Luminalt Solar Energy Solutions

I agree with the other reviewers about Luminalt’s professionalism, attention to detail, punctuality, trustworthiness, friendless, customer service and technical skill; I don’t have much to add there.
They just finished a 3.27 kW system on our home, which is small by San Francisco standards at only ~900 sq. ft., not including the garage level with a bonus room. As another reviewer said, they avoid overselling aggressively. I pushed for a larger system than would be necessary to offset our annual needs but they advised against it.
What made our install unique is that I also requested a 200A upgrade of our service. Our house was built in 1943 and still had 60A service from 1957. I run a number of home-​built computer workstations and plan to some day add some power tools, so 60A isn’t really sufficient.
There was a hiccup with the inspection process due to some confusion over a bit of minutiae in the SF electrical code regarding how high above our backyard deck the new weather head was required to be, but other than that everything went very smoothly. It’s supposed to be 10′ — they installed the weather head at that height, but the inspector said the power cables themselves, which were temporarily wired pending the final permanent re-​connection, also had to be 10′. They were hanging down a few inches, so it seems like splitting hairs to me. Luminalt was very prompt and addressed it later the same week. They came out and added another 2 feet of Rigid conduit under the weather head and re-​wired from the disconnect back up, at no additional cost to me and re-​scheduled the inspection. The rest of their work passed on the first go; that was the only thing flagged.
Apart from the one inspection issue, which I personally don’t really fault them for, they did the service upgrade * and * the solar install in a week. They did this in January during on-​and-​off precipitation and humidity, so it’s all the more impressive. Their workmanship, materials and the equipment and parts they install are of the highest quality. The panels are SunPower, which are very high efficiency, and the inverters they use are from SMA, also top notch. The wiring inside the new panel before the cover went on was like a cathedral to wiring and cable management, it was flawless and perfectly clean. All of the conduit work inside and outside the house is also perfect. The grounding system looks like it could withstand a nuclear war… they go all in with two grounding rods. I’m not sure, but I believe according to the NEC that’s optional. If something is optional, you can bet Luminalt will treat it as standard.
Another thing of note is that we did this on a PACE loan from California First. I highly advise not leasing, that doesn’t really make sense financially. We couldn’t afford to buy the system outright due to our current cash-​flow situation, but I wanted to take advantage of all of the current incentives that will soon be running out. With the PACE loan, you get the best of all worlds: you legally own the system outright, but the loan ‘runs with the land’ meaning that if you sell, the buyer picks up the remaining cost of the PV system. The interest is also tax deductible; and it gets attached to your property as a tax lien. There are no disincentives for early pay-​off or principal payments, although they do require a minimum $ 2500 amount for such payments. If we can afford it, I’m really not sure why everyone isn’t out getting solar. Luminalt handled all of the interactions with California First, PG&E, the city inspectors, and DBI for permitting.
I would also like to point out that the electrician in charge of the project left for another company between the time of their first technical visit and the actual install — so their CTO took the reigns! He visited multiple times on a daily basis.
I am unemployed and was home for the entire install. I peppered them with questions; they answered every last one informatively and courteously. I’m sure they must have been, but they never let on that they were annoyed by the homeowner constantly pestering them.
The system is fantastic; we’re getting exactly the performance they predicted in their initial proposal (if not slightly better). As of this review we get 8 – 10 kWh a day on sunny days; overcast days obviously vary radically. This is very good winter performance for such a small array. In the summer we will probably double that. The array is so efficient it doesn’t even take up half of the roof space on our tiny house, in fact it’s more like a quarter. They did such a good job on the install it feels like the system was always here… a natural part of the house.
I have a security camera system that I installed myself on the exterior and was inspired to upgrade the hardware I was using by the quality of their own craftsmanship. They were even kind enough to answer questions I had about that, which has nothing to do with the job they were contracted for.
In short: Luminalt doesn’t f around.

I found Luminalt through this Unilocal page, and after they’ve finished a 16-​panel installation on our home, I can see why everyone raves.
This is an extremely well-​run business, with top-​notch technicians who are also personable, good-​humored and punctual. The whole experience from the proposal, contract, and site visits and installation was excellent. Throughout the process, we interacted with about 8 people, and they were all terrific — communicated and followed up very well. I wish every contractor were as reliable and knowledgeable as Luminalt. They really set the bar high.
The proposal was really clear and although the cost of the SunPower system was substantial the calculations in the document convinced us it was a worthwhile investment. We had been intending to install a solar system for years, but were confused by the myriad companies out there who want to lease your roof and realize most of the savings. We are really happy to have made an outright purchase, and it’s delightful to see how PG&E is now paying us instead of being socked with a 300-​/​month electric bill.
We’re looking forward to having Luminalt back to hook up our electric vehicle when we purchase it. Two thumbs up!

Update: Luminalt has followed up with me with a sincere and genuine level of care beyond what anyone could ever ask for. While each of the individual issues was relatively minor, it was the combination and sheer number of road bumps in this case had been the source of my frustration. (Anyone can and should be allowed to make a mistake. 4+ mistakes on a project feels like a lot.)
I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that my experience was not typical. Through their response, I leave with a stronger impression for the integrity of the company.

This is a review on the service quality from Luminalt’s even after your system has been installed for several years. I had my system for about 3 years now and it’s been great. Last week for some reason part of my house lost power, so I went and look at the circuit breakers but nothing was wrong. The part that went out had the solar panels hooked up to it and I thought it must of been something to do with that. The next day, it was Saturday but I called Luminalt and was given August’s number, left him a message and he called back within 5 minutes. Unfortunately, August was not in S.F. so he said he would send Noël. Noël called and said he will be at my place within an hour and he made it within 45 minutes. Noël looked over the breakers and did some testing, then he went outside and notice the power line was ripped at the pole and another area. Noël took the liberty and called PG&E on my behalf because he can explain it better. Nevertheless, PG&E arrived later in the day and fixed the problem and I have my power back. Noël is a true professional, he went out of his way on a weekend to come by my place to look at something that’s not even related to their product or workmanship.

I found Luminalt through a friend who raved about their service and their great Unilocal reviews convinced me I was hiring a reliable company.
Having completed the process of getting our Solar panels installed, I will say that the experience with Luminalt has been one of my best in dealing with contractors of any kind. They are professional, perform excellent work, provide accurate estimates of cost, schedule and consistently went the extra mile to make us happy with the installation process. Luminalt handled all the paperwork and communication was excellent throughout the process as we were handed off from Sales to Implementation to Accounting.
We feel fortunate to have had Luminalt work on our Solar installation and I am 100% comfortable that they will respond to any service requests related to the servicing the system in the future.

Customer service and technological expertise shine at Luminalt. Friends in Oakland raved about Noël Cotter and Luminalt, so we called them when our solar system malfunctioned. We first installed a solar PV system on our SF home in 1997 and upgraded to a bigger system in 2002. In 2009 a fuse blew in a breaker and the large East Bay solar company that installed our system blew us off. Another solar company in SF’s Sunset district helped us out by replacing the breaker. Same thing happened in 2011. Again, the SF company helped us. But when the same thing happened in 2015, they didn’t return our call. So we called Luminalt, who responded quickly. Noël not only got our solar running again but he’s the only one who explained WHY this was happening, not just what was happening. This was not normal. A blown fuse should be a very rare occurrence — I don’t want anyone reading this to think that maintenance is a problem with solar systems. It’s not! But if something does go wrong, I want someone like Noël on the job who can explain what to do for a permanent fix. If we ever need new equipment or service, I’m calling Luminalt.

I had started down the solar road with one of the big companies that does a lot of promotion. They didn’t do anything ‘wrong’, per se, but there was so much hype and constant selling that it made me nervous. Then I compared their reviews to Luminalts and had the Luminalt people give me a quote. They were a little more expensive, but for an investment of this kind over many years it seemed a small amount of money compared to feeling like I was getting straight answers. I just threw the switch on my new solar setup yesterday and every step of the way with Luminalt was a pleasure – they are very direct, on time, competent and all those good things. All thumbs and fingers up!

Truly as good as it gets in Luminalt’s professionalism and use of quality products.
The P.G.and E. service guys even mentioned that Luminalt used the best products today for the system. Although it is initially costly, we had many choices in selecting, using and collecting solar energy that will eventually pay off. The folks at Luminalt explained EVERYTHING, even to my husband’s satisfaction. All is available in print or to save. ASK questions and try to understand the values in installing a solar system to your home (even in SF!)!

A couple of years ago, Luminalt was one of the companies that quoted me on a solar system. Noël spent a ton of time educating me on the technology, and even the whole solar history. I am one of those annoying people who asks a ton of questions, and he was kind to the end. I loved every aspect of my dealing with this highly professional, high integrity company. I even had another hard sell solar company harass me until I had them look at the Luminalt estimate. and they said, we can’t beat that.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chunk of change to go solar at that point, but I can’t wait until we do – we will go straight to Luminalt.

One of the very best contractors we’ve ever dealt with. The whole company has amazing customer service, from the guy who came out to discuss all of the options available (he worked up several different detailed proposals so we could make an informed decision), to the office staff who scheduled meetings and installation dates. The crew that did the installation was friendly and punctual, and got the whole job done in a couple of days. The founder of the company came out to meet with the city inspectors. He has been working in solar and alternative energy all over the world since the ‘80s, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Can’t recommend them highly enough. They deserve all of their five star reviews.

Well, Luminalt just finished installing a 5.25kW system on my roof. They have been super easy to work with, everything happened as they said they would, very straightforward team, great work, easy process etc. Highly recommend them!

I was referred by our neighbor and I would like to thank them for that reference. Luminalt was the only company that would give us references of people who had the same kind of roof as ours. Our roof is metal and dents easy. We wanted someone who had experience with a metal roof. I was able to talk with those references and hear first hand on their experience. I felt comfortable choosing Luminalt. The Installation went well. No Dents! The installers would tell us what they were going to do and explain why. The office staff would always reply in a timely manor to any of our questions. What more can you ask for. I was dreading the whole process but Luminalt made it so easy.
I would highly recommend Luminalt for your solar experience!

Holy cow… I can’t think of a time I’ve seen every review be five stars on Unilocal.
And yet… it’s for good reason.
Noël and his crew were tremendous. How tremendous? Well, Noël didn’t go the extra mile on my behalf. He went the extra MARATHON!!!
So very happy with the service.
If I could… ten stars for Luminalt!!!

Had an appointment for a Luminault «engineer» to do a site visit. The guy calls me at 5:30 the day before to tell me that he has to go out of town. I can understand that but the guy says «hey man» I’ve got to go out of town. Not very professional. Too bad, because I was looking forward to getting a proposal from an otherwise highly rated company.
My initial contact with this company (see above) was unfavorable, but the owner (Noël) followed up and he was a gem. He came over on a rainy day, got up on the roof and did a survey, then gave us some honest info. Of all the solar people I’ve talked to this guy was the only person I totally believed.

People don’t get any more honest than these people.
On the recommendation of a friend who had a solar system by Luminalt, I emailed the company from their web site. Within a couple of hours, a friendly knowledgeable woman called me back.
We talked for about ten minutes and she determined that a solar system would not be cost effective for my situation.

Should have done this review a few months ago — mea culpa! I’ll try to keep the backstory behind this review short and informative. My old beater Scion xB was approaching 10 years old, and I’ve been following EVs and PHEVs. (plug in hybrid electric vehicles) With its 21 mile EV-​only range including up to 88mph EV-​only on the highway, made-​in-​the-​US nature, and value for the money with federal and state incentives, the Ford C-​Max Energi PHEV was the car for me. But then my electric bill would skyrocket with how much I planned to plug it in or under a Time of Use plan I would have to just charge it at night and would be afraid of high rates for mid-​day summer charging, especially at higher tiers of usage.
Then I really went crazy — after spending more than I expected for a car, I decided to invest in solar panels. Why not put my savings on the roof where it could save me money charging up my new PHEV, increase the home’s value, and truly be driving on sunshine? A month or two worth of searching lead me to Luminalt — solid reputation, great record in the community creating green jobs, especially for urban youth, and a focus on Sunpower panels, a local favorite company.
Noël came out and did the initial site review and gave me very level-​headed advice on the pros and cons of different panels and orientations. After obsessing about it back and forth for a week or two I came to decide on Sunpower’s newest, most-​efficient panels, made here in the US in Milpitas as well.
The entire staff at Luminalt was professional, helpful, informative, everything you could hope for. The crew was a pleasure to deal with and actually finished work early. The size of the array — 10 panels — was perfect to keep me in Tier 1 energy usage or actually selling energy back to PG&E. I can charge the car whenever I need to, confident that the panels will keep me from spending an arm and a leg for electricity.
Solar panels and EVs go together like birds of a feather, and Luminalt is the best choice in the area to get your panels done. Reasonable price, great service, and spot-​on sizing advice for my normal use plus the PHEV. Couldn’t recommend them more.

we had Luminalt install 120 + panels our roof AT (B&W Service Center) Jenean & Noal and the crew were wonderful to work with. our PG&E BILLS, was over $ 800-​$ 900 A month, now were paying approx $ 15 month :-} and the amount of carbon we have reduced is amazing :-} we were so happy with Luminalt that we hired them to do the solar system on 2 green homes that we are building in Milbrae Ca.
I would recommend LUMINALT to all our friends & family. no pressure sales and the Crew /​installers were wonderfull to work with. THANK YOU LUMINALT.

Had Luminalt do a 47 panel array on my roof. It seemed like a complicated job. They worked fast. When the inspector came he said that it was one of the cleanest solar installs he’d seen. I really liked the two installers. They were nice fellas and were professional and seemed to enjoy the solar technology.
The sales process was no pressure. That had some really cool tools that measured the track of the sun and used it to optimize the location of the panels. They didn’t oversell to a fault. I kept pushing to add more panel (cuz I friggin’ hate PG&E). They kept advising me against it. So I think that’s a good sign. They made good recommendations about the choice of solar panels and micro inverters.
Once the install was done they handled all of the PG&E business and that went smooth.
My mother-​in-​law lives in Phoenix and we want to get her solar so she can not worry about her power bill. I just wish Luminalt was there.
I know that if and when I get another house I’m calling Luminalt again.
Thanks Luminalt!!!

We checked out a few other solar companies in the area, and Luminalt outshined them. Our next-​door neighbor got one of their very first systems many years ago, and they are thrilled with it. They pay $ 0 in electrical bills to this day. They rave about the company. That alone was enough for us, but we wanted to comparison shop as well. A couple of others were fine, but the Luminalt team was by far the most professional, courteous, and helpful, and the prices were extremely competitive.
I see their trucks all over the city and now I know why. People want great quality at decent prices, and Luminalt delivers. We were super happy with with Luminalt — from our initial meetings with staffers like Izzy (who takes care of all the paperwork) to the installation of the panels and everything in between. The owner, Noël, who came by initially to speak with us, is a super guy. He is deeply dedicated to this form of «alternative» energy; it’s not just a business to him. His teams are top notch. The company treats its employees very well (four-​day workweeks for one!), and it shows up in the quality of what they do and how they interact with the client.
We opted to have our emergency shut-​off box outside, which could have meant running an unattractive metal tube down the front of the house for the connection from the panels. We already have one metal tube with electrical stuff on the house front, and this one could not by law be too close to it, so we’d have been all tubey up front. But Bailey and Monique and team figured out an alternative route for the pipe that took quite a bit more work for them, but they were very nice about it and we are very, very happy with it.
We await the inspector, but already we are generating a lot of energy for the system! And that’s out in the outer Sunset District! (Granted it’s very sunny right now, but even when it was overcast we were cranking out the watts — or whatever they are!)
Luminalt gets my highest recommendation. Go solar, and go with Luminalt!

Great experience! I was referred to Luminalt by 1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG) and could not be happier with the process. Luminalt made everything as easy as it could be, from hand-​carrying the contract to my office for signatures to calling when the installers were 20 minutes away to allow me time to get home and meet them. They handled all of the paperwork to get the credits, and I just sat back while they did all the work.
Fantastic, personalized service. Just do it.