5 Star Energy Pros reviews

Alexander P. returned to 5 Star for a second solar install and even steered two other people to them after his first experience. He had originally entrusted them with a tricky installation on a fourplex that other companies wouldn’t touch, and Joffre handled it. For the follow-up system everything moved exceptionally quickly — from permit approval to activation with PGE in just 11 days. Joffre stayed on top of the timeline, kept him informed throughout, and consistently took on requests instead of pushing back. On top of the responsiveness and willingness to tackle difficult jobs, the pricing was notably competitive. What lingers from his experience is the combination of Joffre’s can-do approach and that razor-fast, 11-day turnaround.

Carolinae84’s experience began with a December 2020 solar installation on a home that still hadn’t received PG&E permission to operate, and it quickly turned into a fight over a service-panel upgrade that never matched what she paid for. She had been billed for a 200-amp main service panel, but ended up with a 100-amp panel, the same size she already had, after being told PG&E had not approved the larger upgrade. When she checked with PG&E herself, she discovered the company had never even submitted a 200-amp request — only a like-for-like replacement. After the full payment was collected in January, the project stalled for months, with repeated promises of a call back that never came. The gap left her carrying both the NBT Bank solar payment and PG&E charges, while she tried to push the company to make the corrections needed to pass inspection and cover the re-inspection fee.

Joby Ly discovered their inverter stopped working on January 1, 2023, and what followed turned into a six-month ordeal. Joffrey was present at the start, but when the system failed they found customer service essentially disappeared; Joffrey and Matt repeatedly promised they were waiting on Solaredge to send a replacement inverter, yet communication arrived in fits — weeks of silence, a brief hopeful update, then nothing. They spent half a year chasing texts and promises, even after referring their brother for a separate install and worrying that he, too, could be left stranded. They filed a complaint with the BBB (including a screenshot of the last exchange) and got no meaningful response there either. Frustrated, they plan to secure independent repairs and take the installer to small claims court to recover the cost and hassle. The lasting image: an inverter that failed on New Year’s Day and six months of intermittent answers instead of a working replacement.

Chris discovered the company on Yelp and contacted them for a quote. After an email from Joffre he set up an on-site appointment; Joffre arrived at his house and walked him through the entire solar installation process in clear, practical detail. Convinced by that thorough walkthrough, he went ahead with the installation and ended up with a system that’s running smoothly. Throughout the project he appreciated steady, honest communication and singled out Joffre’s clear explanations as the standout element. The lasting impression: straightforward, trustworthy guidance at the site visit turned what could have been a stressful upgrade into a trouble-free, well-performing solar system.

Wilson W. began with what looked like a smooth residential solar install—the paperwork shuffled back and forth, the crew finished the roof work, and the system produced power for a time. When a heat wave arrived, his inverter failed; after multiple attempts to get help he discovered the company had left the job incomplete and the inverter no longer displayed any generation. Heavy rain followed, revealed leaks, and his ceiling started to rot. He called again and received one promise after another that help was coming, but nearly two and a half months later he’s still on a wait list with no service visit scheduled. Local roofers and other solar companies decline to step in because the system is managed by the original installer, and transferring management would be very expensive. Now he faces the unexpected cost of a brand-new roof while the solar panels sitting on his garage remain in limbo—failed equipment, water damage, and no clear path forward.

Dorothy B. arranged for a solar installation and discovered the crew had mounted the panels but then vanished. She tried to get answers but the company stopped returning calls, and the array wasn't tied into the electric company's system. No interconnection paperwork had been submitted, so she ended up handling the hookup and utility filings on her own.

Kelly found Joffre helpful and responsive through the sales process, but once the panels were installed she repeatedly couldn't get him to return her calls. Later, after the company that performed the installation went out of business and she noticed system production had dropped by about 20%, she reached out to Joffre for someone to troubleshoot — and again received no response. She ended up with an underperforming system and no clear service contact; the unanswered requests for help while output fell 20% is the detail that sticks.

Lionel M. hired the company for a rooftop solar install and signed the contract on March 13. What stood out was how quickly communication collapsed after he handed over a check: the panels went up on May 3, but after that responsibility shifted away from the initial rep, Joffre, to someone named Matthew, and Lionel heard nothing from Joffre after a last text on June 8. He watched the process unravel and had to force progress himself — a promised corrections visit on May 21 never showed, corrections finally happened on May 29, and on June 4 he was told plans had been submitted to the city only to discover later, after calling the city and county, that revised plans still needed approval. Months of silence followed, so he contacted the city, the utility (PG&E), and anyone who would answer in order to get the system activated. The panels ended up being turned on in mid‑October (October 19), but he only learned about that when he phoned PG&E on October 28. Frustrated enough to file a claim with the Contractors State License Board and prepare for small claims, he remains stuck paying PG&E during the period he was being ghosted — the clearest takeaway being that he had to call the power‑

Erin’s experience turned into a months-long stall: she had been under contract since November, got panels on the roof in February, and still had a nonworking system well after that. While the hardware sat in place, the bills kept stacking up — four months of loan payments on top of PG&E charges — and she could not get a response from Joffree or Matthew to move things forward. By the end, what stood out most was the feeling of being left with expensive equipment that never became operational, while the complaint and legal-action fallout was still ahead.