It was my goal to walk you through our journey of putting solar panels on the roof. I’ve been keeping a journal of the various conversations with different people since August 16, 2021.

The panels are up and I’m still waiting for a happy ending.

The panels were sold to us by a company out of Greenville called Voltage Energy, LLC. The young men who came to our house that day were friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. They were the kind of people you’d like to have as neighbors and the kind of folks you’d love to share a pew with on Sunday.

I stressed our goal: eliminate our power bill as much as possible. The company added four more panels without increasing the price. I was impressed.

In our first meeting we were promised several LED bulbs, a smart thermostat, an app we could use to track our energy production in real time and we’d receive a check for the first year’s payments because of the pandemic. NONE of that has been delivered.

We were told there was a $500 referral bonus. If someone we knew bought solar panels because of our recommendation, we would get a check. We will NOT be making a referral.

Every time I’ve called to share my concerns I’m met with one “reason” after another. I understand life happens. Our families are a priority. Mine certainly is. I understand there are sometimes personnel changes at any given company; but, if it continues to happen, I question the work environment and the company’s ethics.

It’s my understanding that the installer would provide the app we were promised to monitor our energy production. This is Viable Energy Solutions in Summerville, SC. This company won’t return my calls.

The panel installation was complete on November 09, 2021. We waited for an inspection that had never been scheduled. The inspection was approved on December 02, 2021. It was only after “I” made some calls that the inspection was scheduled and completed.

As our days get longer, I’m praying about the electricity to be generated here. So far, the panels don’t produce enough to even offset the payments we’re making. My power bill hasn’t been reduced enough to justify this installation. The nice lady at our power company, (Laurens Electric) estimates we will only be able to offset our energy consumption by 42%. I AIN’T HAPPY!

We are having our taxes done and I’m praying the state and federal rebates will pay for the bulk of this expensive project.

Until next time, I need to write something positive. As of this writing, I’ve mailed a copy of some documentation to a couple of people who need to read it.