Sun City Solar Energy LLC Overview
About Sun City Solar Energy LLC
Sun City Solar Energy LLC is a solar panel design, installation, and repair company headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded way back in 1983, the company became a fully registered business in Texas in 2005 and has been active and in good standing ever since.
Sun City Solar Energy has experienced steady growth, generates in the region of $4 million in revenue annually, and employs between 25 – 30 full-time staff in 4 states across the US. Since 2005, the company has expanded its service territory and is now fully registered and licensed to operate in AR, MO, OK, and TX.
Solar Panels and services offered by Sun City Solar Energy LLC
Specific Solar Panels Offered
Sun City Solar Energy does not provide any information on the specific solar panels used in their installations; however, they do feature CertainTeed CT Series panels on their website.
CertainTeed CT Series Solar Panels
Solar panels from CertainTeed have an average efficiency of 18% to 20.5% and are well-prepared for extreme weather conditions. Most of them can withstand 5400 PA wind or snow load. The brand has adopted half-cut cell technology, increasing the modules’ shading tolerance.
CertainTeed CT Series solar panels come in two types:
- Monocrystalline Photovoltaics – These modules are the oldest but most advanced technology. Monocrystalline modules can be identified by solar cells, which all appear as a single flat color – typically black. They also have the highest efficiency since they are made of the highest-grade silicon.
- Polycrystalline Photovoltaics – These solar panels tend to have slightly lower heat tolerance than monocrystalline solar panels, which technically means that they perform slightly worse than monocrystalline solar panels in high temperatures.
Specific Types of Solar offered
Sun City Solar Energy offers three main categories of solar systems: grid-tied, grid-tied with battery backup, and commercial.
Grid-tied Solar Systems: A grid-tied solar system is directly connected to the home and the traditional electric utility grid. Grid-tied systems allow homeowners to get power from either the installed solar system or the utility grid.
The main advantage of this type of system is the ability to balance the system’s production and home power requirements. When a grid-tied system produces more power than the home consumes, the excess can be sold back to the utility provider, known as net metering.
Grid-tied with Battery Backup: A grid-tied solar system with battery storage is still tied into the traditional utility power grid but adds battery backup to the system. The addition of a battery backup enables the system to balance production and demand and protects against power outages.
Commercial Systems: Sun City Solar Energy’s commercial solar systems can be an excellent investment for a business. With the combined savings from the 26% Federal Income Tax Credit, MACRS Accelerated Depreciation, and monthly utility bill reduction, many of their commercial systems have experienced a payback of 5 years or less.
Additional services
Customers of Sun City Solar Energy are also able to make use of the following additional services offered by the company:
Monitoring System – Sun City Solar Energy provides a monitoring system for customer’s solar array to ensure that everything is operating efficiently and alerts the customer to any problems that may arise. A monitoring system will ensure the customer is getting the most out of their solar investment and ensure the system is operating as designed and intended.
Mounting – Sun City Solar Energy uses a specifically designed racking system to mount the solar array to the roof while ensuring no future leaks. The company is able to design suitable mounting solutions for all types of roofs, including metal, tile, flat, and sloped roofs.
Inverters – Sun City Solar Energy provides inverter installation, which plays a crucial role in any solar energy system and is often considered to be the brains of a project. An inverter’s basic function is to “invert” the direct current (DC) electricity produced by the photovoltaics into alternating current (AC) electricity.
Installation costs and process
Costs
The company does not provide its exact pricing online. When a customer contacts Sun City Solar Energy, an advisor will initially discuss the needs and goals and gather pertinent details about the location over the phone.
After the initial discussion, the company will perform a preliminary site survey based on the site’s address. A preliminary solar power site survey is performed online by looking at the home or business on Google Earth and Project Sunroof. This allows the company to quickly determine if the location is suitable for a solar array and how much room is available on the roof or ground to install an array.
Legitimacy
Sun City Solar Energy LLC is legit. Here are some of their accreditations:
| Sun City Solar Energy has been registered with the Texas Secretary of State since the 31st of October 2005 – SOS ID #: 0801047014. |
| The company is NABCEP certified and is a licensed solar contractor – License # 0256651016 |
| Two of the company’s branches have been BBB accredited since 2020. |
| Sun City Solar Energy is transparent and provides its contact details and branch addresses on its website. |
Interestingly, each of Sun City Solar Energy’s branches is individually registered in the respective states where they are located. Each branch operates independently with its own registration number and business owner, and has individual accreditations.
This suggests that the business works similarly to a franchise, with each branch running completely separate from the next.
Maintenance
- The company uses its own extensive network of contractors to perform its services and does not outsource any of its work.
- Solar panels used by the company are covered by a manufacturer warranty of 25 years, while the company’s workmanship comes with a 2-year warranty.
- In addition, the company’s inverters come with a 25-year warranty, and batteries come with a 10 – 25 year warranty depending on the type of battery installed.
Despite the company’s branches operating independently, it still uses only one website. The company has received just 16 reviews across two sites, achieving 5* and 3*, respectively.
Among the reviews was a solitary review that received 1*, in which the customer expressed discontent relating to issues with the system post-installation. Here’s the feedback that they provided:
| “I have not had a full month of daily full panel operations since install! Same 14 microinverters not reporting and roof leaks for over 10 months!! I need a resolution and the local rep in Arkansas apparently doesn’t have the knowledge nor skill set needed to fix the problem.” |
Customer Service (Review Analysis)
Apart from the one poor review received, all other reviewers provided the company with a 5* rating, with many of them mentioning that the company is extremely friendly and provides excellent customer service, as illustrated in the review below:
| “Both Owners of the company were here during the install. The installers were professinal and they cleaned everything up even sweeped the driveway. They explained everything to me and had double checked the system before they left”. |
The SolarEmpower View
SolarEmpower views Sun City Solar Energy LLC as part of the higher-tier solar companies since it has assembled an impressive portfolio of successful project completions across its service territory. In addition, the company has obtained BBB accreditations and received mainly positive feedback from its previous customers, which suggests that the company typically delivers on its promises and lives up to customer’s expectations.
| Cost: 8/10 | Legitimacy: 10/10 |
| Quality: 8/10 | Customer Service: 9/10 |
