Demand Construction

I eventually got a working system using Demand but it was not a simple process, dragged out far too long, and I am still awaiting PTO 3.5 months later. I think several of my problems come from the subcontracting crew they use in Houston area so maybe the company is ok in another state but I don’t know. My system is 31 REC460AA Pure RX panels and 2 Powerwall 3s with a Gateway 3. Jonathan Seber was my sales guy and very helpful at answering questions and responsive during the sales portion. That communication died off once there were issues getting the installation done though. My original install date was set for Aug. 30th. Then the night before I am called and told by someone it cannot be done as missing parts. I then hear nothing back in over a week and have to pursue contacting them myself. I kept getting responses of “will check and get back to you” by a couple people but nothing back. I kept bugging them until I was told Sept. 11th that they would come out on 12th and start work. Well, they did. They came in the afternoon barely started to work and then left the house for 2 hours before returning. They worked a grand total of 4 hours that day and said they would be back next day. Well, nobody returned, nobody called, nothing. I kept calling and emailing for the next week trying to get an update but no commitment on when someone would be coming out. In this timeframe, I flew a drone up to inspect the work they had done. I was highly disappointed to see they had a rail flopping out there visibly bending back a shingle. One whole section of the roof had the flashings installed improperly and not aligned with the bottom of the shingle rows. I could clearly see that one of the flashings was upside down too as the Unirac text wasn’t visible. It wasn’t until the 18th that the crew returned again. They did fix all those bad flashings after I had submitted my drone pictures to Demand. They probably would have just left it if I didn’t inspect myself and say something. Even the one installer had a bit of a who cares attitude and said it doesn’t really matter how installed and that they haven’t had any leaks. They worked again on 19th but still were not done. Again, the theme with this work crew almost every time is they would come barely work, then find out they needed supplies or something and just disappear for a few hours. I also found out they were trying to work another job too at same time instead of just finishing one job then doing the next. They came the 21st and worked a couple hours and then the 23rd worked most of the day. They finally finished my install on the 24th. So, it took them almost 2 weeks to install what should be a 2-3 day install at most. Mind you every day is lost generation too especially in peak sun summer days. One thing I noticed with the install was they did not put a 60A disconnect for the Powerwalls and I questioned the installer and he said not needed…well more on that later. It also seemed like the system was not generating the full amount I expected but was told to wait a few days for the Powerwall firmware to update and the numbers would be better. My Powerwalls never updated the software and did not appear to be configured properly anyhow to talk to each other. I told the installer this and even provided him info I found online saying that it needed to be setup as Leader-Follower mode with an ethernet cable instead of 2 com wires back to the Gateway. Well come Sept. 30th, only 6 days after install was done, one of the batteries was throwing error codes and shutting down so no power generation for those panels. On the Oct. 3rd install crew comes back to inspect the codes and I guess a microcontroller was bad (who knows if was bad or something wrong with initial install). While he was here, he tried to update the Powerwalls but could not do. I pressured him into calling Tesla support about the Leader-Follower and firmware not updating. You could tell he was not happy and even told me something along the lines of cannot trust everything you see on internet about the setup. Well sure enough once got Tesla support connected, they told him he needed to setup ethernet cable and configure how I had shown him in Leader-Follower mode. Telsa Support also forced an update of the firmware which was very dated. once this was all completed, I could finally see both Powerwalls in the Tesla app and my generation was all under one Home. The next day on Oct. 4th, the other part of his crew came and fixed the microcontroller so my 8 broken panels would work. Finally, I was generating full power and it was in line with what the system performance should be. And then the wait for PTO…I was told CenterPoint can take a while so expect 8-12 weeks so I was prepared for that. Well on Nov. 12th, I get a phone call asking if they can come on 13th to install the 60A disconnects as CP requested for PTO. The crew did come out and installed the disconnects. I saw after they had already mounted and put everything back together that they had put USED equipment though. I took pictures of this and sent to Demand questioning why USED equipment was being put on a new system install but never got any response. I am still awaiting PTO too and it is Dec. 17th now so it has been way too long and it is frustrating on days where generation is clipped and I am not able to sell it because Demand and their subcontractor did not do the install properly to start. I am still awaiting final install setup diagrams and certificate of install for warranty too based on PTO. So in conclusion, while I did get a system installed through Demand and it is working, I would probably go with another company if I did it all again. The installation crew they use in Houston lacks the knowledge and professionalism that you expect for an investment this expensive. The communication was highly lacking and the length of number of days it took to get installed were unacceptable.

I was contemplating whether to install solar for my home for over an year and I was very worried about the scams that are going on. I also heard very negative remarks from my friends on how they were scammed and how the system is not performing as they were promised. Finally, I thought I will start researching and registered myself on Energy Sage. Even though I am post graduate in Electrical Engineering, I knew nothing about the solar technology components or the market leaders at the time. I started getting quotes from various vendors on Energy Sage and I started talking to each of the vendors. I also started talking with local vendors that my friends referred and also vendors from a major wholesale club. Of all, one vendor clearly stood out, which was Demand Construction. I started talking to Jonathan Seber at Demand and he was very patient with me from the beginning, explaining me step by step about the process and knowing that I am a newbie in this area, he was being very honest in his opinions when asked about certain features. I can't say their quote was the cheapest, but I was impressed by how clearly he explained me about every aspect of solar installation and he was the only person who did not try to oversell me. When I asked him questions that he did not know, he tried to find answers from his team and got back to me. Many sales team was trying to sell me way over my requirements and few were even selling products that have sub-par quality. But in the negotiation process, I was surprised how most eventually converged on the same specs that Jonathan gave me in the very beginning. I was convinced that he was being honest with me. Even after I finalized Demand Construction for the vendor, I had few issues with home insurance coverage because of solar installation, but Jonathan was patient and tried to help me dealing with my insurance debacles. Now we have all the permits in place and we are in the last phase and hopefully we can get the installation done before this year end. I am very confident that Jonathan will drive this project to be a successful one. I would like to thank Jonathan for his help and patience as he worked with me on this. Best we can get!

I was impressed with the rep that initially spoke with me in making things easy for me to understand. They worked with me throughout the process and even helped with some minor changes on the day of the install. Overall, I am please with my experience.

After getting multiple quotes, I found that Demand offered the most value. They were able to get me installed in 3 weeks and system is working great!

After speaking with a few different companies, Marsel made me feel comfortable in my decision which is why I chose them. I had cheaper options, but Marsel made me feel comfortable in my choice and the project managers kept me up to date throughout the process.

My installation is pending. There was a 45 day guarantee or they pay my electric bill until the system is installed. I will say that was not the easiest on the 1st bill. Hopefully I will have a system before the second or it's an easier process. The project managers are not good at communicating. Even after finally getting attention, my sales rep who went MIA post sale called and said he would take over. I was assured 2 updates a week on Tuesday and Thursday. 16 days later I am still waiting on those updates. As this process moves forward I will update this review.