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Solar Installer GuildUnited States · independent

Sandbar Solar & Electric

Solar energy company · Santa Cruz, CA

What the listing shows you

4.9★

62 Google reviews

What it doesn’t

3%

rated 1–2★

typical in California, 1%

Newest review held

Jun 2026

newest held review 2 months old

Google's rating breakdown · all 62 reviews

Rated 1–2★
3%
typical in California, 1%
Posted an update
2 months ago
the company posting to its own Google profile
Replies to reviewers
29%
of the 62 reviews we hold

Its one and two star share is 2 points above the typical installer in California. Across California, 658 of the 1,529 installers whose breakdown Google has published carry a higher share than this one.

The percentages are Google’s own arithmetic over every review it holds, not a sample we assembled. Separately we hold 62 review texts for this company, quoted below. Google publishes review ages rather than dates, so every date here is approximate.

Every company we hold in California, on one axis

none

1–5%

6–10%

11–20%

over 20%

Every company we hold in California whose Google breakdown has been read, grouped by their share of one and two star reviews. Sandbar Solar & Electric is in the highlighted group.

What reviewers said

  • 2★ · around August 2022

    Contacted Sandbar to get a quote on a solar system for my home here in the Santa Cruz mountains Eli came out to provide the quote. He checked out our home and and provided the quote saying a new roof would be required before an installation. I let Eli know that over the winter 2 roofing contractors told us our roof was fine and did not need a new roof at this time. So I emailed Eli and mentioned that I was interested in getting a quote for ground mounted solar instead since I have plenty of sunny sloping land that would be fine for solar panels as an alternative to the roof. Was really surpris

  • 2★ · around August 2018

    the day that the solar panels were turned on our electric bill DOUBLED!!. IT TOOK MANY WEEKS OF CALLING AND VISITNG THE STORE to get this fixed. They never reimburesed us for the cost of thois error. Thge system is supposed to be 9 kWh, but has never produced this. it is always less than 6. kwh. Again thgey have ignored this shortfall and refused to install more panels to meet the contracted output. No need to sign the contract because they will not honor it. I have had solar panels on my home for 30 years and three moves. Suffice to say buying locally is a huge mistake.

  • 3★ · around August 2023

    I thought I'd go with a local solar company like Sandbar, and I had 3 other solar companies come to my house. Each one writing up an estimate, but I never felt good vibes so I didn't sign. I saw a Sandbar Solar booth at last year's Scotts valley Art and Wine festival, and 3 days later I was listening to Jarrett at my house while he went through folder of information. My spouse and I finally got good vibes, and we signed! I gave 3 stars because communication during installation was very minimal. Numerous times I had to cancel my plans, or obligations to accommodate installers that notification

  • 5★ · around June 2026 · the company replied

    Our experience with Sandbar Solar was seamless and painless. From our initial meeting with Jeremy, the Residential Sales manager, to our dealings with Luis, the foreman who oversaw our installation, we had nothing but positive interactions. Jeremy thoroughly explained the process and helped us explore our finance and rebate options. Once Luis finished the installation, which met my high standards, we had a meeting with Eddie. He commissioned our system in preparation for our permission to operate. He helped me download the two apps used to control and monitor the system and gave me a much-need

  • 5★ · around May 2026 · the company replied

    Sandbar Solar is truly exemplary compared to my many experiences with other solar companies in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area. They were fast, accurate, and, most importantly, accountable throughout the entire process. The entire team acted with urgency and professionalism. Shane Rafferty was my "Solar Sherpa" and guided me the whole way through. It was a tip-top experience from start to finish! Backstory: I managed to secure a NEM 2.0 contract back in 2023, but the original company I hired dropped the ball so many times that my project hadn't even started after nearly three years. I was on the v

  • 5★ · around May 2026 · the company replied

    My experience getting solar and batteries installed by Sandbar Solar was great. I reached out to Andreas from Sandbar in late August of 2025 after being recommended by a friend. Andreas met with me that week and we discussed our goals, system design and size, and how it would impact our current energy bills. Given the tax credits ending at the end of the calendar year, I knew I most likely wouldn’t be on the schedule to install and commission my system before then but Sandbar worked with me to find a financing option that provided many of the monetary benefits of the tax rebate with minimal re

Reviewer names are not published here. Negative reviews are shown first because they are the ones a listing hides, not because they are more representative.

What reviewers keep mentioning

  • knowledgeable team 16
  • responsive staff 6
  • power cost savings 5
  • polite crew 4
  • fair quote 3
  • installation quality 2
  • flawless execution 2
  • reduced carbon footprint 2
  • no pushy sales 2
  • solar system repair 2

Topics Google derives from the review text, with how often each appears. A frequent topic is not a good one: “price” turns up in praise and in complaints alike.

What the company says about itself

Taken from its own website. We have not checked any of it, and a sentence on a website is not evidence.

  • Financing

    “ensuring you understand all financing options for home solar panels, including tax…”

Its website also mentions free estimate and established, but not in a sentence we can quote cleanly.

Elsewhere

  • Google also lists this company under electrical.
  • It is also reviewed on ConsumerAffairs. Worth reading before you sign anything: those are a different crowd, and the complaints that reach the Better Business Bureau rarely reach Google.
  • It posts on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. A page that stopped posting years ago tells you something a listing will not.

When they say they are open

Sunday
Closed
Monday
8 AM to 5 PM
Tuesday
8 AM to 5 PM
Wednesday
8 AM to 5 PM
Thursday
8 AM to 5 PM
Friday
8 AM to 5 PM
Saturday
Closed

As Google published them when we last read the listing, not a live check. Ring before you drive anywhere.

Who Google shows alongside them

Google’s own “people also viewed” set, in Google’s order. It is Google’s comparison, not ours.

Other installers around Santa Clara

1–2★3★4★5★gauge 0–20%typical here, 1%

Ordered by how much we can tell you about each, which is not an order of quality. We do not know which of these is better and would not say if we did.

What we don't know

  • The date above is the newest review we hold, which is not necessarily the newest that exists — we hold a large share of Google's reviews, not all of them.
  • We do not verify licences, insurance or bonding. Nothing here has been checked against a state licensing board.
  • We cannot tell you what an installation costs, and we hold nothing about the equipment they fit.

Something wrong here? Tell us and a person will read it.

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