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Business Profile

Solar Energy Design

Live Oak Energy Systems, LLC

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Solar Energy Design.

Complaints

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Complaint Details

Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.

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Complaint Type
  • Complaint Type:
    Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Live Oak installed my solar system after numerous delays and excuses. Now they are telling me the county is holding them up. This system has been sitting on my roof for over 3 months doing absolutely nothing. No one at live Oak is updating me. Furthermore, their materials are already rusting!

    Business response

    05/30/2023

    Hello, this complaint has been resolved. We were faced with an unfortunate series of circumstances from material order delays on this project, and then the local permit office having an internal dispute about the installation of the battery storage system. This permitting authority is unfortunately not familiar with most forms of energy storage and there were some disagreements between their plans review team and the inspectors and we were required to resubmit revised blueprints, which stretch the project much longer than planned. The system has been inspected and passed and approved by both the county and ******* Power. We have apologized profusely to Mr. ****, and are very frustrated with this process as well. We are looking at ways to compensate him for the extra amount of time that he had to wait. This is not typical for our installations and we hope to use this as an opportunity with the county permit office to provide education on the systems and make the process easier for other customers moving forward. 
  • Complaint Type:
    Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Live Oak Energy systems advised us on products and services to meet our solar energy goals, 1) Battery system rated for outdoor installation. 2) separate AC systems from battery to conserve battery life in the event of a power outage. During installation (week of 12/05/2022) of solar and battery it was discovered that the battery system was not rated for outdoor installation, and installing outside, may void warranty. The battery system provider indicated they made a cover, but after further review this cover never materialized nor would it protect the system enough. A decision in March 2023, to build a shed around battery system to further protect from the environment. 2) During the scope of the project, the Live Oak Energy Team indicated we should separate the AC systems from the battery to protect the whole house during an extended power outage. Live Oak is refusing to acknowledge this point. We are unsure they are going to do the work we agreed upon. Live Oak has also triggered completion of the project with the lending company. Which has now forced us to start repaying a loan while we do not have a completed system. We asked for a contract/contingency plan, they drafted a contract but repeated attempts by us to complete the contract so it can be enforced has not been successful. All in all, we have had a lot of communication issues with Live Oak and getting them to act on completing the installation in a timely and mutually beneficial manner. We have a lot of documentation with us asking for updated and no responses. We just want a completed system, that's covered under warranty by the various supplies, vendors and installers.

    Business response

    04/14/2023

    Good afternoon, and thank you for your patience as we have gathered the appropriate information to address this issue. This is an unfortunate situation and we are trying very hard to please this customer as we do not wish to have an incomplete system installed either. This issue started when we were contracted to install a rooftop solar + battery storage system for their home. We agreed on a system size and battery size and product with the homeowner and signed an installation agreement. During the time that we ordered the battery storage system to the time that the system was installed after all design, permitting, and documentation was approved, the manufacturer of the battery released new installation recommendations. Part of the new install recommendations included adding a cover or enclosure to the battery unit if installed outdoors for added protection. This was not brought to our attention until the day of installation, and prompted us to immediately reach out to the battery manufacturer for guidance as this was not part of our original design or scope of the battery unit installation. We were repeatedly advised in writing from the manufacturer that the unit is safe and warrantied to be installed outdoors "as is," and that we should proceed with the installation. The homeowner was included in these emails from the manufacturer which are attached below. The homeowner was not comfortable with this option, so the manufacturer informed us that they were releasing a new battery unit cover that we would be able to installed for the additional outdoor protection. They advised that this would be available in late January/early February, and the homeowner agreed to this option. Unfortunately, the battery cover production has taken longer than expected from the manufacturer, and is still not available. We have been checking in regularly with the manufacturer for updates, and are offering to pay for this expense as a courtesy for this customer. The customer has escalated the issue at this point to requesting a custom "shed" enclosure be built around the battery unit, which Live Oak has offered to pay for at our expense. It should be noted that this is not in our scope or contract, and is expected to cost approximately $3,900, yet Live Oak is willing to cover this for the customer. It should also be noted that Live Oak has already completed a separate courtesy for this customer, which was installing interconnected smoke detectors inside the home to bring the house up to local code at no expense to the customer. Again, this was not in our scope or design, but we wanted to help the customer for their patience with the battery installation issue with the manufacturer. We also offered to allow the homeowner a 5% retainer from Live Oak and compensation toward the interest on their loan payments with the letter they provided above, however you will notice on the letter that they have not signed or returned. We cannot issue a retainer to them without the signed letter as we do not have an assurance that they would return the retainer upon completion of the battery installation. 

    We want just as badly as the customer to complete this installation, but repeated attempts to install per the manufacturer's explicit advice and recommendation to do so have been denied by the homeowner. The customer has been very upset with us that the new manufacturer's battery cover is not yet commercially available, but this is something that is obviously not in our control. We have agreed to pay the cost for the construction of the quite expensive "shed" enclosure by a general contractor, which is again not required or in our scope, and is scheduled to begin construction next week. Live Oak has been extremely generous with the additional work and compensation offered to this customer, putting us at a loss on this project. We do, however, want this customer to feel confident in their installation and system quality, so we are happy to oblige to get this completed.

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