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A1 Sun
Category: Home Services Solar Installation Solar Installation [Edit]
2015 Yolo Ave(between Milvia St & Sutter St)
Berkeley, CA 94707
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
(510) 526-5715
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 5 pm
Ali S. said: "Got our install (in the city) done a couple of weeks back, PG&E should be hooking the panels up to the grid within a week. Highly recommended, these folks make it cheap and EASY to add solar to your home ... best part is they take care…" read more »
6 reviews for A1 Sun
6 reviews in English
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Review from Austin H.
Berkeley, CA
4/23/2012
From beginning to end (we just started producing power two weeks ago), dealing with A1 Sun has been a pleasure. The are very knowledgable about solar installations, what's available, how to evaluate it. They worked with us through a number of possible configurations, improving the design as they went along, and ending up with something that does a good job of giving us (and PG&E) power in a way that satisfies the realities of the location and the requirements of the regulations. As for installation, friendly competent young people, great workmanship, steady hard work, and a illingness to work around our sometimes-awkward schedule (we work at home and at times need quiet.) A joy to work with.
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Review from peter s.
Berkeley, CA
3/2/2010
I recommend this company to anyone wanting to install solar.
Their bid was on the low end, but their work was top end
They worked hard and did every thing they promised and more, including some extra work I had asked for ( extra grounding rods etc. ). Plus they got it all done UNDER budget and insisted on taking a few hundred off the agreed amount.
you can tell these guys love their job. -
Review from Rex D.
Berkeley, CA
9/26/2011
A1 just completed installed photovoltaic system on our house. I was very impressed with their professionalism, promptness and thoroughness.
I started by getting bids from 5 different companies and I was inclined to dismiss A1 because they were smallish and their sales pitch wasn't quite as slick as some of the others. Their bid was the lowest but I was primarily concerned about quality.
As I began to evaluate the bids I found was that there were pieces to the the permitting process the others hadn't included. The house was built in 1902 and required some structural work in order for the roof to support the panels.
A1 walked me through the entire permitting process, explaining what needed to be done at each step, from permitting to collection of my rebates. Then they proceeded to handle the entire process for me.
Their crew was great! They showed up on time, were courteous and quick. My General Contractor commented that they knew what they were doing and the quality of the work was first class.
I was particularly impressed with their follow through on all of the paperwork, I didn't have to do a thing. They did the work they promised, and more. Their price turned out to be the lowest. Great integrity and it was a pleasure working with these guys, truly outstanding!
Love those electric bills! -
Review from Jim A.
Emeryville, CA
6/8/2009
If it wasn't cool enough that my electric meter runs backwards AND that I got a huge credit from PG&E (I did not have to complete a single form) AND I will be getting a huge credit from the IRS AND my electric bill was ZERO last month AND I feel all warm and fuzzy about my contribution to the environment AND my neighbors are all envious....Larry, Ben and John at A1 Sun are consumate professionals who got the job done on budget, ahead of schedule, were neat and clean and just a pleasure to work with; the kind of firm I whole heartedly recommend.
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Review from Tor N.
San Francisco, CA
8/7/2010
We just had a solar system installed by A1 for our home on the coast. This was an especially tricky installation because our house is surrounded by trees and the actual installation would be installed on a vacant lot next door with a long run to our meter. Also, to get to the site requires ascending a very steep hill with considerable amounts of poison oak pretty much everywhere. We contracted with the builder of our home to build a custom frame for the panels and racks, and to lay the conduit to the solar site.
Due to the complexity of our situation, we had five companies come out to our site. Some were quite good to deal with (e.g., Luminalt; Sun, Light, and Power) and some were less good to deal with, but we found A1 to be the best for our particular situation because:
1. Larry (the proprietor) was the most concerned with designing a system that would not only meet our energy needs, but that would also not cost us an arm and a leg and also would aesthetically blend in with our home and the area around our home. Our sense of Larry is that he really cares about his customers and about doing the job right.
2. I have some knowledge of solar energy systems, having run my room on solar while I was in high school and being a regular reader of Home Power magazine. Larry was both knowledgeable and patient in answering my endless questions about different panel and inverter types and his answers to my questions were always prompt, clear, and helpful. Additionally, Larry was really good about discouraging me from adding optional gadgets to the system that would make it cost more without really benefitting us, and he always discouraged me in the nicest possible way. :-)
3. A1 was very accommodating regarding ordering and installing the equipment that my wife and I felt would be best for our particular situation (e.g., panels that would perform well in foggy conditions). Moreover, A1 was not only willing to collaborate with our home builder on designing and installing the system, they were even eager to do so, unlike several of the other installers we considered who were either neutral about it or who insisted on bidding for doing everything, including the permitting, which our builder and we wanted our builder to handle.
4. A1's bid was the lowest of those we entertained. Also, when we made our decision to go with A1, the California solar rebate rate was about to drop into a lower tier. Larry and Kathleen worked extremely hard and rapidly, to get our rebate application paperwork completed and submitted in time for us to get the higher rebate rate.
5. A1 is a family-run business. Larry, the owner, has decades of experience in the solar industry. His wife Kathleen works in the office and their son Ben heads up the installation crew, all of whom were super friendly and worked incredibly hard on site to install our system (e.g., 9 AM to 7 PM days). They worked extra hard to get our system to a point where it could be turned on before the weekend so that power could flow back into the grid as soon as possible.
As well, we have a special needs dog who barked at them much of the week they were here and Larry, Ben, and the rest of the installation crew were all incredibly patient and friendly with her (and us!).
6. Another Yelp poster remarked on how clean the A1 installation crew left his job site. We had the same experience. In fact, our builder and his crew had kindly left electrical wire and water hoses set up for the A1 team to use when they arrived and so the A1 team reciprocated by disconnecting and coiling up all extension cords and hoses, in addition to the regular clean up at the solar site and inverter installation area. We could hardly tell anyone had been working at either spot!
With this company, you get a personalized, caring approach coupled with superior technical know-how without the overhead of dedicated salespeople that you sometimes see with the larger companies. There are a number of merges and acquisitions taking place in the solar installation industry with bigger companies swallowing up smaller ones. In fact, one of the companies we looked at got taken over during the bidding process, which is an unsettling proposition. This trend makes the type of personalized approach that A1 offers all the more important and worth supporting.
Finally, my uncle, who was a contractor for over 15 years, and my mom's best friend, who is extremely picky, also had A1 do their solar systems in Berkeley. Both are incredibly happy with A1 and their work. In the case of my mom's best friend's set up, she decided after the installation was done that the conduit run across her carport was too visible and too reflective, so A1 came back and moved the conduit and painted it to match the color of her carport, all at no charge.
I recommend this company with highest enthusiasm! -
Review from Tom C.
Berkeley, CA
5/21/2011
These guys are great! A family run business, they did a fantastic job explaining everything, answering my many questions, and adapting the system as my needs/understanding evolved. The price was extremely reasonable and the follow-up on all of the little issues was just super. Highly recommended vs. the other firms that are out there.
