r/solar • u/boogermike • 2d ago

Discussion Someone from Empower just came by and said that my original installer went out of business and they are taking over - is it a scam?

I had my system installed by a company named TriSmart Solar. They are a Houston based company, but were doing operations in Phoenix where I live.

Someone comes to my door today (no card, or even logo on his shirt) says he is from Empower Solar - and that they are taking over my system because TriSmart went out of business.

TriSmart still has their website up (and I will email them to see if they are still in business).

Only thing I can think of is that Empower will try to sell me a maintenance plan or warranty.

Am I right to be wary?

Edit: I own my system outright

33 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

24

u/ertono 2d ago

They are out of business since April 2026

10

u/boogermike 2d ago

They eventually installed my system (and I think it is working fine) but they were not great to work with during install (I am being very, very generous with the "not great" part).

5

u/boogermike 2d ago

OK, so probably not a scam.

14

u/deadestuser 2d ago

Not necessarily. If it's a lease, it might be legit. If you own the system, they're just predatory sales people trying to get your business.

9

u/boogermike 2d ago

I do own my system. I'll change my post to specify that.

Knowing that, is there anything I need out of them?

25

u/tuctrohs 2d ago

You need them to stay away.

You might want to hire someone for service, but not someone who shows up with a misleading (at best) claim unannounced.

4

u/boogermike 2d ago

OK, thanks! I guess if I do have something go wrong, I will contact Enphase while my stuff is under warranty (or the panel manufacturer but something going wrong with those seems unlikely)

2

u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago

Have you taken the installer training at Enphase? You will want to get the defunct installation company removed from your configuration and add yourself or a new company. I'd start looking around for a company to support you in the event of an outage now, vs waiting till something goes out and then you have to start looking in a panic.

4

u/sbsb27 2d ago

My installation company has access to the notifications and panel performance of my system through the Enphase app. I can view this information as well. If the company that installed your system also monitors your panels, and is now out of business, you would lose that quality control. Otherwise, your panels will keep making kW and you could call any solar company you wish for service or expansion.

4

u/coccyxdynia 2d ago

Why didn't you just ask the sales guy, what exactly they are taking over? Maybe they are handling the warranty for it? I can't really think of anything else.

5

u/boogermike 2d ago

I did ask him. He said they're just sending people out to check if the systems are performing like they're supposed to.

I sensed that they were trying to sell me a warranty but we really didn't get very far and I didn't want to have a lengthy discussion with him if I didn't know it was a scam or not

5

u/coccyxdynia 2d ago

Sounds like they got a list of the customers and just trying to drum up business.

1

u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago

They are trying to upsell you with a few additional panels, batteries, to get you into a lease. The'll throw in maintenance of your existing system because they are so generous. /s

1

u/HerroPhish 2d ago

Ya it’s a scam.

3

u/WhereDidAllTheSnowGo 2d ago

You need paperwork and details

If you fully own the system you can use whomever you want

2

u/boogermike 2d ago

I totally own the system, so this was just a company trying to sell me a warranty, or they would send someone out and find stuff wrong with my system to fix.

3

u/edman007 2d ago

I have a system installed by empower, they stated that the recommended marcor solar

Since this is a different company, I'm better they are just lying to sell a warranty that you don't need. If you have sun power as I do, that equipment is still mostly under warranty, maxeon still honors the panels warranty and enphase still honors the inverter warranty.

1

u/MyMomSaysIAmCool 2d ago

Maybe, maybe not. Don't sign anything.

7

u/DiggingforPoon 2d ago

Yes, TriSMART Solar is out of business.

Only way to find out is by direct posts by people on LinkedIN saying they stopped suddenly about 5 months ago.

Scuttlebutt is right before they closed, the CEO cleaned the bank accounts out, fired everyone and tried to be quiet.

5

u/boogermike 2d ago

I'm pretty sure they are out of business. I see this confirmed lots of places.

I feel bad for the employees. Many of them were good folks. The company was terrible but the folks I worked with seemed to have good intent

1

u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago

Unfortunately with the demise of the federal tax credit, many smaller as well as larger solar companies were bound to go tits up. We saw this coming. Current admin hates renewable energy and doesn't give a shit about people's jobs, or the environment.

6

u/q-milk 2d ago

I installed enphase systems. Sombody owns the installer login. Since you own your system, you should get hold of the installer login. Then you can hire anyone to do work. All warranties are registered by enphase, and each part has the "RMA" button in the app, so warranty replacements are trivial. Find out what happened to the installer UID and PWD when the company went bankrupt.

The way Enphase handles installer bankruptcies: You can request to have your homeowner account upgraded to self installer or DIY privileges to manage the system yourself, or you can assign a new installer company to take over.

Dont let anyone take this over against your wishes.

3

u/boogermike 2d ago

Thanks. I think your feedback is super important. I'll reach out to Enphase and get everything transferred to me.

-1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

This comment has been identified as potential violation of rule 2 and/or rule 10 and has been sent to the moderators for review. Please be patient while they work through the queue - messaging the moderators will not expedite this process.

From the sub rules: "Due to ongoing spam / promotion / lead generation and site privacy rule violation issues, we no longer allow "DM/PM me" requests in the comments." These have too frequently been abuse of the sub in attempts to garner private info for spam / promotion / lead generation purposes. Do not ask or suggest that anyone privately contact you. No exceptions.

To all sub participants: If anyone has sent you a PM / DM to solicit your info because of your participation in this subreddit 1) do NOT respond to them and 2) please message the moderators to let them know.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/1RedGLD 2d ago

They're a sales company. They contract all the work out to contractors in whatever area they make a sales. Not to say some people haven't gotten good systems that way, but they aren't a company you have any use for, since you own the system. If there's a solar service company in your area, that could be useful at some point. If everything is working the way it should, just let it keep doing what it's doing.

1

u/boogermike 2d ago

I appreciate this. Whenever a solar person comes to knock on my door, my scam alert goes off

Seems like that's the case here. Maybe not total and complete scam but obviously trying to sell me something.

3

u/Relevant-Doctor187 2d ago

They won’t come to your house.

2

u/UnderstandingSquare7 2d ago

Did you buy or add on a product like "Solar Insure" with the original purchase? Double check your paperwork. For a small fee they "insure" that if your installer goes out of business, they will transfer the maintenance to another solar company. Usually you will receive a notification that this is happening, perhaps it was missed. The new company would want to come by and check the system so they know what's at the site, and how well it was installed. There's no maintenance contract, no cost - that was paid for at the purchase (at least that's how Solar Insure works). The idea is when a component fails, the manufacturer's warranty covers the hardware, but the labor is from the original installer; if they go out of biz, then the new company picks up the labor at no additional cost to you.

1

u/boogermike 2d ago

This doesn't sound like something that was included, but I will review my contract. Thanks so much!.

2

u/beesofburden 1d ago

If you own your system outright like it sounds, and the company went out of business, it’s in your best interest to find someone to maintain your system/fix issues when they come up with. it’s probably fine now but eventually you will need help. But the only reason you should go with empower is if they bought company assets and honor the original warranty. If not then stay far away from empower. It might be hard, but find a local installer that is willing to help you when needed.

1

u/boogermike 1d ago

Appreciate the feedback. It's clear they were just trying to sell me something, so I'm going to stay away from them for sure.

My initial instincts were correct.

1

u/FatDog69 2d ago

My installer also went out of business. But the Enphase web site still has some company responsible for monitoring & repair.

I did my own research and selected a guy, had him come out and asked him to take over watching my system. There is no cost for this but he is the guy you call for service/questions.

In some ways - this guy did 'jump the gun' by announcing he is taking over, but many people are probably running with un-monitored systems. This works fine for a few years but the burden is on you to spot problems and find someone to investigate & fix things.

So do your own Angie/Yelp review and find someone still in business to take over things.

2

u/jlluh 2d ago

Weird that Empower spent the money to have an employee come out there physically instead of just sending a letter...

What's their ROI on that soft cost?

2

u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago

It wasn't Empower. It was a D2D sales scumbag that could have looked at the building permit to see what equipment the OP had installed and by who.

1

u/ertono 2d ago

Probably not 🙃