Photonworks Engineering — Local services in Honolulu

PhotonWorks Engineering (PWE) installed an additional set of 18 Solar PV panels on my roof in March, 2023. No one informed me that the system was "commissioned and activated" on March 15. From March 15 to August 10, 2023, PWE technicians repeatedly came to check on the system. Each time, I was informed that the PV Inverter breaker was tripped, it was reset, and I was told that the system was now operating. But my electric bills did not reflect the expected decrease during that time period, so I contacted the salesman who sold the contract to me.

I learned on August 25 from him that "Once the system has been commissioned, our operations team does not proactively monitor the system on your behalf." This was unexpected since PWE technicians did make service visits, so they were able to see that the system was not performing yet failed to resolve the problem until August 10. The breaker wires were set incorrectly, which could have been easily corrected four months earlier.

No one told me that I, the homeowner, was responsible for downloading the Telsa and Solar Edge apps to monitor the system and report any problems to PWE. Instructions for both apps are online, and I am still struggling to understand them. No one offered to help me understand the app reports. Even if I was tutored to review the Telsa or Solar Edge apps, I would not have seen anything since they were both not functioning because of the continued tripping of the breaker.

The period from March 15 to August 10 has 148 days. After going through all the reports for those days, it was apparent that the system was down on the fifth day, March 19, and operational for only 11 days at minimal production. There were 137 days of lost production. I asked to meet in person with the owner of PWE and the salesman to resolve this matter. When they refused to meet with me, I requested $1300 in compensation to cover the electric bills.

PhotonWorks Engineering failed to take any responsibility for not being able to resolve the breaker issue in a timely fashion, denied the requested compensation for my electric bills, and refused to meet with me. PhotonWorks Engineering needs to better train their staff, provide appropriate compensation when they are at fault, and improve their...

Working with Photonworks was a great experience. All I knew about PV systems was that I wanted/needed one + battery back ups when we rebuilt our home.

I had spoken to other companies and was so dissatisfied with my experiences.

My first conversation with Mr. Paul Orem was unlike any I had experienced with the other pv companies - as I thought I was speaking to a marketing/sales person, I didn't quite know what to make of our first conversation as nothing felt like a sales or marketing pitch - just straight forward information.

I had no idea I was speaking to the CEO - he was patient (especially with such a PV ignorant potential client such as me), kind, forthcoming, and very comprehensive in his explanations.

I appreciated his always responding in a very timely manner to my phone calls and emails.

The entire process has been quite seamless and effortless.

Each member of Photonworks that I have encountered/worked with has been courteous, kind, responsive, professional and very customer service oriented - from Mr. Orem, CEO, to Keelan who was incredibly efficient, kind and helpful with the complicated process of communication/documentation with HECO (could not have nor wanted to do that on my own), to Steve Frieberger who was assigned to supervise our project (the best - another incredibly patient gent!) to each of the installers (initial install and upgrade as well) - no complaints, only praise and gratitude for each and all of them.

They are just not good at what they do, but their core values, their commitment to those values and follow through is incredible.

I just cannot say enough about Mr. Orem and Photonworks - I am so very grateful that I was referred to them, so very grateful.

It was and continues to be a wonderful and most uplifting and...

Thank you for doing a great job on installing my PV system. Everyone that came to my home was polite and eager to accommodate my requests. I was also very pleased that foot traffic on the roof caused some shingles to be damaged, but your guys replaced them without me asking. Sam was particularly polite and exceeded my expectations in connecting the equipment on my garage with the solar system on the roof. He also did a superb job in connecting the system to my network. At the end of each day, there was no evidence that your techs were working around and on my home. There was a lot of packing material kept in my garage until the last day when your guys loaded it up and hauled it away. I would also like to recognize Steve for putting the final adjustments on the system and orienting me on the system’s operation and how to use the apps. His technical competence and customer oriented skills are truly exceptional. Again, thank you and please pass on my thanks to your techs for doing...