Alternate Energy

Lela O.

Haven't had any issues with Alternate Energy (AE) until recently. We had PV installed several years ago and over the summer my roof started leaking pretty badly. I called AE and they had a 3rd party roofer come out and check the leaks. All he did was take pictures and said they'd have to schedule with AE to come out and get on the roof. Over a month later its still not scheduled to get on the roof and address the leaking and its very difficult to get in touch with them. No one returns calls if you leave a message. Very frustrated and my carpet it getting stained due to the leaking.

Shay S.

I had Alternate Energy install the solar panels on my house about 13 years ago. We are having issues with our panels so I thought I would give Alternate Energy the business since I was so pleased with the service I received years ago. Well, I called and was promised a call back by the end of that business day. There was no response. I called back 2 days later and was promised again a call back by the end of the business day upon which I received no call. This is very disappointing and not a way to maintain customers and promote your business. I will be taking my business to another company.

Donna C.

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

Kevin R.

Called twice, first time I called I was promised a call back, didn't happen. Called again today and operator said I would get a call back. No thank you, I have now read their yelp reviews and understand the problem. I will keep shopping and reading reviews.

Kirby L.

I had my pv installed by alternate Energy a few years ago and i was so happy with the outcome I had my salesman Jeffrey LUM give me a quote for split ac. The workmanship was good and price was very fair. I am so happy and would recommend them to all my friends. They backup their promises.

Juliette L.

We got solar Pv about 6 years ago and AC 3 years ago. All is working well and I haven't had any complications since. We recently called our sales rep Jeff Lum to check on additional AC. He has always responded so quickly and has been very helpful with all of our needs. If you are looking for solar or air conditioning, I highly recommend this company.

Annie W.

We purchased a Photovoltaic System from this company in 2013 and recently discovered the system wasn't working. As a result of the system failure, my electric bill was $$$$! We immediately started to call and send emails to the company for assistance and service. Unfortunately, The company's operating business days and hours are contrary to their websiteS, so it was/is extremely difficult to speak with someone for service. First RED flag.

Finally, we got a response from someone. It appeared we were making progress, until we were told that the system ""Bridge"" (part of monitoring) MAY be defective and it was NOT under warranty. However, the company will replace the equipment, but NOT install it. We will need to pay $150 for them to install. We find it quite puzzling that the ""Bridge"" is not covered under the warranty, but they are replacing the equipment for free without installation. Seems to us, the ""Bridge"" is warranted; which should include installation. Second RED flag.

Also, the company would not send out a technician to troubleshoot or analyze the problem, but they have no problem dropping off the replacement
equipment. Third RED flag.

The ""Bridge"" is required to monitor the system. We purchased the complete system with the ""Bridge"" included in the package deal, therefore, everything is under warranty. We can't help but wonder if Alternate Energy is violating their warranty and we very concerned about future service, if needed.

Three RED flags! I highly recommend if you use this company, that you do your research, ask for references, and make sure all of the equipment you purchunder warranty. Good luck.

16 Mar. As expected, technicians dropped off the device and left with a ""Sorry, we missed you"" sign
and did not contact my husband as agreed upon.
Well the device didn't work, as expected. Now I must pay $150 for a technician to diagnose the problem.

Mel M.

So, it's been 12 years since our house was built and with it came the Solar Water Heater. I had to dig through some paperwork, and luckily the original owner of the house kept all the documents and I was able to track down Alternate Energy as the original installer of the Solar Water Heating system.

I initially called about getting a temperature gauge replaced, as one of three was not working. The gauge itself came off but the stem was still stuck in there. I found out they charge a base fee of $150 for a service call, even though the part itself was less than $25. I spoke to Dean, one of their senior technicians, who asked me when the last time I had the systems serviced. Well, aside from simply draining the water tank once a year, the Solar Water Heating system hadn't been serviced since we bought the house 8 years ago! That's when Dean suggested I opt for a Full System maintenance. It goes for $500, but with a $100 Hawai'i Energy instant rebate (good through June 30, 2018 by the way), I only had to pay $400 plus the cost of the temperature gauge.

$500 you say! Eh, that's highway robbery, as my mom would say in her best Filipino accent...especially since the system is working despite the inoperable temperature gauge. Well, we figured it was probably time for the system to be serviced anyway, and besides, we are trying to get the house ready for a sale, so we thought it was worth the ""investment"" to get the system checked out...if not for us, then for the future residents.

We were initially scheduled for Friday morning service, between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM (it takes about 3 hours for the full service). Used to military precision and timeliness, I thought Dean would be at the house promptly at 8:00. When it became apparent he wouldn't be at the house by 8:30 AM, that's when I called and was told he is ""right around the corner"". Well, ""right around the corner"" meant more like 15 more minutes than ""right around the corner"". I swear, I can never get used to Island time!

So it was probably close to 8:45 AM by the time Dean arrived and he immediately got started. He flushed the water from the solar collectors, went up the roof to check for leaks, replaced worn and weathered insulation, and cleaned the panels. It took him a while to finish what he had to get done on the roof as the pitch of the roof was steeper than he would like it to be. He then flushed the water tank of impurities, replaced the anode rod (the old one was so corroded, it looked like it had been dipped in some caustic acid as there was hardly anything left of it), replaced the temperature gauge, verified all other gauges were operational, and checked the circulating pump. At one point, he actually had to take the pump apart as he suspected there was some debris preventing it from working properly...and sure enough, there was considerable debris in it. Once he cleaned it up and put it back together, it was humming like new.

Dean was thorough and knew what he was doing. He even took the time to impart some knowledge, educating me on what to do if I have to leave for an extended period of time. He informed me I had to flush the solar collectors every 6 months in addition to the water tank. He even took the time to check out my electric water heater with a timer to make sure it was in good working condition...it was. He even suggested certain procedures for resetting the water heater as well as suggestions for timer settings.

All in all, I was very pleased with Dean's quality of work...although I have a few suggestions for Alternate Energy:
1. For a work order, it would be beneficial to include what comes with a Full System maintenance. A single page informational sheet was e-mailed to me a couple of days prior to the service, but I would prefer to see the tasks performed right on the work order so it would clearly illustrate what was accomplished and serve as ""proof"" for future reference or future owners.
2. Make it clear to customers when scheduling maintenance, that the time provided is more like a ""range"" than a strict timeline. It was like waiting on the cable guy to show up, between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM. I requested a call from Dean prior to arrival, but I didn't get that...they probably thought since I called, that constitutes a call from them.
3. Dean provided some useful information for maintaining the system. It would be great if Alternate Energy made instructional videos and posted them on their website for their customers to refer to.

Izumi K.

I finally got A/C entire house with them. It took for two days for them to install the Mitsubishi A/C and did an amazing work! I'm so satisfied with the A/C and would recommend to everyone especially people who have a big A/C that can't open windows. Mitsubishi A/C is much cooler and save the energy too.

Christina T.

I had a PV and split unit ac installed from this company. After they have you as a customer, GOOD LUCK trying to get call back regarding any questions or concerns you have. We expected much more from this company especially after spending so much money on them. We did not feel like a valued customer AT ALL!! Very dissatisfied and disappointed to say the least.