Interesting poll results! Sol Ark VS Signature Solar

[cdsolar]

One big difference is Sol-Ark holds the warranty on their inverters and ancillary products, but Signature Solar does not, at least according to the Signature Solar website.

It would be nice to know if Signature Solar holds the warranty for EG4 brand, because it seems like Signature Solar provides most of the business operations for EG4 but are separate companies.

In my opinion, this survey should be specific to EG4 inverters rather than Signature Solar because one is the actual product, and the other is a material distributor that sells 3rd party equipment.

We usually reference Solar Reviews, which verifies their reviews.

Sol-Ark, LLC - Profile & Reviews - 2024 | EnergySage

Read reviews for Sol-Ark, LLC, a Energy Efficiency, Solar PV, Energy Storage, Backup Electricity Generation, EV Charging, Standalone Battery Storage company since 2013 based in Allen, TX.

www.energysage.com

Signature Solar - Profile & Reviews - 2023 | EnergySage

Read reviews for Signature Solar, a Energy Efficiency, High Efficiency HVAC, Solar Air-conditioning, Solar PV, Energy Storage company since 2018 based in Sulphur Springs, TX.

www.energysage.com

The relationship between Signature Solar vs EG4 is interesting. They apparently were started by the same person and it appears they have the same address in Sulphur Springs.

Kudos to SS for wanting to distribute their 'own' brand.

 

[Will Prowse]

The relationship between Signature Solar vs EG4 is interesting. They apparently were started by the same person and it appears they have the same address in Sulphur Springs.

Kudos to SS for wanting to distribute their 'own' brand.

Lots of companies do this. For example, dragonfly energy corporation owns battleborn. Or battery evo owned by big battery. Must be some benefit for so many companies to do this.

 

[ncsolarelectric]

Lots of companies do this. For example, dragonfly energy corporation owns battleborn. Or battery evo owned by big battery. Must be some benefit for so many companies to do this.

It's just a good business decision. If you're going to spend money on advertising and branding anyway, it's better to promote 1 brand than multiple brands. Private labeling equipment also gets you better volume discounts and lower transportation charges. These manufacturers will even add your business name to their UL Report filing as an alternate brand ID for a reasonable price IF you commit to buying 400-1000 inverters. I would do it too if I had more than a nickel in the bank to fund it.

 

[cdsolar]

I agree it is a good thing overall. You may even be able to use your knowledge of this relationship if you have a bad interaction with SS as some have reported. It can't solely be EG4's problem and not something SS can't handle if they can literally walk down the hall and talk to someone about it. ?

 

[Murphyslaww]

Well, no experience with Sol-Ark, but for SS, I think I’ve had my first and last interaction just trying to buy a product. Poor system management, and it appears that there is very little consideration for the customer’s time. They apparently have enough business to be able to do so.

 

[Watts Happening]

Lots of companies do this. For example, dragonfly energy corporation owns battleborn. Or battery evo owned by big battery. Must be some benefit for so many companies to do this.

I don’t know the last time you visited their location but dear god the expansion has been insane. I first met them when their entire operation was out of a ~5,000 square foot place next to a popular sandwich shop in town.

Multiple warehouses later it’s a super serious operation. Neat to see things grow.

I assume Signature Solar is on a similar path expansion wise.

 

[k490]

How many Sol-Arks are in service compared to Signature Solar? If the market share for Sol-ark is higher that could skew the numbers.

 

[Watts Happening]

How many Sol-Arks are in service compared to Signature Solar? If the market share for Sol-ark is higher that could skew the numbers.

Good call, their market share must be VASTLY larger based on time alone.

 

[Lt.Dan]

How many Sol-Arks are in service compared to Signature Solar? If the market share for Sol-ark is higher that could skew the numbers.

Sol-Ark has been around a little longer, so I could see them having more product in service. But then Sig Solar has been selling product at a scale like no other vendor (my personal opinion, I don't know for sure).

 

[robby]

Good call, their market share must be VASTLY larger based on time alone.

The owner of the installation company I bought my Sol-Ark from has become a friend of mine, he does me a lot of favors and in return I help him with some technical problems.
He sells Sol-Ark, Fronius, Victron and the Fortress power Envy which is the same as the 18KPV.
He told me one day last month that he has sold over 400 Sol-Arks vs only one Envoy in inverter.
He recently decided that he would no longer buy any EG4 equipment because he cannot get customer support from them.
so yes Sol-Ark most certainly has several thousand inverters installed and if there was any problems with them you would be seeing tons of negative post about them, while in fact the opposite is true.

 

[Watts Happening]

The owner of the installation company I bought my Sol-Ark from has become a friend of mine, he does me a lot of favors and in return I help him with some technical problems.
He sells Sol-Ark, Fronius, Victron and the Fortress power Envy which is the same as the 18KPV.
He told me one day last month that he has sold over 400 Sol-Arks vs only one Envoy in inverter.
He recently decided that he would no longer buy any EG4 equipment because he cannot get customer support from them.
so yes Sol-Ark most certainly has several thousand inverters installed and if there was any problems with them you would be seeing tons of negative post about them, while in fact the opposite is true.

Makes sense, I have no idea what the actual numbers are but I imagine they are staggering. If your one friend has sold 400+, imagine nationwide, wild.

 

[k490]

Would you say Signature Solutions is more of a DIY supplier where Sol-ark has a bigger footprint with the professional contractor installer.

 

[Watts Happening]

Would you say Signature Solutions is more of a DIY supplier where Sol-ark has a bigger footprint with the professional contractor installer.

I’d damn near guarantee it.

I cannot imagine a well established professional contractor/business installing the EG4 at scale right out of the box. I’m not saying it won’t trend that way over time, but as a business you are stuck servicing your clients and you would be crazy to install a new and unproven product knowing you have to be there on the back end.

I’m SURE they’re being installed “professionally”, I just have to imagine it’s a much more limited scenario than the Sol-Ark right now, again I’m sure that will change in time as it’s proven and more mature.

Lots of these things go into big business, they aren’t going to care about the small cost difference, they need reliable power, and they aren’t willing to be a test bed. Smaller business, sure, they may give it a whirl.

 

[robby]

Would you say Signature Solutions is more of a DIY supplier where Sol-ark has a bigger footprint with the professional contractor installer.

Absolutely a much bigger footprint.
Installers have no time or desire to deal with problems. They just want to setup the system, program it and leave. Any issues that occur after the Installation is just money being lost on the Installation profits.

As the guy I deal with said, he just installs a Sol-Ark and it works. He gets almost no phone calls about issues and if by chance there is a problem he can always direct them to Sol-Ark customer Support who will log in and fix any settings. He told me he purchased around Fifty EG4 batteries but got pissed off when he could not reach customer support for help on every occasion when they had an issue.

As I said he has an Envoy Inverter (Same 18Kpv) in his shop and I got to play with it long before EG4 got and renamed it the 18Kpv.
He found enough issues with it that he refused to order any more of them from Fortress Power.

I was telling people on here from day one that 18Kpv had generator issues. My Installer friend asked me to look at the settings and wiring and I could find no reason why it would not start the Generator except for a Firmware issue. Now a few members on here that did not listen have experienced it and I hear one member saying they just released a firmware update to fix it. Imagine your an Installer and you put in an off grid system 3 months ago for a client. Just imagine the amount of Trips and Phone calls that would have plagued you, only to find out it's not an issue with your work or the Generator but an issue with the Inverters Firmware.

 

[RV10flyer]

Well, no experience with Sol-Ark, but for SS, I think I’ve had my first and last interaction just trying to buy a product. Poor system management, and it appears that there is very little consideration for the customer’s time. They apparently have enough business to be able to do so.

Great experience with my two 12k’s! Same here for SS. Never again!

9/26/23. Edit: Signature Solar provided great customer service, tech support and we arrived at a fair resolution. I highly recommend them now and what a stress relief! Thank you!

 

[Murphyslaww]

And am now into a week's debacle, just trying to purchase a product from SS. When they put me into their Fraud detection loop, because I used a different shipping address than business(CC) address, and then left it there, I had them cancel the order... Now still waiting for funds refund to bank... four days later. No other business takes this long to refund, assuming they have actually cancelled the transaction. I guess we'll start the project after the vacation. 10Kw batteries charged with no where to go!!! Too bad, it would have been a cool project for SS to be attached to.

 

[RV10flyer]

And am now into a week's debacle, just trying to purchase a product from SS. When they put me into their Fraud detection loop, because I used a different shipping address than business(CC) address, and then left it there, I had them cancel the order... Now still waiting for funds refund to bank... four days later. No other business takes this long to refund, assuming they have actually cancelled the transaction. I guess we'll start the project after the vacation. 10Kw batteries charged with no where to go!!! Too bad, it would have been a cool project for SS to be attached to.

Consider yourself lucky.

9/26/23. Edit: Signature Solar provided great customer service, tech support and we arrived at a fair resolution. I highly recommend them now and what a stress relief! Thank you!

 

[ac90pilot]

I have been trying to get hold of Signature Solar since September 19, 2023, where I get a phone not in service message. I purchased the EG4 18k and 6 LifePo4 batteries in the new rack enclosure 2 months ago. Everything worked as expected and the quality of the rack with the new buss bars is fantastic. The promptly shipped a cable that was missing. Service was great. Now the dongle went bad. I think they were good honest people, and probably more honest than the bankers they were using....

 

[RV10flyer]

I have been trying to get hold of Signature Solar since September 19, 2023, where I get a phone not in service message. I purchased the EG4 18k and 6 LifePo4 batteries in the new rack enclosure 2 months ago. Everything worked as expected and the quality of the rack with the new buss bars is fantastic. The promptly shipped a cable that was missing. Service was great. Now the dongle went bad. I think they were good honest people, and probably more honest than the bankers they were using....

I will highly recommend them after today’s experience!

 

[Murphyslaww]

Against my better judgement, I've re-ordered the same EG4 refurbished 6k, from SS, after getting them to refund the first attempt. Keeping my fingers crossed, but after it listed and charged a shipping charge, the order now shows customer pickup. ?‍ They are the only one that has this model, which I'm interested in trying. At the price, if it's a total debacle, there isn't quite so much to lose. Not holding my breath for much customer support, or an uneventful delivery even.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Against my better judgement, I've re-ordered the same EG4 refurbished 6k, from SS, after getting them to refund the first attempt. Keeping my fingers crossed, but after it listed and charged a shipping charge, the order now shows customer pickup. ?‍ They are the only one that has this model, which I'm interested in trying. At the price, if it's a total debacle, there isn't quite so much to lose. Not holding my breath for much customer support, or an uneventful delivery even.

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Also look at LVX6048.
They are all made by voltronic.

 

[Invisibilianone6288]

… I don’t understand statistics displayed.

Same here, as I read those numbers Will displayed, all I could see in my blank mind was a recirculation banner that read
"DOES NOT COMPUTE"?

 

[Wakintx]

And am now into a week's debacle, just trying to purchase a product from SS. When they put me into their Fraud detection loop, because I used a different shipping address than business(CC) address, and then left it there, I had them cancel the order... Now still waiting for funds refund to bank... four days later. No other business takes this long to refund, assuming they have actually cancelled the transaction. I guess we'll start the project after the vacation. 10Kw batteries charged with no where to go!!! Too bad, it would have been a cool project for SS to be attached to.

 

[Wakintx]

Kind of questioning your 4 days to get your refund back to the bank. Do you mean 4 days past from the time signature solar process their end of the transaction? Or did it take 4 days for you to get them to talk to you because for example if I buy something at home Depot today with my credit card realize it is not the right thing and take it back the exact same day it takes three to four days for the credit card companies to get the money to my bank. It's not always the company you purchased from but also the credit card companies processing times. I guess even though I've never purchased from signature solar I understand sometimes the banking and credit card hassles that we go through as business people

 

[Murphyslaww]

Kind of questioning your 4 days to get your refund back to the bank. Do you mean 4 days past from the time signature solar process their end of the transaction? Or did it take 4 days for you to get them to talk to you because for example if I buy something at home Depot today with my credit card realize it is not the right thing and take it back the exact same day it takes three to four days for the credit card companies to get the money to my bank. It's not always the company you purchased from but also the credit card companies processing times. I guess even though I've never purchased from signature solar I understand sometimes the banking and credit card hassles that we go through as business people

It did hit the next day, I think. It's definitely the slowest refund process I have had in a good while. I did end up re-ordering it from SS, as they were the only option. It's a refurbished unit 6000EX, so we'll see how it goes. I think, with a refurbished unit, I need to set my expectations pretty low on support. Keeping my fingers crossed.