Tips For Picking The Best Solar Company
Selecting the best solar company can be trickier than finding the perfect solar panels. Begin your journey with a contractor who meets the State Licensing Board’s essential criteria—licensed, insured, bonded, and with a spotless track record.
While Yelp reviews and customer ratings can offer insights, they shouldn’t be your only guide to purchasing solar. Keep in mind that some companies incentivize reviews. Certifications like NABCEP, though impressive, don’t always promise top-notch installations.
Examine the installation standards, equipment selection, and warranty of solar energy systems carefully. Confirm that the contract accurately includes all the sales rep’s promises regarding upfront costs, warranty, and solar equipment. Most importantly, your contract should guarantee energy production and safeguard against installation defects for your home solar project.
Questions to Ask Solar Installers
What Should I Look For in Reviews?
Five-star Yelp reviews may be great for picking a restaurant, but you need more than anecdotal stories to pick the best solar company or contractor. Check review sites, but search specifically for negative reviews and see how the solar installer responded to issues. This is one of the most important factors because how a contractor handles problems when something goes wrong speaks to their customer service style.
One of the most common complaints in solar is the lack of communication, especially when problems arise, so look for red flags in the negative reviews on Yelp, Angie’s List, and BBB websites. Check installers on the Contractors State Licensing Board here.
Do I want the Fastest Installer?
Don’t be jazzed by promises of quick installations. Always pick a careful installation process over a race to the finish line, and pick quality solar over cheap solar. Conversely, avoid notoriously slow installers.
Unwarranted delays happen when installers have a large pipeline of jobs and insufficient staff to process them. However, the biggest factor is permitting, and jurisdictions issue permits at different speeds. Blanket timelines are meaningless because of this. Diligence throughout the process is a hallmark of the best solar companies.
Fast Never Equals Better
The super-fast installation was introduced by a well-known national solar company that never made a profit and lost millions of dollars yearly. Their work is shoddy, and their customers are disappointed.
Despite this, many small installers adopted this “selling point” of a super-fast installation to compete with bigger installation companies. The practice puts the homeowner and installer at risk of mistakes due to rushing installations. Above all, don’t fall for this pitch.
Solar Conduit Is An Important Factor
One of the differentiating factors of a quality solar provider is how they run the conduit. High-quality installers will run the conduit through the attic if possible, or they will meticulously run the exposed conduit to minimize its visibility. Likewise, they use black rails and keep the panels very low to the roof.
Therefore, you need to drive by installations or review pictures of contractors’ work to see if they have sloppy conduit runs. Don’t let an ugly installation does not ruin your home. Above all, look at solar installations everywhere, and you will start to see the difference.
Be Home for Your Site Evaluation
Great installers perform excellent site evaluations in person after you sign the contract, and this will reveal possible roofing or electrical issues. Certainly, be present for the site survey and talk to the technician about your project. Therefore, don’t choose a company that does a remote or satellite image-based survey. Similarly, drone-based surveys can be incomplete since they never physically examine your roof. A solid survey sets your project up for success, with no surprises at installation.
Subcontractors Are Common
Subcontractors are prevalent in the industry, not just for roofing and electrical, but for solar installations too. Since they aren’t employees of the contractor, project communication can be delayed. In-house is usually better, but that doesn’t mean a subcontracted crew can’t be excellent. Drive by or look at photos of installations. Check the CSLB to see if subcontractors are properly licensed.
Trend: Solar Brokers vs Solar Installers
The solar industry has broken into two camps: Sales brokers and installers. Installers who only do installations and don’t have a sales force are called EPC: Engineering, Procurement, and Construction. Solar sales brokers make sales and then turn it over to a contractor, with little involvement. Fewer companies offer sales and installations under one umbrella. A broker may no longer be in the picture once you sign the contract. Ask the question directly: Are you a broker? Always check the company’s name on the contract against the name of the company that the salesman represents. They could be two different entities.
Do All Contractors Offer The Same Loans?
No, they don’t offer the same solar financing options. Contractors work with different solar financing companies. While most have the same loan options, some offer exclusive programs. Flexible financing options are critical to your solar investment unless you’re paying cash.
Lease options are offered less these days but are a good choice for those who don’t owe taxes. Read more about solar financing and tax credits in our Solar Financing Guide.
Get A Minimum Of 3 Solar Proposals
The proposed solar panel installation should eliminate your monthly power bill based on your actual energy consumption. In addition, it should detail how much power will be produced, what the investment tax credit will be, and what the solar loan or lease payments are.
Most importantly, it should list all the solar products. Some proposals don’t even list the brand of solar panels! Ask to see a copy of every warranty that’s included.
In addition, ask friends and neighbors who have solar if they recommend their solar provider and if their energy bills have been offset. Check review sites and the BBB, and pick the top-quality installers to avoid installation disasters.
Sign up with an online quote service like EnergySage. You will get multiple competitive quotes from high-quality installers, along with helpful articles. It may seem like work, but your diligent research will pay off during the entire process when you find the best solar company.
Follow the tips and ask the common questions outlined below.
Tips For Getting Solar Quotes
- Look for Solar Contractors with many years of experience and a solid track record
- Choose authorized dealers of solar panel manufacturers for enhanced warranties
- Check reviews for customer ratings and quality service
- View installed systems in person
- Get genuine customer feedback from real referrals
- Choose a local company or one in nearby locations (30-50 mile radius) for faster service calls
- Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples, carefully comparing quotes
- Get the datasheet of the solar panels they’re quoting
- The upfront price and lowest cost per watt aren’t the only considerations. The warranties and the panel degradation rate are important as well
- Beware of extremely low bids, as this is a red flag
- Check CaliforniaDGStats for the average installation cost in your county
- Contracts are legally binding and should be read carefully. Make sure you understand what your energy costs are, and what work is included
- Don’t be pressured into a quick decision based on a limited time incentive
- Get quotes from the biggest installers like Sunrun, Sunpower, and Tesla Energy
- Collect 3-4 quotes from Mom & Pop Businesses to compare with the bigger installers
- Get multiple quotes from a solar marketplace like EnergySage
Important Questions To Ask
Ask the following questions before going solar:
- How long have you been in business? (At least three years or more)
- Are you NABCEP Certified? (It’s like being a board-certified surgeon, and is a voluntary certification) See NABCEP information.
- Can I have a copy of your license and insurance? (Verify with license check at CSLB)
- Do you use subcontractors involved in any part of your installation?
- Do you have a 25-year warranty?
- What is the payment schedule?
- How much is the tax credit, and will I qualify?
- Do you offer solar leasing, and will it offset my energy usage by 100%?
- Is this a solar lease, a solar loan, or a power purchase agreement?
- Who is the solar panel manufacturer, and can I have the model’s spec sheet?
- Who is the solar inverter manufacturer, and can I have the model’s spec sheet?
- Do you guarantee the production of your solar power systems in writing, and for how long?
- Can I have a copy of all warranties?
- Is there a performance warranty for power output?
- What does my solar quote include, and what are the optional “adders”?
- Do you offer LG, Sunpower, or Panasonic panels, and are you an authorized installer?
- Can I see an example of the monitoring I’ll get?
- How long will the process take?
- Do you offer solar batteries in case of a power outage?
The Steps of Solar Installation
Here are the basic steps in a solar installation:
- Site Evaluation: Be home for this; grant access to the attic. The technician should check the shading and roof condition.
- Design and Engineering: Ask to approve the design before permitting and immediately submit the plans to your HOA.
- Permitting: Your contractor will submit the plans to your city/county for permitting; approval can take one day to several months. Revisions will require additional time.
- Installation: When the permit is issued, the installer will schedule your installation. Be home to meet with the lead installer about the conduit run and any concerns you have. Ask your installer how many days it will take. Standard installs are 1-2 days.
- Inspection: Once the installation is complete, your contractor will schedule your inspection based on the city’s availability. Be home if the inspector needs access to the garage or home.
- Interconnection/Permission to Operate: After the Final Inspection is passed, the installer submits the interconnection docs to your utility company, and soon after, you will receive Permission to Operate, usually in 3-5 business days. Some utilities take longer.
Can You Recommend A Solar Company?
We compiled an unbiased list of the 7 Best Solar Contractors in California and the best solar companies in the national supply chain. Our research produced sound recommendations for our audience, free from sponsorship. And be sure to read our guide to EnergySage Solar Marketplace.
Grab your copy of the updated California Solar Consumer Protection Guide and read our walkthrough here.
Check out the 7 biggest mistakes to avoid when going solar and EnergySage’s “How To Choose A Solar Installer” Decision Guide.