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How many cars have you owned? How many cell phones? What about homes? Most people shopping solar have bought several cars and at least one home, but very few have ever gone solar before.
Today, we are going to talk about How to Choose a Solar Installer and 10 Questions You Can Ask a Solar Company.
People realize that solar is a longer commitment then car, which you may replace in a few years. And like buying a car, you want to make an informed decision. But here is the problem, you have never purchased solar before. After 10 years in the solar industry, Rayah Solar is going to try and make that easier for you!.
Before we start, let&#;s talk about the elephant in the room. There are some people, whom I like to call &#;commodity shoppers,&#; who only want the lowest price with the most options (warranties, guarantees, etc); and while those things are enticing, they do not necessarily signify quality or longevity. If you are the type of person that only cares about price, then my suggestion is, read no further &#; there are online quoting services that may be right for you. I will say this though, the old adage holds true &#; you get what you pay for.
Again, if you are reading this blog, I figure things like quality, workmanship, punctuality,and integrity matter for you. And when things go wrong &#; because in construction, things do go wrong &#; you care about how problems are resolved. Does this sound like you so far? If so, let&#;s continue.
With that said, here are 10 Questions you should ask a Solar Company. Some of these questions can apply to any trade or construction company, while others are specific to solar. Our goal is that this blog will help you choose the right solar company for you.
In solar, as in many industries, there are many different types of companies: national solar companies, large and regional solar companies, small to midsize companies, and &#;Chuck in a Truck.&#;
&#;Chuck in a Truck&#; is usually a local electrician who is not really a solar installer, but has the technical knowledge to install a solar system. Sometimes, if &#;Chuck&#; is your friend and neighbor, you might be able to get a good deal on your solar installation. However, there are a lot of pitfalls with this. First, Chuck may not be qualified nor knowledgeable on all the local solar incentives. We&#;ve seen this before; an electrician tries to install his own solar system and then can&#;t get any of the local or state incentives. Also, ongoing services and warranties can be an issue. We find most people are not that comfortable with this sized company.
The next size companies are the small to medium sized solar companies. These range from 1-4 employees on the smaller size, to 5-12 on the medium. Again, you may run into some similar issues with service and warranties with the smaller companies, and even a lack of product selection. Usually, the 5-12 person shops are run with a tightened belt. That usually results in efficient solar installations and decent after-installation service. Again, this is not always the case, but we&#;ve found it is common.
The next size up are larger solar companies, with 20+ employees. They usually cover the entire state or sometimes multiple states. These companies tend to have well-established operations. Because of the size of these companies, they tend to have higher overhead, which sometimes results in more expensive installations. Also, many of these companies can&#;t handle their own volume which may result in delays and quality compromises. But this last point can be true of any company size. On the other hand, there are a number of these mid-sized companies that have their systems down pat and will give you a terrific installation.
Lastly, you have the national solar companies. This is certainly a mixed bag. Most of these companies have been in and out of Massachusetts for years. Sometimes they have great deals, but other times their prices can be nearly a third more than the local installers, and with inferior products. Obviously, you don&#;t want that! Another issue with these larger companies can be customer support. Some of the biggest solar companies are notorious for their customer support (or lack thereof). Just read their reviews! They are all about volume and could care less if you are happy or not. Frankly, this surprises us, because one would think that they&#;d want positive reviews, but in reality, they simply don&#;t care. Again, this is not every company, so take this with a grain of salt.
The goal here is to understand the size & scope of the solar company. So be specific with your questions!
Sometimes people are worried if smaller companies will be in business in a few years. However, the big box companies have no assurity of longevity either. Just in the past few years, we&#;ve seen many of them go bankrupt!
Comparing companies: Larger companies tend to have good systems, but that does not always translate into good customer service or product selection. This can go both ways. Small to mid-sized companies might give you better customer service, but not always. Also, out of state and very small companies may not be able to offer you certain local solar incentives, because they are not qualified.
Helpful Questions:
If this company is worth their weight, then they should be quick to show you their online reviews on Google, Yelp and SolarReviews. They should have videos with happy customer testimonials and a ready-made list of references. If you are proud of something, you want to share it, so hopefully, your solar company is proud of their work and they want to share it with you!
Helpful Questions:
Please keep in mind though, its easier for people to give negative reviews than positive ones. So, don&#;t get discouraged by one bad review. Also, some smaller companies may not have a lot of reviews, but this does not necessarily mean they are not a great solar provider &#; just that they are not good at collecting reviews. We&#;ve worked with some fabulous solar installers that are terrible at getting reviews.
In the end though, if a company has a lot of negative reviews, you may want to look elsewhere.
Let&#;s face it, solar is complex. The products are unique. The installations take special training. Neither a typical roofer nor electrician are trained in solar. On top of that, the local and state regulations on solar are confusing and time consuming, so you want to work with a company that is a solar expert!
We&#;ve seen some solar companies diversify to sell other products. Honestly, this is a mixed bag, and we&#;ve seen some really good companies go out of business trying to diversify. Conversely, we&#;ve seen some HVAC, energy auditors and roofers trying to go into solar. In many cases, this is an equally big disaster. Again, there are certainly some companies that make these successful transitions, but they are the exception, not the rule.
There are lots of companies that will sell you a solar system, but we highly recommend that you work with one that&#;s primary competency is solar.
Helpful Questions:
The fact is there are a lot of different solar panels and inverters on the market. Not all will be right for you and your home. The goal of this question is to figure out if the solar company is just offering what they &#;have&#; or, what is &#;best&#; for your home.
For example, let&#;s say your home uses a lot of power and solar panels will be on your front roof. For you, you may want the most efficient and best looking panels on the market. Your neighbor however, lives across the street and uses very little electricity. Her panels will be on the back of her very large roof (not facing the street). For her, she may be fine with a less efficient panel that has a white backsheet. These are two different scenarios, and would merit different solar panels, and perhaps, different solar inverters. For help selecting the best solar panel for your home, check out our blog, The Top 10 Solar Panels for .
In general, there are two sales models for solar companies. The first will have a limited or no product selection. The second we like to call, &#;brand agnostic&#;, and they will try to custom design your home with the right solar panel to meet your unique needs.
Buyer Beware &#; sometimes a company may claim to have &#;product selection,&#; but in reality, they have a special deal to push one brand over another. This can be very bad if they are hawking five-year-old dust covered panels. However, if that solar panel is a good fit for your home, then this may not be bad at all.
We want you to remember that this is your home, so don&#;t feel like you need to get pigeonholed into products that aren&#;t right for you.
Helpful Questions:
Remember, you and your neighbors don&#;t drive the same cars or have the same TV&#;s in your family room. So why should you have the same solar panels? For more information about selecting solar panels, please see our blog: Top 10 Solar Panels of
In Question #1, we briefly talked about the inability of some out-of-state or smaller solar companies to offer certain solar incentives. This is definitely true in Massachusetts, and likely in other locations as well.
You absolutely don&#;t want to miss out on solar incentives because the solar company is not capable of offering them. This would certainly break our hearts, so do your due diligence and make sure you can get every solar incentive available to you!
For instance, in MA, a MassCEC Turnkey Solar Integrator can offer the Mass Solar Loan, and an income Based Rebate. These are great programs and can potentially save homeowners lot of money!
Helpful Questions:
It may surprise you, but a lot of solar companies do not do their own solar installations. This does not mean these are bad companies. In fact, they may save money because they have reduced overhead and give you a better deal.
But whether the solar company does the installation themselves or subs it out, it&#;s important to know who will be in your house and to know their qualifications. Also, this question can help you more accurately determine the size of the company.
Helpful Questions:
The goal here is to understand what this installation is going to look like on your roof! When we drive down the street, it&#;s like a game, we look at solar installations and say, &#;oh, that&#;s a nice one&#; or &#;yuck, that one looks terrible.&#; Quality workmanship really shows a well done solar job.
Here&#;s the thing, if the solar company or any company for that matter, performs quality work, they will be proud to show you their work. TThey should be ready to show you photos and explain why their installations are superior to the competition. If they are not eager to show you photos, then err on the side of caution .
You should also be able to discuss the location of all solar equipment, including disconnects, meters, inverter and conduit runs. Please keep in mind that solar installers must abide by National Electric Code, and we are not magicians, but the point here is &#; the solar company should be open to these conversations.
Here are some things you should never see on a solar installation:
Helpful Questions:
Project management, is perhaps one of the most important aspects of choosing a solar company. This is the difference between a great customer experience and one that makes you want to pull your hair out!
it really matters.The best solar companies will assign you a dedicated project manager (PM). You will have this person&#;s contact information and they will be your main point of contact. Other companies will have a PM department. This means that you don&#;t have a single person accountable to you, but rather, a team of people. This can be efficient in well-run companies, but it usually lacks the personal touch of knowing the name of the person that has got your back. Some companies will have your sales rep or solar consultant handle project management duties. We believe this is a recipe for disaster. Permit submission and regulatory requirements are confusing, time consuming and just difficult. Most times solar consultants do not have the time nor expertise to do this correctly.
Helpful Questions:
Once your solar system is installed, someone needs to take care of it. Yes, solar panels have no moving parts and there is a 25-year solar panel warranty. However, that doesn&#;t mean the system shouldn&#;t be monitored and maintained. At Rayah Solar, we monitor every panel on every system in our fleet daily.
Again, with big companies, you will probably end up in that all too familiar position; &#;Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Customer Support.&#; For many, this is not desirable. If you are the type of person the values individual attention and accountability, than we suggest you pay careful attention to what happens after the installation. It&#;s not enough for them to say they have a warranty &#; you need to find out &#; how do they actually do it!
Helpful Questions:
Not counting manufacturer warranties, there are two common warranties offered by solar companies. 1) an installation warranty, and 2) a production guarantee.
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Installation warranties can range from 5 to 25 years, and are fairly straightforward. You do however want to make sure they cover roof leaks, fuses, wiring and all of the smaller components of the solar system.
A production guarantee is different from the solar panel performance warranty. The production guarantee is given by the solar company, and basically states that if the solar system does not produce a predetermined amount of energy each year, they will pay the difference. The timeframe is typically 10 to 20 years at 90-95% of the systems expected output (nobody will give you 100%, it&#;s just not practical, so don&#;t ask). Please note, not every solar company will offer a production guarantee, but if they don&#;t offer it, you should feel free to ask for one.
One thing to keep in mind is that the duration of these warranties may be negotiable. If one company has a 10-year installation warranty, and another a 20-year, you can ask the first company to match their warranty.
Helpful questions:
A company&#;s mission is not just words on paper. A mission is the activities taken daily to accomplish that mission. That mission should be practical and straightforward. For example, at Rayah Solar our mission is to Bring Humanity to Light. For us, that has great meaning. The &#;humanity&#; part, is bringing relationship, integrity, and professionalism to every aspect of our business. The &#;light&#; is obviously to bring solar power to homes and businesses.
Most companies have a &#;mission statement,&#; but we urge you to find out what it is. Is it something lame and generic like, &#;we are trying to save the planet.&#; Sure, that sounds nice, but it probably has very little meaning to any of the employees.
Now, don&#;t get us wrong, many people in the industry are involved because they believe they are &#;doing something good&#;, but a good company should have clear and tangible purpose, and more importantly, a purpose you identify with and that aligns with your core beliefs.
It is important to understand that there are things in a solar project that are negotiable and things that are not. Customer service is not negotiable! If a company treats their customers as dollar figures, rather than people, you cannot negotiate for better service. Industry expertise is not negotiable. Quality craftsmanship is not negotiable. They either install quality solar systems, or they do not.
If you are comparing two companies and one is personable, has as great product selection and you can see they really want to design the very best solar system for your house, but their pricing is a little more expensive than their shark-like competitor (who by the way, is almost guaranteed to ignore you at the first system error), we urge you to value the company that focuses on customer service. Even if they can&#;t match the price, they still are a much better option.
How you start your experience with a solar company, is a decent sign for things to come. When all else fails, and you are comparing two great options, trust your gut!
Questions to ask yourself about the solar company:
Here are some questions you should be asking yourself about your potential solar partner:
To watch the video and see the full blog click the following link: https://rayahsolar.com/blog/solar101/how-to-choose-a-solar-company/
Buying a solar system can be exciting but it&#;s also a huge investment. So before you dive in, you need to be informed as possible about solar panels and other important aspects of your purchase.
LG Energy has great information on everything solar, so we&#;ve put together some of the most relevant and frequently asked questions we get about buying a solar system from their website.
The cost of installing solar has been reducing over the past five years and will continue to become cheaper. However, the cost of waiting for further reductions is the increasingly expensive electricity bill that you pay your energy retailer. Right now you are effectively &#;renting&#; your electricity and in five years you will have nothing to show for the thousands of dollars you have parted with. Should you then decide to purchase a solar system, the system price may be cheaper but when you add your aggregated energy bills you have paid to this price you find it very expensive indeed!
If you invest in solar now you become an energy &#;mortgagee&#;. You now own a big share of the electricity you consume and your savings start immediately to pay off your investment cost. In five years or so, your power savings have now paid off the cost of your investment. You now own your energy production outright and with a top tier LG solar system you will continue to make savings for a further 25 years at least.
Right now the power companies have secured the right to increase their rates by 25% annually over the next three years. Based on this rate your power bill is tipped to double! With the arrival of solar battery storage now is the time to start investing in solar and take control over your power bills.
Please also take note. There is still a solar government rebate available in all states and territories, and even though it is less than what used to be available in the past, on a 5 KW system for example you are likely to receive over $2,800-$2,900 in rebates.
Some solar installation companies offer financing options, which could reduce your initial outlays. This will allow you to use the electricity cost savings to help finance the repayment.
A solar power system has a number of considerations to ensure customers are satisfied for many years:
The key components susceptible to failure are the solar panels and inverter. However, high quality products tend to have long life cycles which are reflected in the long warranties available, particularly for solar panels.
A solar panel is a relatively simple device with no moving parts. Solar panels typically have a 25 year output warranty and depending on the quality of the panel can be expected to last beyond this. Also solar panels which are exposed to wind, fluctuating temperatures and weather do deteriorate and each year produce a little less electricity. Cheaper panels, with less UV stabilized backing sheets, cheaper sealants and framing can deteriorate faster and more rapidly.
LG&#;s warranties generally predict an average of 0.6% loss of power each year after the 1st year and thus, at the end of the 25 year output warranty period the solar panel may have lost up to 16.4% of its initial power rating. This means is where a high efficiency LG solar panel would produce 315 watts, the same panel in 25 years might only produce 261-269 Watts. In reality, for most less productive quality panels, they may start at 250-260 watts (LG&#;s output after 25 years operation) and then degrade to 200 watts per panel after 25 years. For cheaper panels coming out of China the rate of degradation is much quicker taking 5 years to lose 20%+ of their output capacity. There are cheap panels with rates of complete failure after just 12 months.
Arguably, the quality of your solar panels and the inverter are the most crucial factors in selecting a solar system. Over their 25 year output warranty period, solar panels will be subjected to more than 100,000 hours of relentless sunshine, extremes of heat and cold, wind, rain, hail and more. Australia and New Zealand offer an extraordinarily harsh climate for an electrical device.
A good brand like LG, with our extensive testing and quality control helps ensure that you get the most out of your system over its long operating life.
Please see below: LG panels being pressure tested for long life performance.
Most of homes or business premises in Australia can install a system but there are times when you should not buy a solar system. For example:
1. You have no roof space available which is facing North, North East, North West, West or East
2. There is strong shading of trees and building most of the day on your North, East or West facing roofs. Is there is a little shading for part of the day micro inverters or optimisers can offer a solution.
3. You have an asbestos roof
4. When the system has to be installed at a distance from the home (like at farm sheds) and the additional cost of running the electricity wires and poles back to the meter far outweighs the return on investment
5. You are out of your house/premises most of the time, therefore you cannot use the solar power when it is generated. The unused solar power will be exported to the grid. On average your energy retailer will credit you 11c per kW, making the investment in solar financially less attractive. In this case solar would only be suitable if you also install a battery storage system.
When you purchase a solar system you are protected by a variety of rights, warranties and acts as a consumer.
The overriding protection comes from the Australian Consumer Law which came into effect in January . This Federal Act provides protection for all consumers and is administered at a State level. Businesses are required by law to comply with the requirements of this act and it specifies where responsibilities lay, what rights consumers have and how to take action.
There are several specific issues described in the act which offer protection that is most relevant to solar system owners. They are summarised below:
When you agree to purchase a system, the company you sign a contract with is the first point of responsibility for all issues. They are the prime contractor in law, although they may subcontract some work such as installation and must ensure that all standards, laws and regulations are adhered to by their staff and their sub-contractors.
If you buy imported equipment, the warranty responsibility ultimately lays with the official importer, so it&#;s important to understand who that is, if it&#;s not your supplier. That&#;s why picking brand panels like LG offers you solid protection. However, should you decide to buy a cheaper panel and the manufacturer disappears, or the importer has gone bankrupt, the prime contractor has still a legal obligation to assist you.
Warranty terms and conditions vary by contract and supplier. It is important that you carefully read and compare the terms and conditions from different suppliers so you understand what you may be required to do to comply. For example many panel warranties only include the supply of a new panel. They do NOT include the labour component. LG supplies the panel and pays for the labour within 80 km of population centres.
In the event of a dispute, the Clean Energy Council can assist you with installer related issues. They also have a Solar Retailer Code of Conduct which some, but not all solar retailers have agreed to comply with.
In most cases, if there is a dispute that is unresolvable by discussion, the issue will default to the Australian Consumer Law act and you can approach your State body for advice on what course of action to take. This may include mediation, taking the case to the Small Claims Tribunal or to court.
There are various sizes of solar power panels available. The higher the output, the higher will be the efficiency of the solar panel (as long as the size of the solar panel is the same &#; of course). A number of years back the 170W to 190W solar power panels were considered a high wattage panel.
Today the technology has improved so that 260W panels are considered a good solid efficiency as more solar power can be produced in a smaller roof space. LG offers panels from 285W to 315W. As a rule of thumb, the higher the efficiency, the higher the cost of the panel.
Nevertheless some higher efficiency panels can offer a shorter return on investment period.
Make sure the installer comes to your house and has a look, before you get the quote. Internet based solar companies quote you for a system over the can spell trouble for the install quality, as they cannot truly appreciate the individual set up of your house. Are the tiles brittle? Where are any surrounding trees, which can cause overshadowing? What about antennas and chimney locations &#; which in the future through overshadowing can affect the system output significantly? How old is your switch board and does it need upgrading to handle solar? All these questions only become clear through a proper home inspection.
When internet or call centre based solar companies sell you a system they use the one size fits all approach and give you a standard price. They then negotiate with a sub-contract installer to install your system for an agreed price. So the sub-contracted installer holds all the risk should your system requires extra cabling or is a particular labor intensive installation. It is more likely in this situation for the installer to find the quickest way, not necessarily the best way to install the system. Being a sub-contractor to the company that sold you the system, the installer&#;s relationship with your system is one of &#;get in and get out as quick as possible&#;.
Should you, in the years to come require support for your solar system, the internet based solar company might not be around anymore, or should they still exist are very likely to send a new sub-contractor to check out the issue. It is better, like with your car, to have the same reliable mechanic undertake the ongoing work. Someone who is familiar with your particular circumstances/system.
In general the quotation should provide solar system specifications like quantity of panels, brand and model of panels, system size and likely output per annum in kW/h, capacity and output of the inverter or if micro inverters are to be used the brand and warranty conditions.
A proper, considered quote should include also datasheets of the supplied products. In general make sure your quote includes:
The quotation should also specify a total price, together with proposed start and completion dates. The quotation should form a basis for your contract with the designer/installer. Deposit requirements for the system by law should not be more than 10 per cent. Usually the majority of the solar system needs to be paid for on the day of installation.
It is advisable to organise some maintenance inspections every few years to make sure that all parts of your solar electric power system are operating correctly. With a tilt angle of 10 degrees or greater solar panels are self cleaning. If you install panels onto a flat roof without panel tilts you will need to hose down your panels every couple of months.
Most home and building insurance policies cover home solar systems on roofs and garages. A solar electric power system is just like the hot water system an extended part of the home.
However most insurance companies would like to be contacted so that you can let them know you added your solar electric power system. Make sure you let them know the value of the system (before rebates) so they will know the actual replacement cost.
Learn more about the questions you should ask before buying a solar system on the LG Energy site.
Contact Soltek Energy about any questions you may have about solar.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website china solar energy equipment manufacturer.