Green Light Solar Overview
Green Light Solar is a small-sized solar panel installation company founded in 2015, based in Austin, Texas, and also has another office in Houston, Texas. Green Light Solar offers residential and commercial grid-tied solar energy solutions. Its main business source appears to be installing as many new projects as possible, with around 350 projects per month.
Most reviews about the company do not paint a pretty picture, further enhanced by a lack of BBB accreditation or rating by the platform. An average review score of 3.7 means that one should approach the company with a substantial degree of caution.
However, it appears there has been a recent change in management, with owner Jimmy Garrett personally reaching out to clients to reassure them of Green Light Solar’s dedication to each project.
Green Light Solar’s Solar Panel Services and Features
Specific solar panels offered
Green Light Solar provides customers with just one solar panel brand to choose from, which is SolarEdge. Although the cost is undoubtedly attractive, this company often lacks quality.
Between failing components, lack of adequate customer support, and delays when sending replacement parts for any issues experienced by customers, SolarEdge is not among the more highly-rated companies.
Enphase provides inverters.
Specific types of solar solutions offered
Green Light Solar offers grid-tied systems only for residential and commercial projects.
Installation costs & process
Costs
Green Light Solar’s average installation cost is $14,025, slightly above the market average for Austin, Texas. However, each solar panel installation project is different, meaning prices will almost always differ.
Green Light Solar’s website does not mention free estimates as part of their services, which is contrary to the industry norm but is now wholly unusual. However, one customer review speaks of a very informative “consultation visit,” which could indicate that free consultations are available.
There’s very little information on the company website regarding the installation process. However, gathering information from various reviews can outline the process more or less.
Customer reviews tend to praise the sales team, describing them as responsive and sparing no detail for queries asked, which tends to be the starting point. After that, the normal process would be that the company handles permit applications before moving on to installation.
However, several reviews claim that Green Light Solar becomes challenging to get a hold of once signing the contract. One customer even stated that they had to sort out the permits themselves.
Although not mentioned on the website, it appears that Green Light Solar offers financing options, going as far as offering to make the first payment on behalf of the client, as one customer review alleged.
Legitimacy
Historically, Green Light Solar does not have the best record in terms of legitimacy. However, there appears to be an overhaul in operations, and there might be hope for the company.
- Only a 3.7-star average rating from 120 reviews.
- Not BBB certified or rated.
- Plenty of negative reviews across various platforms; some even claim that once contracts are signed, Green Light Solar becomes very difficult to contact.
- Lack of information regarding the installation process and contact details on the website.
- Owner Jimmy Garrett appears to be at the heart of overhauling the approach and has personally reassured customers that any faults with their systems will be seen too.
- Texas Electrician Licence #32051.
Maintenance
There appears to be no mention of maintenance provided on the company website. However, on different review sites, customers were far from happy with the level of service offered. For example, one customer said:
| “to say their communication and follow-through are lacking is an understatement.” |
Other reviews, particularly about maintenance, include the words “terrible service,” “deserve no stars,” and “unprofessional.”
Customer Service (Review Analysis)
Reviews about Green Light Solar’s customer service are rather damning. Though there is praise for the sales team, who come across as well-informed and pleasant to deal with, the same cannot always be said for the teams involved in the subsequent steps.
The polarization in experiences, however, is highlighted thus: one review claims that “five stars is not enough,” while another advises people to “stay away from this company.” Therefore, it would only be fair to look closely at both and compare them.
For the positive review, the customer was pleased with the interactions with Green Light Solar right from the beginning, praising the sales agent’s “pleasant demeanor,” product knowledge, and the company’s overall responsiveness. The customer also praised the installation team, whom he explains worked extremely hard to complete the job on time. He was also happy that Green Light Solar took it upon themselves to replace some outdated electrical components in his home setup, leading to the customer’s verdict that “a better Solar company to work with does NOT exist, anywhere.”
On the negative side, the customer explains that while the experience started well with the sales team, things worsened. After a nearly two-month delay to get the project started, what should have been a two-day job turned into a week-long slog, with the heavy machinery tearing up the ground in the customer’s yard, even exposing a random pipe. Once the installation was complete and should have been up and running, someone from Green Light Solar was supposed to conduct a site visit, but it appears that this did not happen.
To compound matters, the electrical company contacted the customer to inform him that the system was not generating any energy two months after installation. Upon closer inspection, the customer found that two breakers were off, and the USB that was supposed to send out a signal was plugged into the wrong port.
This review was responded to by owner Jimmy Garrett, asking the customer to contact him so that the issues can be resolved. However, the customer updated his review to claim that despite calling the number that Garrett provided, no answer was forthcoming.
The SolarEmpower View
Despite some five-star reviews, Green Light Solar appears to have many reparations to establish its name as a quality solar energy provider. However, its choice to offer solely SolarEdge solar panels does not bode well since its solar panels are far from efficient, although they might be easier on the budget.
Too many reviews speak of a lack of communication and a lack of adequate follow-through once installations were completed. However, most positive interactions were with the installation team, though there were a couple of complaints about the occasional lack of cleanup.
A 3.7-star average rating means significant caution should be used when approaching this company. In addition, it holds no rating on BBB and is not accredited by the platform either, which is never a good sign.
| Customer Service: 4/10 | Legitimacy: 4/10 |
| Solar Panel Quality: 3/10 | Installation Quality: 6/10 |
Contact Details
Phone: 210-593-8433
Address: 6705 W. Hwy 290, Suite #50240, Austin, Texas, TX 78735
