California Energy Research, Inc

Once upon a time, I made the mistake of filling out a «Sweepstakes Entry» for free solar that I received in the mail. This is how Sungate Energy Solutions got my information.
Sungate Energy Solutions uses a Sacramento-​based, 3^rd party telemarketing company calling themselves «California Energy Research» to setup a salesman appointment. They call it a «free home energy evaluation», but it is basically a 2 hour scare tactic sales pitch to sell you solar panel system for your home from Sungate Energy. These telemarketers are relentless. There have been days when I have received 8 calls from them. To give you an idea, these are currently all the numbers associated with «CA Energy Research» that I had to put on my home blacklist, so that I do not receive any more calls from them:
1(916)596−6160
1(916)290−4360
1(916)290−4364
1(916)290−4373
1(916)244−9266
1(916)290−4375
1(916)290−4371
1(916)234−4640
1(916)403−7461
1(916)290−4380
1(916)244−9270
1(916)234−4636
1(916)244−9262
1(916)244−9263
1(916)244−9269
1(916)290−4353
1(916)234−4635
1(916)290−4389
1(916)290−4365
1(916)244−9274
1(916)403−7472
1(916)403−7471
1(916)245−4328
1(916)245−4395
1(916)245−4396
1(916)245−4330
1(916)245−4322
1(916)245−4327
1(916)245−4321
1(916)245−4329
1(916)245−4325
1(916)245−4334
1(916)245−4336
1(916)245−4332
1(916)245−4326
1(916)245−4337
1(916)245−4342
1(916)245−4331
1(916)245−4333
but they keep calling me from new numbers I have not blocked yet.
So for the past year, these guys have been trying to sell me a 2,160W (x8 270W panel) solar system to cover my energy usage of ~600kWh/​month.
(2.160 kW x ~6hrs sunlight/​day x 30 days/​month = ~380kWh system, so it would still not zero me out).
The striking thing is that the salesman comes by, pulls out a notepad, starts with Sungate’s astronomically high «retail price» in the $ 24,000+ range, then mark it down with their «discounts for helping with advertising» to quote a $ 20,000 or so price, and then push the sales like it is a good price.
Sungate’s Selling Points.
1. 25 yr warranty.
2. American made.
3. Electricity price in California due to rise.
4. 30% Federal Tax rebate
The 25 yr warranty is offered by almost every single solar manufacturer, so this is nothing special.
The 30% Federal Tax rebate is not exclusively for solar systems sold by Sungate, but also applies to any and all solar systems that are purchased, so this does NOT make Sungate’s exorbitant price any more justifiable.
After listening to the initial 2hr scare tactic sales pitch, I declined and looked up solar prices online.
There are 3kW systems (larger capacity than the 2.1kW system Sungate was trying to sell me) that can be found at numerous retailers (including Home Depot and Amazon) in the $ 7,500 range + ~$ 2,000 installation.
Even larger 4.5kW-5kW systems can be had for $ 10,000-$ 11,000 + ~$ 2,000 installation.
And yes, the 30% Federal Tax rebates apply to these purchases (and installation costs) as well.
After several months of incessant calls from the numbers above, I reluctantly agreed to another appointment with Sungate, out of curiosity, as «CA Energy Research» (read: telemarketers) said that «they pooled advertising funds from several sources» to give me an amazing all-​time low, one-​time only price. The salesman shows up to give me a quote not too far from the twenty-​something-​thousand dollar quote I initially received. Upon rejection of his lower price, the salesman muttered that all the other solar products available for cheaper elsewhere are for Chinese, not American-​made products and some other «f***ing» expletive under his breath, as he ran out angrily.
If you don’t take anything else away anything from this, just don’t waste your time (and money) with Sungate Energy Solutions.

Buyers beware! This company has no ethics! they will LIE to your face! I have the papers to prove it, because the sales rep accidentally left some! After my elderly parents were tricked into signing a contract, I noticed that the paper work from the installation had completely different numbers then the ones that the sales rep had forgot! When we tried to inquire about the error in the numbers, we were given a complete run around! When I was finally able to get a hold of them they called me lier! When I offered them the proof, they denied that I had it, did not want to see it, and stopped answering our calls. They even told me that I couldn’t read what was written on the paper in front of me.
Since they had already started the installation, we decided to stick with it. Huge mistake! Months and months of errors, failed inspections, and extra work in order to get the system up and running! They tried to tell us that it was the city inspector that didn’t know what he was doing, but when the inspector came (the same inspector each time) for the final inspection, he told us (while the Sungate installer was present) that he had never seen so many installation errors and omissions in his 20+ years of experience. Plus because all the failed inspections, they decided to just show up at our house (with out notice) and grant themselves access to our property!
This company will tell you all of their negative reviews are fake and untrue. They will lie to you every chance that they can in order make their commission. Their work is subpar and employees are unprofessional. The reason they have no good reviews is because they have no happy customers!
BUYERS BEWARE!!!

So far, so good in terms of our experience with Sungate. We did get connected to the company via something of a marketing ploy, but that’s not too remarkable. We were particularly impressed by the the well-​informed representative who came to the house to do the sales pitch. He was the sole reason we went with Sungate. Customer service has been responsive, no issues there. Took one star off because the installation staff were slightly disheveled in appearance and affect, but overall they did a good job.
Update 10÷7÷14: Our system has been running without any issues. Every time I have called Sungate, I have gotten connected quickly to someone who addressed the reason for my call. I’m not sure why this company has so much negative feedback. That has not been our experience.
NOTE: I should add, it’s important for people in our area (the South Bay) to switch their billing with SoCal Edison from the tiered system to time-​of-​use billing. The switch is necessary to get the most savings benefit from the use of solar.

LIES! LIES! LIES! The woman who is calling to set appointments at 888−495−7621 for UTILITY POWER SOLUTIONS, 3361 E Mira Loma Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92 806 in Orange County for Sungate (Solar) Energy Solutions is NOT doing her job properly and is saying ANYTHING to get her commission check by setting an appointment for Sungate Solutions with you!
My elderly mother received a nondescript, perforated tear off security-​sealed envelope because it looked very typical to what you would receive from the government or government agency. There was no company name and it had specific information talking about our utility bill.
I can usually spot an advertisement, and there was only a phone number to call to get information about reducing utility costs. I thought my mom was getting some advice from a program for fixed income utility rates. The woman who answered the phone at Utility Power Solutions set up an appointment to have our house inspected for ways to increase energy savings.
We were fine with it even after we realized this was going to be a sales presentation. The gentleman was very courteous and nice. We politely explained recent costly expenses on the house, and my mother’s limited income. The representative showed how my mom already was receiving a discounted senior’s fixed income rate, and he understood our financial situation and said that maybe we can contact them if things change in my employment.
We got a follow-​up call 916– 290‑4353 to make sure the representative was punctual and polite, and asked why we didn’t go with the product. I explained, the gentleman understood, and that was the end of the call.
Then we got a follow-​up call 916−244−9262 from the same woman who made the original appointment, because they said that their «corporate office» wanted to get involved because they wanted to use our house as a «showcase» in our area, they had money left over from their advertising budget to finance this promotion of their solar product line using our house. I told them our financial situation had not changed in the last 36 hours and that if this meant that they were going to pay for the installation, then that was the only way that we’d be able to do this.
The lady kept saying they are going to make this work for us and that we should meet with the representative from their corporate office regarding this. She assured us that we would not have to go through a sales presentation, they knew exactly what was already presented to us, and that they would quickly present us with the offer from their head office to use our location as a showcase with signage for their product.
The gentleman who showed up had no such knowledge about what the woman who called had told me, and launched into the same presentation. He said the company was not paying for the product or offering any money, apologized for the miscommunication, once he understood the financial situation had not changed.
I got another call 916−234−4636 following up to make sure the representative was punctual, etc. I explained the representative was fine, but none of what the lady said on the phone was true, and our financial situation was still as it was 2 days prior. He apologized and said that they won’t bother us further.
Then I got another call 916−244−9262 from the same woman who had called to set these appointments and I told her to stop calling us. She never shared any of the information she had told us with anyone in her company, nobody knows anything about what she was telling me, and I don’t want to deal with a company that works like that.

Another unprofessional solar installation company that annoys you with unwanted sales calls even if you are on the DNC list.

Do not do business with this company. The product is fine and so far appear to function but the customer service and professionalism is sorely lacking.
1. Getting the panels installed took 6+ months because they were unorganized
2. Customer service is rude and unhelpful. so far after many calls the web monitoring I was promised still does not work, with no help from customer service
3. The sales team is pushy and often rude.
in short. avoid this company. I have nothing but negative things to say about them.

Yes, their sales tactics are persistent to pushy and their prices start from very high (for solar installation) to somewhat competitive, depending on how long you keep negotiating with them. We seriously contemplated install solar panels on our roof and I spoke with several customers of theirs whom they had offered as references. These people were on the whole happy with the experience, so I don’t think the super-​low rating is warranted. Once we decided not to go down the road of solar (and having read other reviews on Unilocal), I wrote them a letter asking them not to contact us anymore until we let them know that we’re interested again. We have not heard from them since :)

From start to finish and afterwards, all are NIGHTMARES. Today I just find out that my system was not turned on all these days. That means the system was just taking sun bathing on my roof for the past 7 months and nothing came out. I did call them several times before asking why I did not see saving in my electricity bill. They just asked me to wait as it takes time to see the different. Until recently I called several times a day and sent numerous e-​mails telling them the problem. They finally sent a guy to check and found the system was OFF all these days.
So unprofessional and irresponsible.

The product was OK but the service was pretty bad. They were late and generally unforgiving, but what irked me the most was the rude welcome at their office when I inquired about my delivery date. It was like they are used to putting off customers.