How To Choose The Right Solar Company For Your Home

17 Jun.,2024

 

How To Choose The Right Solar Company For Your Home

We get it &#; installing home solar panels is a huge investment. Finding the best solar installer for such a big purchase can be stressful.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of 455w Mono Solar Modules Factory. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

SolarReviews knows a thing or two about what to look for in a solar company. Our mission has always been to help homeowners make the most informed decision possible when going solar and connect them with reliable installers in their area.

Here are some of the top things you need to consider when choosing a solar panel installation company.

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Key takeaways

  • Locally owned solar companies that have been in business for at least five years can provide better customer service over the lifetime of your panels than a large national company.

  • National companies are the best choice for homeowners looking for solar leases or power purchase agreements because they don&#;t qualify for other financing options or the federal tax credit.

  • Find companies with positive customer reviews that use high-quality equipment and employ their own installation crews.

  • Don&#;t use a company with overly pushy salespeople or prices that are too good to be true.

When choosing a solar energy company, think small

Sometimes, bigger is not always better. It's easy to gravitate toward large name-brand companies like Tesla, Sunrun, ADT Solar, or SunPower. But it's small, local solar energy installers that are often the best choice.

Local solar companies generally provide more personalized and attentive customer service. But don&#;t just take our word for it - you can see it in the customer reviews on our site. Large national companies tend to have much lower review scores than your neighborhood solar installer.

But, we understand that choosing a large company does provide a certain level of protection. To help you feel more comfortable choosing a smaller company, we have a few key things to look for when researching local companies.

What to look for in a solar company

Here are four key things to keep in mind when looking for a solar panel company:

  • Locally owned

  • Consistent positive consumer reviews

  • In-house installation crew

  • High-quality equipment

Locally owned

Locally owned companies have a good understanding of the solar industry in your area and can provide you with localized personal service that large national companies can&#;t.

These companies will often be able to resolve any services or repairs that you need quickly. They understand that word of mouth is extremely important, so they want you to have the best service possible so you refer your friends and neighbors.

We suggest looking for companies that have been in business for at least five years, as it shows they have some longevity as a business, and even if they do not have a &#;name brand&#; to back them up, they have years of experience.

Consistent, positive reviews

In the era of researching every purchase online, consumer reviews play an important part in making a decision about what solar company you choose.

Aside from traditional review sites like Google, the Better Business Bureau, and Yelp, SolarReviews is a great one-stop site to see solar installation company reviews. We host thousands of consumer reviews for solar panel installers across the U.S. and perform manual and automated checks to ensure you see reviews from real customers &#; not fake reviews made by companies or their competitors.

If you want more insight than what online reviews can provide, a potential installer can provide former customers as references. If they won&#;t, that might be a sign not to go with them.

Check the SolarReviews Expert Rating system. We came up with our own metrics for ranking solar installers that include years in business, license, and profitability to rate the best solar companies. The SolarReviews Expert Rating gives you a more well-rounded review of a company than consumer reviews alone.

Employ their own crew

For any job where you are relying on contractors, working with a company that employs its own crew should be your first pick.

Companies using subcontractors have less leverage, making it harder to hold crews accountable than if the team was made of in-house employees. It also leads to variability in the quality of their installations. A company may have good reviews for installations completed by one crew but bad reviews for others.

You should also look for companies that have NABCEP-certified installers. NABCEP is a respected nonprofit organization that provides professional certifications to solar professionals. When you see there&#;s a NABCEP professional on staff, you know the company takes the job seriously.

Use high-quality equipment 

Long-lasting solar systems use high-quality solar products. You&#;ll want every part of the solar system, from the panels to the inverters, to be reliable. As a general rule of thumb, a trustworthy installer will use good equipment. So, if a company is already checking all of your boxes, it&#;ll likely check this one off too. 

Solar panels

When you get a solar quote, do a little research on the panels the installer is using. Make sure the panels carried by the installer have at least a 25-year performance warranty, a 10-year product and workmanship warranty, and that the brand has a good reputation. 

You can use our annual top 10 solar panel brands list as a starting point, which ranks manufacturers by things like cost, performance, and the financial health of the company. In , Qcells, Canadian Solar, and Maxeon/SunPower took the top three spots, but any panels on the list are great picks for your solar power system. 

Solar inverters

Inverters act as the brain of the solar panel system, converting the energy generated by the panels into electricity your home can use. It&#;s also the most common part that needs to be replaced. So, you&#;re going to want one from a good quality brand to make sure it operates for as long as possible. 

According to our Solar Industry Survey, the most popular inverter brands are Enphase and SolarEdge. So, if you&#;re quoted either of these brands, you can rest assured that you&#;re getting good equipment. There are some other brands, like Fronius and SMA, that have high-quality products as well. 

If you&#;re getting a string inverter installed, make sure it comes with a minimum 10-year warranty. Microinverters and power optimizers, on the other hand, should come with 25-year warranties. 

Solar batteries

You don&#;t need to get battery storage when you switch to solar, but if you&#;re looking for a backup power option, you&#;ll want it to be a good one. 

There are tons of battery options on the market. Most homeowners will likely want an all-in-one energy storage system that includes batteries, inverters, and system monitoring. Some of the most popular energy storage systems are the Enphase battery, the Tesla Powerwall, and the Generac PWRcell.

Keep in mind that solar batteries can add quite a bit onto the cost of going solar. The Tesla Powerwall costs about $15,500 fully installed, and it's one of the cheapest storage options!

When looking at battery brands, make sure they have at least a 10-year performance warranty that guarantees a minimum of 70% capacity at the end of the term.

Find a pre-vetted installer in your area

How can you choose between two companies?

You can only pick one company to install your solar panels. If you are between two companies that fit the bill, here are some things to think about.

Price

This one seems obvious, but it&#;s not as simple as you might think. The lowest price is not always the best.  Going with the company that gave you the lowest solar installation cost might not be the best choice.

Solar companies that charge prices that are too low are likely cutting corners, whether it&#;s the quality of their workmanship or equipment. Their practices likely aren&#;t sustainable, and they might not be in business in the future when you need repairs or solar panel maintenance. 

You should look for cash prices that are somewhere in the range of  $3.00 per watt of solar installed. Anything lower than $2.60 per watt should be a red flag. But you don&#;t want to pay too much either! Cash prices that reach over the $3.50 per watt mark are steep, and you can probably get a better deal elsewhere. 

Financing options

Solar is a significant upfront investment, but there are solar financing options available. The company you choose should help you find the best financing route for you. If you want to get a lease or a power purchase agreement, ask the companies if they offer this type of financing. 

Many solar installers offer solar loans to their customers, as they allow homeowners to get all the advantages of a cash-purchased solar system without needing to have all the money on hand. If you need a loan, make sure the company you choose has them available.

If they do, you can compare rates and fees between companies to get the best deal. You should ask each company for both a quote for a cash-priced system and a financed system, so you can see what additional fees are added on with financing. This also allows you to look into personal financing options, like HELOCs or home equity loans, so you can get the best deal possible.

Financed prices are higher than cash prices. Solar loans let you go solar and save big on your electricity bill, but when you finance, you will pay more for your solar system than if you purchased it with cash. Systems paid for with solar loans will usually be closer to $4 per watt installed. The inflated financed price is because of dealer fees - a 20%+ fee you pay to get a lower APR.

Services offered

It&#;s becoming increasingly common for solar companies to offer more than just solar installations. Some common services include battery installation, electric vehicle charger installations, home energy efficiency audits, and roof replacements.

If you want these additional services, pick the installer that provides them! Even if you don&#;t want them now, future you will be glad you picked the installer that has these products available so you can easily add them to your home down the line.

What to avoid when picking a solar installer

There are tons of great solar companies out there that will help you on your renewable energy journey. But, the solar industry does have some bad actors to look out for.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website 70w mono solar panel supplier.

Steer clear of companies that you feel are trying to close the deal too quickly or are over-promising on savings by saying you&#;ll never pay your utility again. You should also be wary of companies that talk about &#;free solar panels&#; when talking about leases and power purchase agreements or if their prices seem too good to be true.

Get quotes from reliable solar companies

The easiest way to get quotes from trusted solar energy companies is through SolarReviews. We can connect you with reliable solar installers in your area so you can start getting free quotes for a solar energy system without having to seek out the companies yourself. We also have a state-of-the-art solar panel calculator that you can use to double-check the quotes you&#;re given.

Find solar installers in your area

How to Choose the Best Solar Installation Company

The solar installation company you choose to work with can be the difference between an expensive, underperforming system and a long-lasting, money-saving machine. Before investing, you'll want to consider how to choose the best solar panels for you, and you must be sure you&#;re in good hands for the process.

But narrowing the lineup can feel daunting, between jargon-heavy info and pushy sales tactics. 

We get it. That&#;s why we&#;re here to make the process a little easier. Follow these steps to select the perfect installer for your commercial solar panel system. 

What Makes a Good Solar Company?

There are a few characteristics that typically mark a solid, reputable solar company. If you evaluate your options based on the following, you&#;ll be able to pick out the cream of the crop in no time.

Profitability

A profitable company is a marker of capable leaders who make good decisions to guide their skilled team. This stability means they&#;re doing things right and will be around to honor warranties.

Longevity

If a solar company has been installing systems for a long time, it&#;s probably a sign they&#;re doing things correctly. That said, solar is a relatively new industry, so you won&#;t see installers with a century of experience. 

If they&#;ve been around for a decade or more, they&#;ve likely proven their approach and have a significant catalog of successful installs.

Happy Customers

If the vast majority of their customers are satisfied solar owners, chances are you&#;ll be one, too!

Industry Certifications

Industry certifications are markers that a solar installer invests in developing its team. They also suggest that the team knows how to do its job and is committed to continuously improving.

Good Solar Equipment Brands

The panels, inverters, and other equipment that make up your system can have a huge impact on performance. That said, most solar companies will only install equipment from a select collection of manufacturers. 

You want to be sure you&#;re partnering with a solar company that installs equipment that performs well, lasts long, and delivers real value.

Full-Service Approach:

If you take the time to select the best solar installer, you want to be sure they&#;re the ones actually doing the work. Some solar companies may rely on local or regional subcontractors to do the design and/or installation of the system. 

While there are plenty of subcontractors that do fantastic work, relying too heavily on outside labor can introduce unknown variables to the project.  

How Do I Choose a Good Solar Company?

Above, we shared what to look for. Now, we&#;ll get into how to find it.

Here are five things to do to evaluate your solar companies.

1. Check Out Reviews, Testimonials, and References

One of the best ways to understand what it&#;s like to work with a company is to hear from the people who already have it.

Check out their reviews on SolarReviews.com and Google. Ask them for a list of customers or references. Look to businesses, friends, and family for recommendations.

Glassdoor and similar websites can also be great resources, giving you insight into how the company operates behind the shiny sales curtain.

2. Evaluate Their Past Projects & Expertise

Sometimes it&#;s good to be unique, but not when it comes to your solar panel system. See if the solar company installed systems similar to yours in size and scope. Visit their website to see if they show past project details on their website or ask if you can visit a similar installation nearby. 

You can be further assured of their quality and expertise by looking for certifications from leading solar organizations. The top ones to look out for are NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) and SEI (Solar Energy International).

3. Examine Their Warranties

Solar equipment comes with manufacturer-backed warranties. Panel warranties typically last 25 to 30 years, and inverter warranties range from 10 to 25 years.

However, some installers go above and beyond, offering additional warranties that guarantee their workmanship and the production of the system. These warranties protect and provide predictability for your investment.

For example, here at Paradise Energy Solutions, we back our systems with our Triple Ten Guarantee, providing 10 years of guaranteed performance, workmanship warranty, and system monitoring. We send our customers a check if their system doesn&#;t meet our guaranteed performance metrics.

4. Meet the Team

Ask who would be working on your project. Full-service installers have in-house experts for every step, from design to installation to ongoing monitoring and maintenance. 

Other companies may use subcontractors for various stages. They likely don&#;t have the certifications and experience of a full-service installer.

At Paradise Energy Solutions, we take great pride in introducing our dedicated team members. By prominently displaying their names and photos, we aim to provide you with complete transparency regarding the professionals who will be handling your project.

5. Review Their Mission & Values

A company&#;s values and mission statement give you a glimpse into the DNA of a business. They offer a gauge of how you&#;ll be treated as their customer. Find a company that does business in a way that aligns with your values.

Want to Check Out Paradise Energy?

Take a look at how we compare! Explore our approach to solar on our About Us page, watch the video below, and listen to what our customers have to say in our Google Reviews or SolarReviews.com.

 

Want more information on Solar Panel 455w? Feel free to contact us.