West Seattle Electric and Solar

We hired West Seattle Electric again to install a car charger and add an electric. They were just as great as they were in 2020. Fast, dependable, inexpensive (they actually were lower than their estimate). Couldn't recommend them more.

Original Review from 2020:
We hired West Seattle Electric and Solar to replace our main electricity input to our house. The estimation process was easy. Ryan was on time, courteous, and thorough. We got the estimate back in a timely manner. We didn't proceed right away due to COVID-19. When we reengaged, there was a new contact we corresponded with (Casey) who was also courteous and helpful. The job was completed on time, on budget and done well. We're happy that we chose them. :)

Great response time on a holiday.  A freezer full of fish was saved.  

On the Sunday of Veterans Day weekend, I found out that a subcontractor cut through a power line and left without telling anyone what happened.  Few electricians returned my calls.  I was lucky to call West Seattle Electric and Solar to fix the problem.  
They called me back and showed up in less than an hour.  Power was restored to the main house before anything could spoil.

Unethical and deceitful.  On two occasions West Seattle Electric sent a trainee (who must be supervised by a licensed electrician) to my house by himself to perform electrical work.  On the 2nd occasion a Seattle electrical inspector made an unannounced visit to my home.  West Seattle Electric's trainee lied to the inspector - claiming his supervisor had been at the house and just left to go get supplies.  In truth, up to that point the required supervisor had never been to my home.  On this occasion West Seattle Electric/the trainee was written up by the Seattle code department.

My electrical issue remains unresolved and West Seattle Electric has now attempted to bill me for this fraudulent work.  

Hire anyone else

Installed a solar fan for me at a very reasonable cost and did it very quickly. Ended up spending less than the estimate because he didn't do any extra work that wasn't needed and they completed the work sooner than expected so I appreciate the honest hard work they put in.

After a few hot summers with no A/C, I opted to install the Quiet Cool system in our home. Ryan was kind enough to come out and take a look at our home, give us a bid and within a week installation was scheduled. Their prices are fair and service exceptional. Thank you, Ryan and your team, for your service!!!

Did a quick Zoom call to triage the service request (two light fixture replacements that needed jump wires) and the team managed to squeeze me in later that same day to actually complete the work! Putting aside the same day booking, as that is not likely the norm, the price for their services was reasonable, the work quality was high, and the electrician was friendly/knowledgeable. Would definitely book again!

I met with Ryan in September about a service upgrade, he was clearly an expert, we ballparked a price, agreed that the work would happen in January, and that one of his team would get back to me with a more concrete quote. Six weeks later, I hadn't heard a thing. I contacted them multiple times, didn't get any replies. Considering how long lead times are these days, this company wasted months of my time: now the work might get done in the spring.

I wanted to post a recommendation for West Seattle Electric and Solar. We recently had some knob and tube in our home that required a significant home rewire. The crew was reliable, efficient, and as non-intrusive as possible for a project of this size. Trustworthy and high quality workmanship!

Had a breaker tripping and not resetting, even after we replaced the breaker.  West Seattle Electric was able to fit us in within a day (a real rarity in these days).  Their employees were personable, thorough, and got us up and running in a timely fashion.  More than satisfied with their service.  Will be my first call in the future!

We hired this company to install 3 led LIGHT FIXTURES. The electrical wiring was already done, so they had no writing to do. We bought the light fixtures. They came twice. They installed one light fixture in the kitchen. We paid them $950. We called and called to solve the problem.  My husband even went to their home office to find out why they were not responding. They lied to us.  They never followed up on anything. Recently we found out THEIR LICENSE IS EXPIRED. Run, don't walk, away from this company. This is the worst experience we have ever had. I am still sitting in the dark in my office with no light fixtures. This was supposed to be my birthday present from my husband. Their lack of knowing what they are doing, following up, being truthful, and overcharging is unforgiveable.

Stellar service! Myself and my bookkeeper at my company have both worked with Ryan on our personal residences.

He came out, communicated will via text, and was friendly when he arrived!

He gave me options, and quotes on site for my project.

We have already been referring him to our friends!!! Thanks Ryan.

These are the guys to go too when you need electrical work done. Knowledgeable, honest, reliable and priced fair. You will be in good hands.

Everyone showed up in a mask and 30 minutes early! The team worked hard all day and was very respectful of our house and our time. They installed new lighting, changed out existing lighting, and installed a whole house fan. They asked clarifying questions and brought me into the process throughout the day. I felt as though I was a part of a great team. My lights look great and I love the new fan. I would most definitely hire them again. I should say, they also came in under budget -- and who doesn't like that?

Part of our lights in our house stopped working, and after we checked the breaker and knew that wasn't it we decided to give West Seattle Electric & Solar a call. Our electrician came out same day, and was very friendly and helpful. It was a simple quick fix (blown fuse) and he was on his way.

We had an issue with our breaker box with it arcing (it was veeeerrry old) and the unit was dangerous and threatening to do some serious harm.
They came out within 90 minutes, assessed the situation and said they'd be back the following day at 07:30. Showed up on time and did a first class job. Not cheap, I'll give you that but replacing and relocating the breaker box so it was up to code was a pretty damn big job. All the work was done within the pre-agreed quote.

The techs who were in out house the entire day were super easy to deal with, pleasant and professional. It was a job well done. House is now not going to burn to the ground. Happy customer. Thanks WSE&S !

4 years with this company and I totally wish every day since the installation we had went with someone else. I have no issues with the technician that comes to do the work (Mark), but the company's customer service doesn't exist!   I have a Solar tracker unit.  This unit should have all sorts of warranties on it.  Good for 10 years.  Although the company that makes the tracker and the monitoring equipment all have 10 year warranties, it seems to be only for parts.  West Seattle Electric as the installer, supplies the basics when it comes to customer service.  They are too busy to come do any sort of repair when things go wrong.  Trying to reach them on the phone or email takes 2-3 days, and once you do reach them you are waiting over a month for someone just to come and look at your situation. (The reason I was given this time is They had to pull someone from another job).  I found today that although I contacted them over a month ago, they only reached out to the manufacturer late last week.  If you look at my other reviews you will see this is an ongoing issue with them.  This is the longest I have gone without having to have them repair something. (12-18 months at the most.) Prior to that the unit had issues almost every 6-9 months.  Its been nothing but a headache trying to work with West Seattle Electric.  Find another company!

We had a 20 panel solar system installed at our house in March, 2020, by West Seattle Solar.  Other than some communications lapses on their part, we were not aware of several problems until they finished the job and had been paid.  
Problem #1 - We got charged by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) for the surplus solar power the system generated for three weeks.  Instead of getting a lower electrical bill for March, we got the highest bill we ever received at this house including the coldest parts of the winter.  This is because the owner left the system disconnect in the on position, telling us the meter would run backwards and give us credit with the utility for our surplus power in the time before the new netmetering meter was installed by PSE.  He walked me to our existing meter and said, it is running backwards implying we would not be charged for our surplus power going to PSE and, in fact, get a credit.  WRONG!  So for three weeks surplus power flowed into the PSE system, but instead of getting some kind of credit, it was recorded as power we consumed and we were charged for it.  West Seattle should have known this and left the system off.  PSE gives no refunds in these cases.  We just paid for a solar system and for the power it created at PSE rates for almost a month.
Problem #2 - Leaving the breaker on met power from our system was flowing into the PSE lines that they did not know about.  Potentially, a line worker could have been injured  thinking all power was off on the lines they were working on, when it was not.  When the utility learned our system was on (because I called them) I was told to immediately, at that moment, go down and turn it OFF!  West Seattle created a dangerous situation and some liability for us potentially and danger to PSE staff.
Problem #3 - West Seattle either did not submit the netmetering/system application to the PSE to have our system approved (before it was installed) and get a new meter that would record our power surplus correctly or they submitted it and did not follow up to see if it was approved.  I filled out the forms three months in advance with West Seattle and they were supposed to submit them.  When I called the utility to find out when we would be getting our new netmeter I learned they did not know about our system.  I had to fill out a new application and submit
it.  As soon as I did, I got a confirmation email from PSE.  Apparently West Seattle did not check for a confirmation or just dropped the ball entirely.  We could have waited for months for nothing to happen if I had not called PSE and discovered the problem.  
I needed a schematic of the system which I did not have to submit the application to PSE.  I called the installer twice and emailed three times and got no response.  Never got the plan from them.  Finally I was able to get the plan from our local permit office.  Otherwise I was left hanging with no help or support of any kind from the installer.  Without this document, the system could never be approved and used.
I could go into more detail, but simply we were left without support after a series of mistakes cost us money in a high electrical bill and left with a dangerous situation and an inoperable system as far as PSE was concerned.
Hopefully the mechanical and electrical parts of the work were done correctly.  Who knows?  I don't.
I regret using this vendor.  We could have hired locally and I am sorry we did not.

West Seattle Electric and Solar paid for an ad in a West Seattle publication so I contacted the business in early December.  I received a response but was told it would be months before they could fit me in and they would be in touch.  After contacting them several times via email and leaving messages I received no response.  But, an email popped up saying they would make an exception and schedule me for an appointment in advance:...oh to be so lucky.  Less than 36 hours prior to the appointment I see an email from Vanessa Wolf: I sent you an email a month ago, and by sent I have no idea where it went and just realized I need more information I blame technical issues
1. I need to get your address for the appointment on Friday.
2. The company has recently changed our meeting.  Will a 930am appointment work for you?
3. And are we providing the fan for the bathroom?
4.  Can you send images of the current fan and your electric panel so I can provide them to the electrician before he comes to your home.

I get to this email less than 12 before my scheduled appointment and am left baffled.  So, I call the number in Vanessa's signature and am told people don't call her this late on her cell phone, yet she includes it just  below her name in her email signature.  Clearly there are jobs too small for this local business to bother with.  Do you not waste your time, you are the customer and deserve better service!

I've had several great experiences with these folks, both for my personal home and to help my real estate clients. They've gone out of their way to accommodate emergency requests and helped me troubleshoot problems to avoid the need for a service call. Reasonable rates as well.

I asked for an estimate on a project. Ryan showed up on time to our scheduled appointment. Overall poor customer service skills. Did not take time to listen to the answers.

Company was quick to respond and setup a day to come out for an estimate, but did not show up for the scheduled visit and has been unresponsive since initial conversation.

The guys installed the solar really well. Have had a few issues since turning my system on, first issue was resolved quickly, second issue not so much. The issues costed me a lot of bucks, the crew however was professional and did a great job and was helpful to me. Thank you!

Just finished a remodel project where West Seattle Electric and Solar were the electrical contractor. Mark and Dakota showed up on time every time and were very professional in their work. Pleasure to work along side these guys, would work with them again. Highly recommend.

West Seattle Electric and Solar installed an 11KW solar array on our home during the last week of 2018. Ryan and his crew were on the job on Tuesday, 8AM sharp, the day after Christmas, and had us up and running Friday -after a brutal 12-plus hour day, working through some really harsh wind and non-stop rain. These folks were soaked and chilled to the bone but always remained professional and very approachable.  They showed up on time, discussed the project with us, answered questions, made recommendations and cleaned up daily - everything you would expect from a quality organization.  A word about the Solar (Project) Manager, Paige Elliott: From a consumer standpoint, Paige really 'made' this project for us. There is a TON of paperwork and communications required before a project like this can take place- and also after the actual install. Engineering plans need to be filed, local codes need to be considered, permits, etc. Beyond that, our utility company had specific requirements and documentation as well - Paige handled all of it- much to our relief!
From our initial inquiry, through the education and selection process, permitting, installation, and follow up  - Keith, Ryan, Paige, and the staff at West Seattle Electric (and Solar!) really did an excellent job.

West Seattle Electric came highly recommended from several other people I know/trust. Ryan checked the health of my electric panel and explained what he saw in terms that a layman like myself could understand. He let me know of some work that would need to take place down the road so I could plan for it and also spotted a safety issue which he sent Jay out to take care of. Jay called to let me know he could come a day early, did a great job, cleaned everything up. Will use again!

If you are looking to add solar to your home or project, give Ryan a call.  He will educate you on what system will work best and has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.  West Seattle Electric and Solar can help you with all your electrical needs.  They are a first class operation and really great people. 5 Star +

We have had our system for over three years now and couldn't be more pleased with our decision to have solar installed or with choosing West Seattle Natural Energy for the installation. They walked us through the pros and cons of solar panels manufactured in WA vs other locations, detailed all the local and national incentives available, and had the entire system up in a couple days as estimated.

Despite some unexpected roof complications that became apparent during the installation (our home is 90 years old), Ryan and his team were able to mitigate the obstacles and still finish on time and at their original bid for the work.

We now have three houses on our block who have solar installed from WSNE. We will continue to recommend them to anyone considering going green or getting off the grid.

Some of the best professionals to work with. They promised everything that they would deliver, and delivered everything that they promised. Now, we have a rockin' solar panel system and our electric meter is running backwards - it can't get much better than that.

The worst company ever! Rude, unprofessional, and dishonest. They were always too busy, never on time, and took weeks to complete a small job that they were paid for under our contractor. We tried to create a contract with this company to complete the project, because our contractor walked out of the job. Instead of putting together a contract they trespassed the property and did some electrical work prematurely. After the work was done, they surprised us with a bill that was 3 times bigger that their verbal estimate.
We tried to communicate with this company, but it was impossible. The electrician who did our electrical job was very rude and was cussing at me because I asked him how many hours did he work. He told me that he is not going to talk to me because I'm a woman and will deal with my fiancé only. Not to mention that conversation happened to take place on Mother's Day.
We tried to deal with the owner, but instead of negotiating and resolving this issue he sent us to a collection agency instead. All this despite the fact that we didn't have a contract and never gave him permission to go-ahead with the job. Those people who wrote good reviews are probably his corrupted electricians and himself, using fake names and accounts.

I had an excellent experience with West Seattle Electric. James was the technician who came to my house. He was able to take care of my problem the same day I contacted West Seattle Electric for service. He was polite, friendly, knowledgeable and honest. The repair was done quickly and correctly. I would definitely use this company again and I would be happy to recommend them. Thank you, West Seattle Electric for taking care of my issue.

Rewired a faulty outlet in our house the day after I contacted them. Fast and efficient to avoid a possible fire hazard.

these guys are great! Very quick, clean, thorough service.  Turned my crazy old electric box into a thing of beauty!  thank you for coming!

I requested an estimate for some fairly significant electrical work in my home - re-wiring, new service panel, adding recessed lighting, etc. Three individuals came out to conduct the review and understand the scope of work, which now included the post-electrical drywall repair. One of the individuals looked like she was taking extensive notes. At that time, I was fairly impressed by their attention to detail. However, after they left my home advising that I would receive their estimate in a few days, it has been like they have fallen off the face of the earth. No estimate, no response to email communication, zip, crickets. I would suggest folks pass on this company, as I did if they are not even going to follow-through on providing an estimate after spending 60-90 minutes reviewing the scope of work. Note:  I would not have provided a negative review if someone had even just responded with, We are not interested in doing your electrical work. That would have been somewhat professional, as I recognize that when working with a business, there is always the option, business reserves the right to refuse service when there is no binding contract implemented. Ghosting a customer, on the other hand, is poor form and clearly evidences a lack of professionalism.

After the original fiasco with West Seattle Natural Energy I was contacted by Ryan and we actually had him bid our project.  He educated me on the difference between string and micro inverters and, even though we went with another company he was very helpful in our decision of what system to get.

Showed up on time, got work done quickly, super nice people. Great work quality and fixed our electrical right before a big storm which was a definite life saver. Would absolutely recommend this company to anyone needing electrical work done!

I am a very happy Solar customer of W.Seattle Natural Energy.  Sales, install and operation has been flawless.  Installed 20 SolarWorld panels with Enphase inverters  adding another 10 panels a year later as a result of their flawless operation and effectiveness.   WSNE's install/electrical crew works with high attention to detail and was quick to address concerns or questions I posed.   If you are considering solar don't forget the roof you are placing it on.  Ideally re-roof and add solar at the same time; that was my approach and it worked well.

They were very attentive and responsive until our project was installed.  The inspector approved the project on the condition that they come back to apply a special label.  Six months later, that has still not been done, and they have completely ignored repeated calls and emails about it.  They have twice told us that someone from the company would be in the area to take care of this, but no one has come.  It is apparent that they care nothing for their customers once they have gotten paid for their work, even though our inspection was approved only conditionally.  They also overestimated how much energy our system would produce, by at least 20% if not more.  We had gotten a quote for a similar system from a different installer, with a lower estimated annual production amount.  We pointed that out before the project was done, and were told with some condescension that the other company tended to underestimate production.