Direct Electric Company

Jennifer V.

Justin was great! He replaced my lights and fixed my garage door in a timely manner. The cost was what was quoted; no surprises! It was also nice that he smelled wonderful! One happy customer!

Michael R.

My wife and I own a two story house in San Jacinto and last week we had Direct Electric install two QuietCool whole house fans, a Trident 2.5 in our master bedroom and a Trident 3.3 for the house itself. I started out talking to Rick on the phone at their office who was really helpful and patient answering my questions. Rick is an excellent salesperson which I very much appreciate. I could easily tell he was very honest and wasn't just out to make a quick sale. The two technicians who installed the fans were Keith and Dave. They did an excellent job and the fans work great! Before the job started I was a bit concerned how the grills on the ceiling would look upstairs but they actually look just fine, a lot better than the grill for our furnace/central A/C. When turned on they don't make much noise at all and in fact the noise is rather soothing. They installed a switch on the wall for both units and it even has a timer on it or I can turn it on without using the timer. It really helps when it's cooler or the same temperature outside as it is inside. We have three dogs and we both like that it freshens the air in the house. Although we have a central A/C normally we use a window swamp cooler for cooling the house. I am sure those who use A/C instead of a swamp cooler can save major dollars with the whole house fan. I check my energy usage online every day and I can tell the whole house fans use some energy but nothing compared to when we used to use our central A/C. By the way, a few days ago I talked to Lisa at Direct Electric and found her to be a very nice person too. My wife and I both highly recommend Direct Electric for the QuietCool whole house fan and I bet they would also do a terrific job doing other electric work as well.

Karen H.

Thank you for installing my beautiful pendant light. Quick response to my inquiry looking for an electrician and quick install time. They completed the work the next day. Will use again whenever we need electrical work.

Tonya J.

I was very thankful for the service Direct Electric Company (DEC) provided when I needed a repair on my new Quiet Kool whole house fan. The company that installed the fan was no longer in business. I contacted DEC and within a day they arrived at my home and quickly repair the fan. The technician was confident, very knowledgeable, efficient The repair was made quickly, his work area left clean and the price was reasonable. There was a follow up call from the technician's supervisor to be sure I was satisfied with the work done on my fan.

Jay W.

Really hate giving out poor reviews... but... here it is to a company that manage to earn the rights for it!

Used this company for my solar at home, quoted a 10kw system and only installed a 7.5 kw system. At the same time, had them quote a system at my warehouse, paid $1000 for site survey, and then never heard back from the company.

Guess these guys are just too busy to do a right job.

But, probably would still use this company before talking to any SolarCity guys.

Pam D.

I called last week for a quote on a Quiet Cool fan and spoke to Rick. He offered me two different options and even told me a little fun fact about where the Quiet Cool was born. I decided right away that this was something we should invest in since my sister loves her's. Anyway, today, Dave & Ian arrived on time, even a little earlier than I expected (which was great) and in less than two hours my fan was installed! They cleaned up everything...(I almost wanted to ask if they would vacuum the rest of my house!) Dave explained how to use the fan, very nice guys...quick & easy transaction and installation. I can't wait to put this fan to work. Thanks to the team at Direct Electric...Great Job!

Kimberly W.

I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Direct Electric Company through Freedom Solar. We had our solar panels installed and Direct Electric was supposed to upgrade our service panel. This is how it went:
SCE arrived at our home at 8 am, cut our power and waited for Direct Electric - Steve - was the person managing this upgrade I guess. SCE received a call that Direct Electric cancelled the job, it is now 9 am. SCE turned our power back on. Direct Electric NEVER called to advise us that our job was cancelled.
We called Direct Electric and Candace informed us that Steve advised her that the San Bernardino County inspector came to our house at at 8:10 am and no one was home so Direct Electric would need to reschedule. We called the County to put in a complaint because no one had arrived at our house. We opened our gates at 7 am and had been taking care of our ranch animals and did not see anyone. We spoke to the inspector and he advised us that he spoke to Steve at 8:10 this morning and advised him that his job would be the first inspection of the day, and Steve advised him that the job would not be ready to inspect for about 5 hours. The inspector advised Steve that he would visit the job later in the day.
We called Candace back at Direct Electric and continued to get the run around. First she stated it was the inspector, then she stated SCE, it was excuse after excuse.Two different stories and neither one of them the truth.
When I called back at 11:40 am to find out what was going on, I spoke to Cassandra because Candace was not available and I felt completely blown off. Customer Service does not exist with Direct Electric.
We took the day off work, gassed up my motorhome so I could run the AC to keep my dogs cool in the 105 degree weather we are expected today.
I contacted Freedom Solar and advised them that I will not allow Direct Electric on my property and to find another Electric company to switch out the service panel.
Direct Electric does not believe in customer service, and they do not believe in follow up. As of right now 12:47 pm I have yet to have a call back from them.
I know not everyone has had the unacceptable service as I have, but you may want to reconsider using Direct Electric. With my experience, the customer is not number one!
As some of the other reviews, I did NOT find them reliable nor did I find them honest.

Patrick L.

I had the opposite experience than John, one of the reviewers below.

Unfortunately, Direct Electric could not install the Quiet Cool fan in my attic because of size requirements. And this was after two of their competitors inspected my attic and told me that the fan could be installed. To me, this shows that they care more about my satisfaction rather than the sale.

Keith and Tim were both very professional and experienced. They clearly and patiently explained the issues. Despite being disappointed about not having the fan installed, I was pleased to get an honest opinion.

John E.

This review will be a bit long since in fairness, I want to disclose everything. My experience with Direct Electric began 4 years ago. We had them install some lighting, ceiling fans and a Quiet Cool whole house fan system. I am guessing in all, the work probably cost around $7,000. The main portion of that cost was this Quiet Cool fan system which they still sell today. The system that was installed 4 years ago differs only slightly from what is offered today. We went with the Stealth Pro which provide for a 15 year warranty for the fan motors.

Fast forward to 2017 and despite the fact that we've used this Quiet Cool system, it really does nothing to help during the heat of the day. I called up an insulation contractor to come out and inspect our attic. I noticed that even though we have R30 fiberglass batts, many of them have been thrown around over the years because of the people that have worked up there. My plan was to have them blow another R30 worth of insulation over the top of the existing. The gentleman came out and during his inspection he commented that he was also a Quiet Cool representative. After finishing the inspection of the attic, he came down and asked us about our ventilation. Specifically, he asked if we had any additional ventilation installed when the Quiet Cool system was installed. I told him that no one ever mentioned that I needed anything additional but I did tell him that we had air coming out from our built in bookcases and other housings around the ceiling. We did the math based on the system that was installed and I called Quiet Cool as well to get their opinion. As it turns out, I needed approx 13 cu feet of ventilation for which I currently have 5 cu feet! So for 4 years now, I've been running this system with a positive static pressure build up in the attic because the air cannot escape fast enough to properly vent.

I am now in the process of finding a roofer in the middle of summer to vent my house properly. I'm told I need an additional 14 Ohagen roof vents and those estimates have been coming in between $ 3,000 - $ 5,000. It would have been appreciated if Direct Electric (specifically Justin who was the installer) or another rep who originally quoted the work would have disclosed what would be required for this Quiet Cool system. In my opinion, Direct Electric was more concerned about making a sale than they were about correctly and competently quoting everything that would be needed. The reality is, if you are having a Quiet Cool System installed in your home, it is very likely that you will need additional ventilation for the system to correctly work.

To make matters worse, one of the Quiet Cool fans in the bedroom stopped working. I knew they were covered for 15 years so I called Direct Electric to see what would need to be done to fix the fan. They told me that whether it is the fan or some other issue with their wiring, they were going to charge me $235 to just show up and diagnose the issue. They also told me that no on else could do the work or it would void the warranty. Feeling as though I had no choice, I had them come out this past week to fix it. As it turns out, it was not the Quiet Cool fan but rather THEIR wiring at the switch that was the problem. A neutral wire had popped out of the wire nut at the switch THEY installed. I asked them if they don't twist their connections before they install a wire nut. (This was something I had learned while I was an apprentice electrician in the union years ago) He told me that they don't twist their wires because after installing the wire nut it can cause the wire to break. Something I have never, ever heard. Bottom line, another $235 for something that could have been avoided had it been correctly installed. They had no problem asking for a credit card though. Oh, and yes, the electrician who was out did concur that I needed more ventilation but offered no suggestions or advice. He simply told me that it was Justin's fault and there was nothing he could do.

So yes, although most of the work by Direct Electric was done 4 years ago, even after bringing the issue to their attention, still ignored me and seemed only concerned about getting out of the house. Total time spent in my home for $235? About 15 minutes. Caveat emptor.

Laura B.

Very Friendly and Professional service! Honest and reliable!! Nick installed the electrical for our new hot tub. Saved us a lot of money by letting my son dig the trenches (with Nick's professional guidance) in the yard all along the side of the house! We will definitely call him back for other work we want done. Thanks Nick!!