Rated 4.21 / 5 from 24 reviews
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Solare Energy Solare Energy specializes in residential, commercial, and non-profit solar panel installation and energy efficiency services in San Diego County. As one of San Diego's best solar companies, Solare Energy offers smart energy solutions that combine solar and energy efficiency systems to provide the highest energy, economical, and environmental benefits to customers.

By combining the capabilities of both legacy firms, Solare Energy offers its customers integrated energy solutions that combine solar with various energy efficiency measures, that are customized to each particular client's energy needs to provide the best energy savings possible.
Business details
  • Year established: 1989
  • Employees: 24
  • Licensed
Services
Solar For Non-Profit Organizations
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Solar power presents a great opportunity for churches, treatment centers, schools of all learning levels, and homeowners associations to save money. By reducing your operating costs and capitalizing on affordable electricity, you can free up your budget to provide vital funding to other parts of your organization.
Maintenance
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Here at Solare Energy, we understand the problems that can arise when owning a solar array. We've opened up our service department to all residents of San Diego, regardless of who installed your system. Below you will find the services we offer. Service calls start at $149 and go up from there depending on the issue.
Commercial
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Commercial solar power presents a great opportunity for you to save your business money. By taking advantage of available tax credits, your business can reduce the cost of electricity by capitalizing on current incentives and tax credits, allowing you to harness the full value of solar for businesses.
Residential
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Homeowners across San Diego County are saving significantly on their home energy costs by installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar water heating systems. Photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, helping residential customers decrease their dependence on SDGE for their electricity needs.
Videos
The experts at Solare Energy answer frequently asked questions about solar. Call us at 800-411-SOLAR for more information. Jose Luis Contreras, President of Solare Energy, Inc. talks about what makes Solare Energy a better solar company.
Customer testimonial video for Solare Energy, one of the largest solar installers in San Diego. Solare specializes on solar panel installation, as well as the installation of energy efficiency systems to provide higher savings at a lower cost.
Established in 1989, Solare Energy is one of the largest installers of solar energy systems in San Diego County. We have unmatched contracting experience in the design and installation of solar photovoltaic (PV), solar water heating, solar pool heating, lighting, air sealing, duct sealing, heating, air conditioning, and pool pump systems.
Reviews (24)
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Frank D.
Jun 11, 2022
Professional, comprehensive, and competitive quote. Provided turnkey permitting and activation services with the power company. Professional, safe, and clean installation with all warranty and documentation promptly provided. Highly recommend.
Kathy I.
Aug 13, 2021
Amazing company to work with. A big thanks to Dustin, Jake, Moses. And the nice lady who answers the phone sorry I don't remember her name. They did an amazing job and they were done in less than 2 Days Way ahead of schedule. Very professionally done and communicated with me at all times. I would highly recommend them.
Doug A.
May 19, 2021
Zero post installation support. My enphase device keeps dropping its connection to the web. Of course when contacting enphase they want 200.00 for a new one. I understand that, enphase is in business to sell that stuff. However, solare is in business to install and maintain my solar. After spending close to 50,000 on my system and several years of not contacting solare, my enphase reporting device is acting up.

I contacted solare and left a message explaining what was going on. I did not get a call back, yet I was emailed with an explanation of how to reconnect my device and if I needed any further help I would cost me $99.00 to have a support person come out and help. Again, I am a customer who has spent a considerable amount of money with solare. I have not contacted them about nit-picky issues.

I do also understand that over time these routers start breaking down and causing problems and having issues. I can't imagine how you would be treated if one of your panels had an issue. I guess that 25 year warranty is with the manufacturer and don't ask solare for help, because when they're done installing your system that's the end of their support.

My system was not reporting for a significant amount of time. So I guess that they do not monitor the system either. Even though I distinctly remember that they said they would monitor the system and take care of panels or inverters that don't work. How can solare monitor the system if it isn't reporting to the web because of a old enphase monitoring device.
Tim C.
May 14, 2021
Solare checked off many boxes for me when picking a company for solar panels. They have stellar customer service and are very responsive. Their staff was professional and cleaned up after the install. Prices were one of the cheaper ones. They also installed a few of my friends' systems and none of us had any issues. The solar panels have close to paid for themselves. Time to consider extra panels and maybe powerwall with them.
Honey B.
Mar 11, 2021
We got the panels several years ago and have had no problems HOWEVER we were still owing SDGE a chunk of change every month. It was so very frustrating. So then we get a battery panel through someone else and that helped after we figured out how tricky the app was (another story). I called to see if I can have our panels cleaned because we have never done that before. Solare doesn't come clean panels and I'm certain when we bought ours, that was an option.

At the time of purchase, they seemed the best option. Nowadays, I wonder if I did the right thing with them. we had to go with a $10K battery to actually get some benefit. I can say that years later, I'm disappointed.
Tom L.
Mar 11, 2021
Solare Energy installed our ground mount 20 panel system and they are terrific. Their staff and installation crew were professional and efficient. They also assist with any HOA requirements. Highly recommend them. Take care Tom Loggia
Shari S.
Jul 09, 2020
I was referred to Solare Energy by a friend who used them and she had been singing their praises for the last couple of years. She had referred them to many of her friends and they everybody raved about Solare. I felt very confident before the initial meeting and remained confident throughout the process. Solare did an amazing job! The installation only took one day and it looks and works great.

I did speak to another company and the pricing was the same price but they were not as knowledgeable or experienced. Solare surpassed my expectations and I would recommend them to anyone and everyone. Do not hesitate to go with them, you will be very happy! I guarantee it! I wish we had done it sooner.
L. P.
Jun 12, 2020
My husband and I just completed our second solar, single-family-home, project with Solare, and they exceeded our expectations once again! From the initiation of the project, speaking with John Davis, VP of Sales and Energy Assessments, to our project coordinator Keith Neal, we felt our energy needs were well met and the process of completing the solar panels went smoothly from beginning to end.

Communication throughout the project was top notch. Solare has competitive pricing and for the high level of customer service and quality of work, we are very pleased that we selected them again to work with! Becky, with Tech Support, was 100+% helpful on our first solar project. She answered questions quickly, efficiently and with a high level of system knowledge. We've received the same high level of attention with this second project as well.

A simple, quick phone call can answer most all our needs! We also enjoyed working with Moises, Jose and crew who worked efficiently installling the panels, and knew exactly what to do each step of the way. We'd be happy to use Solare if we do a third solar project in the future!
Sean O.
Mar 27, 2020
Solare is an incredible company to work with. This is the second install I have done with them in the past four years. I sold my last home and when I bought a new one, it had a solar system that was too small for my needs. I picked up the phone and called and within one month of moving in my system had the additional capacity I needed. They even recommended that I change out my single speed pool pump, which I am having done this weekend to save even more money. Thanks for going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction Solare!
Alycia G.
Oct 29, 2019
After finding out my solar company was no longer servicing residential customers, I needed to find a solar company to replace an optimizer on my existing system. Jacob at Solare Energy was very helpful. He was able to have someone come out to my home and replace my optimizer within a week of me calling him. My panel is working again! I will definitely be using Solare Energy for my future solar needs.
Nick I.
Jul 18, 2019
When we first installed the system it was done great. I had a new Roof put on and had to use them for the warranty to take it off and on. This is where it gets bad. It took many phone calls and emails to get a hold of them. Finally I got a quote of $1475. Tried to call them Christian Roofing was going to the roof on a Monday. Finally had to call saying I needed solar panels on my roof, they answered immediately.

The price changed to $2000, had to argue and showed email of $1475. Asked how much for 3 more panels. They said $3275. Priced changed again the day of the uninstall to $3750. If not bad enough they broke 37 tiles on my roof. I had to pay roofers $300 to fix it. I just had my landscaping done and they drove on my front yard. Bottom line Is I should have had Christian Roofing do the whole job and forget their warranty. Please go to a good roofing company to get solar paneling done. My neighbor who has the same problem agrees.
Jackie A.
Apr 10, 2019
I purchased my solar system about 4 years ago. I was not sold enough solar panels for my home because I'm still receiving high electric bills from Sdge. My monitoring hasn't worked since 2016. I called them many times over the years and no one has came out to fix the problem. Someone was supposed to come out today @830am but was a no show. I would recommend you using another company for your solar needs
Robert E.
Apr 10, 2019
Very happy with Solare. They installed a Tesla Wall Charger (that we'd bought) in our Julian garage. Another company said they would do the installation and even set a date, only to decide they "didn't go to Julian" on the appointment day. Solare stepped in and a date was set. There was a one day delay but Mark, the electrician, showed up early the following morning. He is Tesla certified and worked professionally and had all the equipment he needed in his truck, so there were no delays. The charger is now up and running.
Jason S.
Dec 20, 2018
To be honest w you. My project for solar went exactly as Solare said it would. I had a chance to work w the President Jose who was very attentive and professional. I would definitely recommend Solare for any home solar project.
Joseph F.
Aug 16, 2018
I selected Solare because of their reputation for being a financially sound company in an industry full of scammers and fly-by-nights. I loved the piece of mind that gave me. The crew was professional, salesperson knowledgeable, and service team responsive. My only regret is I didn't buy more battery storage.very cool!
Jessica M.
Jul 20, 2018
Great service and nothing by professional. I worked with Harold Meza on a solar project I was looking at. He was nothing but professional and very knowledgeable. I felt confident that he was giving me accurate information- something I had not felt with other solar companies I had previously gotten quotes on. Would definitely recommend for any size solar job needed!
Corrine S.
May 31, 2017
Had the red fault light indicator come in. Called my company only to find out they have claimed bankruptcy! Frustrated as I was I just wanted to get the error cleared and get my solar up and running. Solare Energy was extremely patient with me and scheduled an onsite visit to fix the error. McKenzie called me after the service call to follow up. A different error code appeared and she researched its meaning and scheduled a follow on appt (all for the original service call price).

The technician returned today, cleared the error and again McKenzie followed up. Only now that the solar is good to go am I receiving my invoice! Technician was thorough and explained everything as well. Highly recommend and will use in the future.
Tracy B.
May 24, 2017
Solare Energy has been a great decision as far as I'm concerned. I'm a numbers guru and met with a minimum of 5 companies to evaluate the systems, cost, and pay back periods. At the end of the day Solare (John) won my business. One year later, as a result of the age of my roof, I had my roof replaced. Solare was quick to work with my roofer to make arrangements for removal and reinstall and the execution was flawless!

The installers on site (Storm and Logan) were very respectful, conscientious, very tidy and went out of their way to ensure I was well informed. I'm in the building industry and often times tough to please, so I wanted to ensure and recognize everyone from the installation team to the product on a job well done! Thank you Solare!
Steven Ward
Sep 07, 2016
Solare installed my system four years ago. I chose them because I liked their salesperson. What I understand more clearly now is that anyone can install solar, even a do-it-yourselfer. The system does what it is supposed to do, but Solare's customer service was flaky and the installation turned out ugly.
Bob Bogursky
Mar 01, 2016
Our experience with Solare has been fantastic. Our solar and pool heating installation almost 5 years ago was quick and clean and the projected energy savings have been consistently met. Recently we had some difficulties with our pool pump that the manufacturer couldn't solve.
Robert Romaine
Oct 08, 2015
Great Company Highly Recommend Excellent products/Professional installation No Hype. Finished before scheduled time.
Rob Z.
Sep 24, 2015
I believe you get what you pay for. Also believe that no one was ever sorry they bought the very best. We chose American made panels and micro inverters. A company of true professionals.
Ralph C.
Jan 10, 2015
We recently installed solar on our home and the people who work for Solare Energy were very professional and easy to work with. They handled the entire process from beginning to end including obtaining all permits and the rebate paperwork for us. I interviewed 5 companies and Solare was by far more knowledgeable and prepared when they made their bid. John Davis our Sales representative was very knowledgeable in all aspects of solar energy.

He also recommended changing our pool pump to a variable speed pump to save energy. John took the time to sit down with me and show me all of the very cool online tools that I can use to monitor the PV system's performance and energy production and answered all of my questions. He also provided a number of layout plans for the solar panels on our roof.

We ended up choosing a 5.225 kW Solar PV System, 19 Solar World SW275 Mono Protect Modules, 19 Enphase M250 microinverters, Envoy monitor with online access, automated performance monitoring and the IntelliFlo VS pool system. The installation team, (Adam, Lance & 3 others) all Solare employees (not sub-contractors), came and had my 5.2 kW (19 panel) system installed within three days including the variable speed pool pump. Lance was on site for the City of Escondido inspection to answer all the questions.

They were professional and did quality work that exceeded my very detailed and exacting standards. If you're looking for a quote on a quality solar system, I highly recommend Solare Energy and ask for John Davis. They made the whole process easy, informative, and enjoyable. Ralph Ceci 1006 Montview Dr. Escondido, Ca 92025 (760) 533-8856
Philippe Roussel
Dec 11, 2013
No used-car salesmen When I have decided to go solar, I did my homework and called five different companies. One did not show up, one gave a quote over the phone and three actually came to my home to make a precise quote.