Semper Solaris Review 2026: Veteran-Owned California Solar, Honest Look

Semper Solaris is a private, veteran-owned solar, roofing, and HVAC installer headquartered in El Cajon, near San Diego. The company was founded in 2012 by ex-Marine Kelly Shawhan and has built a strong local brand around its California-native, California-focused positioning. On paper, the offer is attractive: in-house installation crews, NABCEP-certified technicians, and the ability to do a roof replacement, HVAC upgrade, and solar installation as a single coordinated project. In practice, the customer experience data tells a more mixed story — and any prospective California buyer should weigh both sides.

The Company

Semper Solaris employs between 201 and 500 people, with revenue estimates ranging roughly $85 million to $415 million depending on the source. The company is primarily focused on California — particularly San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and parts of the Central Valley — rather than national expansion. That's a deliberate strategy: a California-only installer can build deeper local knowledge of SCE, PG&E, SDG&E, and municipal utility interconnection processes than a 22-state national player can.

Equipment and Installation

Semper Solaris does not manufacture its own panels. The company installs a range of Tier-1 options including Silfab, Solaria, Qcells, and Tesla panels depending on availability and project type. Inverters are primarily Enphase microinverters, with Tesla Powerwall and Enphase IQ as the standard battery options. On select panels — particularly Silfab — Semper offers enhanced labor coverage in addition to the manufacturer's equipment warranty.

Installation is primarily handled by in-house W-2 crews rather than subcontractors, which is one of the company's meaningful differentiators versus national installers that lean heavily on dealer networks. California install timelines typically run 6 to 10 weeks for physical installation and 2 to 4 months for full Permission to Operate.

Pricing

Cash pricing in California runs roughly $2.80 to $3.20 per watt, competitive with the mid-market. Financing is all third-party partners — Semper does not own its own lease or PPA product. The bundled solar + roofing + HVAC option can be genuinely useful for homeowners who need multiple trades done at once, both for coordination and because roof penetrations get a single-contractor warranty rather than two contractors pointing fingers at each other if something leaks.

Reputation and Complaint Data

Semper Solaris holds a Better Business Bureau A+ rating, but the BBB profile lists approximately 173 to 175 complaints closed in the prior three years. For a company of Semper's size, that's not as alarming as Sunrun's 4,045 or Freedom Forever's 1,359, but it is higher than Solar Optimum's 21 complaints over the same period, which is the most directly comparable California-focused installer in our data set.

The weaker data point is Trustpilot, which sits at 1.6 out of 5 based on 51 reviews. SolarReviews and Yelp are mixed to poor. No major class-action lawsuits were active in 2025 or into 2026. The recurring themes across complaints are slow technician response on post-install service calls, roof leak issues (a common industry issue but one Semper should be well-positioned to handle given their roofing division), billing surprises, and communication gaps during longer interconnection delays.

Honest read: the sales-and-install phase is generally fine, and the equipment and workmanship are solid. The friction shows up most in the months after install when something needs attention and the service queue is slow. That pattern is similar to many mid-sized installers — the economics of post-install service are tough for anyone operating outside the very largest players.

Warranty

Semper offers a 25-year equipment warranty with enhanced labor coverage on select panels (notably Silfab). Workmanship and roof penetration warranties are Semper-backed. As with any private company, long-duration warranty confidence depends on the business still being around — Semper has been operating since 2012, which is a respectable run in residential solar.

When Semper Solaris Makes Sense

Semper is a reasonable choice for California homeowners who specifically want a local installer with California-only focus, who need solar and roofing done together (one contractor, one warranty on the roof penetrations), who value veteran-owned business support, or who are in Semper's core coverage areas (San Diego, Inland Empire, LA).

It's less compelling if fast post-install service responsiveness is a top priority, if you want the financial transparency of a public company's quarterly disclosures, or if you'd rather work with a local installer with even stronger review data such as Solar Optimum in overlapping markets.

Frequently Asked Questions