and at a good price using top-quality equipment. I would recommend them to anyone.

John had the lowest bid and highest rated equipment out of 5 bidders. Save a Lot Solar seems to have lower overhead than others bidders, since they are small and local to Oakland. The installation was performed in one day and they were very neat and considerate. Communications were clear and timely. All interactions with PG& E and the City was done by Save a Lot.

All I had to do was write a check. The system installed is working great and it comes with an app that lets you monitor how much money you are saving in real time. We love it. Highly recommended.

It was almost too easy.all we really had to do was write the check. We contacted Save a Lot Solar after getting a glowing review from a friend who'd recently used the company. In our first meeting, John was informative, answered all our questions, understood the issues of our old house, and knew the local building codes. They did the design, installation, permits, inspections, and PG&E connection. Oh, and their price was in line with other bids we received.

Very happy with efficiency and professionalism of this company. No hard sell, the product speaks for itself. Installation was quick and painless, communication excellent. They took care of everything, start to finish. Very highly recommended.

I had a great experience with John and his crew installing a 6.1 kw system consisting of 18 panels, microinverters, and a new sub panel. They did it all and did a great job with all of it.

A quick update to say that a year after installing our system we received a true up bill from PG&E (this is how it works - you get billed a monthly charge of about $10 for connection to PG&E, but usage is billed once a year). We owed them 13 cents. John Orfali's estimate of our monthly cost was spot on. Amazing. And the system has performed with no serious problems.

The only one is that the Enphase unit that reports system performance data to the cloud has disconnected from our wireless network occasionally and Save a Lot Solar came out right away to check it out. This in no way affects the actual performance of the system, so it's a minor nuisance.

We just installed a 18 Panasonic panel solar system with John Orfali and Save a Lot Solar and had as good an experience as can be. From the start of the bid process to having PGE switch us to net metering, John and the folks at Save a Lot Solar owned the process, and everything he said happened at the time he said it would. The process was straightforward due to John's clarity, his team installed the system very efficiently and the power that is being produced is beyond our expectation, and his pricing was very fair.

He also did our 200 AMP upgrade at a much more reasonable cost than a proposal from another firm. John handled all of the plans, interface with the City of Oakland, PGE, permits etc., making the process nearly effortless on our part. I highly recommend John and Save a Lot Solar!

Total professionalism through the entire project from explaining how much solar would potentially save on my PG&E bills, through installation to follow-up.

We had an excellent experience with John and Save a Lot Solar. They installed panels on our Berkeley home quickly and without any disruptions to our lives. John was extremely forthcoming and clear in all communication both during the sales process and throughout the actual project. We went from our first discussion to having the system fully operational in about two weeks.

They know what they are doing and use what seems to be very modern equipment and approaches. Also, Save a Lot took care of all permitting, city inspections, etc. Given that we weren't particularly interesting in learning the ins and outs of a solar install, just in reducing our electrical bill and doing a little bit for the environment, that was much appreciated. Extremely positive experience, highly recommended.

Yes, a great company and great experience. When I started to look for solar, I shopped around for the best rate and SAVE A LOT SOLAR had it. I got panels with Enphase micro inverters and am very happy with them.

Save a Lot Solar's 5 star rating reflects the company's knowledgeable and professional performance starting with the initial phone conversation and at each subsequent step through inspection and sign off.

Reputation is everything. So glad I found Save a Lot Solar and owner, John Orfali. Locally owned (Oakland, CA), services entire SF Bay area. Fair pricing. Very professional, low key, straight-forward.

We got proposals from 5 other solar companies before meeting John Orfali from Save A Lot Solar. His proposal was reasonable given the quality of panels (SolarWorld Model: SW 285 Mono) and the micro-inverters (Enphase Energy Model: M250-60-240-S22) but it was his responsiveness to our questions and concerns that got our attention.

Recommended by a friend. Contract was fairly priced, work done as described and finished on time. Conscientious attention, friendly, responsive and answered all question--can't ask for more. Recommend without any reservations.