Windfree Solar

We found Windfree Solar through the Solar Switch Kane County initiative. Once connected with Windfree, Eric and the team at Windfree handled all of the necessary paperwork and approvals to make sure that we were approved by the county and state for the applicable solar rebate programs. I don't think it could have been any easier. Installation was a breeze as well and, though the completing of our project was delayed a couple of days due to the late wind, snow, and ice weather events in early March '25, Jonathan and the rest of the installation team returned as soon as feasible to complete the work for our installation.

Windfree installed an expensive solar system with battery backup at my house in 2017. I could tell at the time, and they even admitted, that they really didn’t know much about the battery backup part. After eight years it was finally put to the test when storms knocked out our ComEd service for an extended time. The Windfree system lasted about 30 minutes and crashed miserably. It wouldn’t even produce solar power when the sun came back out. I wouldn’t be writing this had they pretended to care even a little bit as my basement filled up with water. After 8 or 9 calls to their office nobody on their self proclaimed award winning team could be bothered to call me back. Buyer beware. Scott in Marengo

We came to work with Windfree Solar through the SOLAR SWITCH program that aligned a vetted solar company with Illinois residential projects. We highly recommend the Windfree team for the top-notch professional service they provided us throughout the large solar installation project. Our team lead was Eric Ullrich and he provided excellent customer service! A home update decision of this scope can be so challenging, but Eric was an excellent communicator in keeping us informed on the complex project requirements and the timeline expectations. The installation and electrician crews were also super professional and thorough. The entire project took 7.5 months from start to completion and that included the time for the Village of Wilmette plan review process and required inspections. Finally, we love how the 14 solar panels are installed and being able to track the Enphase microinverters on the app! Excited to see the power of the sun...power our lights on! And in the future, power an electric car!

We just completed our solar install and are up and running!!! Having Windfree and our project manager Eric was a real blessing. He helped and advised us every step of the way. All questions were answered and there was excellent information offered to make the best decisions for our project. Communication was excellent! I was very comfortable with Windfree and their experience in the field. They know what they are doing!!!!!

December 21st, 2022 - Agreement for 17 Q Cell panels signed. Told that the project would easily be done by May and potentially earlier if the weather cooperates. February 23 - Told our garage can only hold 4 panels instead of the 17 originally quoted. We request cancellation of project March 23rd - Windfree reaches back out and garage can now hold 12 panels. Project back on and new contract signed April 11th - Windfree sends application to We-Energies (why did it take over two weeks? I don’t know) May 9th - Receive invoice for ordering of panels per contract. I request an itemized list of what will be ordered. I find out they switched out the panels from the requested QCell panels to the REC panel. To swap out a major component without notification is EXTREMELY bad business. May 23rd - wiring diagram/one-line sent to We-Energies May23 -June 23rd - We-Energies denies MULTIPLE versions of Windfree’s wiring diagrams and includes notes of what needs to be changed. Windfree seems to ignore the notes that We-Energies includes with each rejection. June 23rd - wiring diagrams finally approved August 15th - Windfree attempts to add $2600(20% project increase) to the invoice to cover the cost of a dual meter pedestal We-Energies had required from the beginning. We do not agree to pay this additional fee. August 28th - solar panels are mounted September 18th - Meter wiring takes place (Windfree subcontracted it out) October 3rd - System fails inspection. Wiring that took place didn’t match diagrams. November 3rd - Another Full month of generation lost. Meter wiring takes place….for the 2nd time.(Windfree subcontracted it out). November 10th - System fails inspection….for the 2nd time. ANOTHER month of generation lost November 21st - We request a discount on the final invoice due to lost solar revenue….no response from Eric, Ashley or Mark at Windfree December 12th - We-Energies schedules their meter installer to be on site with the electrician (Windfree subcontracts it out) December 12th - System passes inspection. December 12th - Home power now on, but basement lights do not work (disconnected in breaker box during the day's work) December 12th - My wife notifies the electrician of this basement issue as he is preparing to leave. He spends more time to correct this problem. Had she not tried the light switch, it may not have been known or fixed. December 13th - Final invoice received from Windfree UPDATE: Eric went the extra mile before, during and after project completion. It was their first time working with We-Energies which made the project more difficult.

We found Windfree Solar very easy to work with. Dan Green recognized that we had done our own research, so did not over explain in answering our questions. Jack and the install team are very kind and responsive, checking in every step along the way. The crew that came to do the install let me know exactly what was going on and was cognizant that I was working from home. We feel like we got a good deal and know we got great service.