Vivint Solar Reviews (2026): Now Part of Sunrun, and What Legacy Owners Can Do
Vivint Solar no longer exists as a separate company. Sunrun completed an all-stock acquisition of Vivint Solar on October 8, 2020, and said it would fold the business into Sunrun. So a Vivint Solar review today is really a review of an agreement that Sunrun now administers, and the questions that matter are about service, billing and what happens when you sell the house.
This page is for California homeowners who still have a Vivint Solar system on the roof, or who are buying a house that has one. It covers what the acquisition changed, the federal court record in California, and the steps that protect you. It is not a recommendation for or against Sunrun.
Key facts
- Acquired by Sunrun
- Oct. 8, 2020
- All-stock, 0.55 Sunrun shares per share
- investors.sunrun.comchecked Sep 23, 2026
What happened to Vivint Solar
Sunrun announced on October 8, 2020 that it had completed the acquisition after approval by regulators and by the stockholders of both companies. Each Vivint Solar share became 0.55 shares of Sunrun. Sunrun said the combined company served more than 500,000 customers, that Vivint Solar would “continue to operate as a Sunrun company for the immediate future,” and that it would be integrated into Sunrun over the following quarters. investors.sunrun.comchecked Sep 23, 2026
For an owner, the point is continuity. Your system did not stop being covered by an agreement when the company changed hands; the agreement moved with the business. What can change is who answers the phone, how service is scheduled and where payments go, which is why it is worth asking Sunrun to confirm those details in writing.
Vivint Solar is not Vivint home security
The names cause real confusion. Vivint Smart Home, the home security and smart home company, is a different business. NRG Energy completed its acquisition of Vivint Smart Home on March 10, 2023, and NRG’s announcement does not mention solar. investors.nrg.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 If your question is about panels on the roof, Sunrun is the company to contact. If it is about cameras or an alarm panel, it is Vivint under NRG.
Vivint Solar reviews in California: the court record
A party-name search of federal dockets in California’s four districts returned 18 results naming Vivint entities, filed between 2014 and 2021; two of them, from 2014, name Vivint, Inc. or a security company rather than Vivint Solar. courtlistener.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 The Vivint Solar cases are coded across several categories: consumer credit, contract, employment, other statutory actions, a group of 2020 securities suits filed while the Sunrun merger was pending, and one trademark case brought by Southern California Edison. A few examples, with dates as the dockets record them:
| Case | Court | Filed | Nature of suit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California Edison Co. v. Vivint Solar, Inc. | C.D. Cal. | Nov. 16, 2017 (closed Apr. 6, 2018) | Trademark |
| Aguirre v. Vivint Solar Developer, LLC | E.D. Cal. | Sept. 4, 2017 (closed Aug. 23, 2018) | Other statutory action |
| Gailani v. Vivint Solar Inc. | S.D. Cal. | Feb. 23, 2017 (closed Apr. 3, 2017) | Consumer credit |
| Dekker v. Vivint Solar, Inc. | N.D. Cal. | Dec. 3, 2019 (closed Aug. 23, 2023) | Contract |
| Gallo v. Vivint Solar, Inc. | C.D. Cal. | Dec. 9, 2020 (closed July 30, 2021) | Consumer credit |
Read these with care. A filed complaint is an allegation, a closed docket does not say who prevailed, and a nature-of-suit code is a filing category, not a description of what happened. The record is useful mainly as history. Complaints about service on a legacy system now go to Sunrun, whose Better Business Bureau profile listed 4,017 complaints in three years when we checked it on September 23, 2026, most of them service or repair issues. bbb.orgchecked Sep 23, 2026 Our Sunrun review covers that file in detail.
If you have a Vivint Solar agreement: what to do
- Find your signed agreement. The escalator, term, buyout terms and transfer rules are in it. If you cannot find it, ask Sunrun for a copy in writing.
- Confirm who holds it now. Ask which Sunrun entity is the counterparty, where service and warranty claims go, and whether any of your original terms have changed.
- Check this year’s payment. If your agreement has an annual escalator, the payment today is higher than the first-year figure. Our explainer on how escalators compound shows the arithmetic.
- Know your exit before you need it. The Sunrun buyout page explains how a payoff is priced, and Sunrun lease vs. PPA explains which kind of agreement you are likely to hold.
- Plan the home sale early. Sunrun’s transfer process uses an online portal, signatures from all parties and a soft credit check for the buyer. sunrun.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 Start it as soon as you are in escrow, and read selling a California home with a solar lease.
Buying a house with a Vivint Solar system
If the listing says the panels are Vivint Solar, find out whether the seller owns them or has a lease or PPA. If it is a lease or PPA, ask for the current monthly payment with the escalator applied, the years left, and whether any notice was filed on title for the system. You are agreeing to pay a company for years, so read the agreement before you remove your contingencies. Our page on solar lien filings explains what a filing on title means.
Vivint Solar vs. Sunrun
Comparisons of Vivint Solar and Sunrun are left over from when both sold solar. Since October 2020 they have been one company. If you are shopping for a new system, compare Sunrun with other companies that list California, using the California solar company reviews, and compare ownership options with the lease, PPA, loan and cash comparison. If you are adding a battery to an older system, see what a Powerwall 3 costs installed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vivint Solar still in business?
Not as a separate company. Sunrun completed its acquisition of Vivint Solar on October 8, 2020, and said Vivint Solar would be integrated into Sunrun. Legacy Vivint Solar systems and agreements are handled by Sunrun.
Who owns Vivint Solar now?
Sunrun, the Nasdaq-listed residential solar company. The deal was all-stock, at 0.55 Sunrun shares for each Vivint Solar share.
Is Vivint Solar the same company as Vivint home security?
No. Vivint Smart Home, the home security and smart home company, was acquired by NRG Energy on March 10, 2023. NRG’s announcement does not mention solar. Vivint Solar went to Sunrun in 2020.
Who do I call about my Vivint Solar system?
Sunrun. Ask for written confirmation of which Sunrun entity holds your agreement, where service and warranty claims go, and whether your original terms are unchanged.
What happens to my Vivint Solar agreement when I sell my house?
It has to be transferred to the buyer or paid off, through Sunrun’s transfer process. Sunrun describes a transfer portal, signatures from all parties and a soft credit check for the buyer. Start early in escrow.
Vivint Solar vs. Sunrun: which is better?
For a new system the question no longer applies: Vivint Solar does not sell under its own name, and legacy agreements are Sunrun’s. Compare Sunrun with other companies that list California instead.
Sources
Company facts, complaint counts and court records change. Each figure above traces to one of these, checked on the date shown.
- Sunrun — Sunrun completes acquisition of Vivint Solar (October 8, 2020) investors.sunrun.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Closing date; all-stock at 0.55 Sunrun shares per Vivint Solar share; more than 500,000 combined customers; Vivint Solar to be integrated into Sunrun
- NRG Energy — NRG completes acquisition of Vivint Smart Home (March 10, 2023) investors.nrg.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Vivint Smart Home, a home security and smart home company, acquired by NRG; no mention of Vivint Solar
- Better Business Bureau — Sunrun, Inc. complaints bbb.orgchecked Sep 23, 2026 — 4,017 complaints in three years; complaint types
- Sunrun — What happens if I move? sunrun.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Transfer steps when selling a home with a Sunrun agreement
- CourtListener — federal dockets naming Vivint Solar entities, California districts courtlistener.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Dockets filed 2014 to 2021 in the Central, Southern, Northern and Eastern Districts of California
- CourtListener — Southern California Edison Co. v. Vivint Solar, Inc., C.D. Cal. No. 2:17-cv-08388 courtlistener.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Trademark case filed November 16, 2017; terminated April 6, 2018
- CourtListener — Dekker v. Vivint Solar, Inc., N.D. Cal. No. 3:19-cv-07918 courtlistener.comchecked Sep 23, 2026 — Contract case filed December 3, 2019; terminated August 23, 2023
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