Technicians For Sustainability

We are quite pleased by the install of our new solar system. The entire team was very detail oriented and actually cared about the process. All workers were on time and kept the site clean. They made sure we were pleased with each step of the process. We decided to have a metal roof placed before we installed the panesl (by Castle Roofing.) TFS worked closely with them to make sure they installed the roof so it would be «solar ready.» WIth the metal roof there is only one perforation in our roof as the panel stands clamp onto the standing seams of the roof. Since we will have an ongoing relationship with TFS as they monitor our panels to verify they are working properly, I’m really glad these are people who actually care about renewable energy and they’re not just here to make a quick buck.

My experience was topnotch from the estimate to installation. Communication was excellent. They kept me informed of the progress of paperwork and approvals, worked with me to find a convenient time to install, and did the installation in two days. Everyone was friendly, extremely knowledgeable and professional. It is clear that this local company works hard to exceed customer expectations. When the County inspector came to inspect the system he remarked on the quality of TFS work. All the employees are committed to sustainability; they know what they are doing and they stand behind their work. I recommend them highly.

TFS is a another company I would give a BIG Avoid. I had solar panels and a solar water heater installed by TFS. I found the quality of the Installation to be on the poor side. One of the Electrical boxes they installed is held by several washers over 1″ away from the block and the installer when he was putting the clamps on the conduit broke 3 screws in the block. The installer probably had the torque on the drill too high and did not drill a pilot hole before installing the screws in the block. TFS also installed 2 rows of panels and on the 2^nd row there is a space where another panel can be installed. If I was given the choice I would have opted to have another live or dummy panel installed to take up the void which is unappealing. The Solar Water Panel should also have been installed lower so it does not stick out like a sore thumb when approaching the house. The owner of TFS talked me into their Solar Water Heater system Saying that it was better than the Cornell system I already had. I gave away a Cornell System that held 80 Gallons on the roof and had a Conventional 80 Gallon water heater in the inside in case the sky was cloudy and could not heat the water. The Cornell system is a Passive system and only uses water pressure to move the water. If ther is a Powere outage one will still have Hot water. The system sold by TFS Which cost $ 5000 has a panel on the roof and the water is pushed up to the Panel by a pump and pulled back down by another pump. If the Electricity goes off one is in trouble especially if there is no gas and the heater works on electricity as in my case. I would never buy or have anything installed by TFS in the future.

I’ve had two sets of panels installed on my house. In 2009 I interviewed Sun Power of AZ and TFS. I thought they were both well qualified, but ended up going with the smaller company (Sun Power) to help the «littler» guy. I believe Sun Power did a fine job and have had no issues to date with their equipment or installation.
In 2013 I decided to add 10 more panels to bring my net yearly use to approximately zero. I still wanted to stay local to benefit Tucson and to use a company that used installers that worked just for them. I went with TFS the second time. I couldn’t be happier with the entire scope of the TFS job. They were courteous, communicated well, showed up on time, did exactly what was agreed upon and installed a professional looking system. After the job was finished I felt that TFS had given me a quality installation at a fair price. Despite the fact that they continuously monitor the performance of my system (it’s not a leased system, so I’m not sure they need to do this), they’ve checked in on me yearly to see if I had any issues.
Additional point: During the TFS initial site inspection, the estimator quickly noted that a few of the Sun Power panels probably shaded a small portion of 6 other panels in late December. I told him he was correct. I liked the fact that this bugged him, and he wanted to correct it. Although I can’t remember what he added to the cost to prevent the shading, I remember it being a minor amount. That small adjustment improved the output of my Sun Power panels 50% in late December/​early January! I’m not sure other contractors would’ve cared about another installation or, if asked to correct the situation, would’ve charged anywhere near what TFS did. TFS is a for profit company, but I certainly get the feeling that is not their number one priority.
Solar City is making a big push around the country to install leased systems at no up-​front out-​of-​pocket cost. Before going with such a large company that contracts out installations, I would ask that you include TFS in your bids. I believe TFS is trying to work with TEP to provide the same sort of lease system that Solar City would.

I searched pretty hard to find someone to install a photovoltaic solar array. I didn’t like the idea of not owning the array that would be installed on my house for many reasons. I selected TFS because of their thorough analysis of my needs and return on investment. I also selected TFS because they offered solar arrays from well-​known manufacturers.
I selected panels manufactured by LG — a company that I expect will be around long enough to honor a 20 year warranty. The panels are very efficient, allowing me to install fewer panels on the roof, reducing wind and weight loads.
The inverter and monitoring system are a great combination. I find myself checking the online reporting system daily if not more often! I have also shared the monitoring web site with family and friends.
I enjoyed working with the TFS staff — they walk the talk and are committed to doing their part to install sustainable energy solutions in the Tucson area.

TFS is the only contractor that has worked on my house that deserves 5 stars. The installation was done on time and is extremely professional. We are producing more electricity than TFS promised and our system should pay for itself in a little over 4 years. We’ve had one minor problem with the system and TFS sent out a technician the same day we called to solve the problem. This company is one that truly deserves your business.

We had our system installed in July, 2012. From beginning to end, TFS was very professional. Everyone we dealt with were helpful in answering all our questions.
They told us what we would produce which would have been more than acceptable to us, they even exceeded there forecast.
First class organization. I would recommend them to anyone.
Dennis Meyers