Greatest Photo voltaic Firms of August 2024

Why Palmetto Photo voltaic is CNET’s greatest general photo voltaic firm

Palmetto Photo voltaic earned the highest spot on CNET’s greatest photo voltaic firm checklist largely attributable to a well-documented historical past of exemplary customer support and a set of high quality merchandise, together with a variety of photo voltaic panels and photo voltaic batteries. Our employees of editors and writers has reviewed and evaluated 17 photo voltaic firms to this point. Whereas it is true that many of those firms provide high quality gear and good buyer communication, Palmetto stood out from the competitors due to its worth transparency and strong customer support plans. In an business that may be arduous to navigate, Palmetto’s transparency is a useful metric to think about for any potential purchaser.

Palmetto operates in 26 states, together with lots of the most populous ones, making the corporate accessible to many of the US. But when Palmetto is not obtainable to you or would not give you the very best deal, we have scored different photo voltaic installers extremely too, together with some installers that work in all 50 states. You’ll find the entire host of photo voltaic firms reviewed by CNET consultants beneath.

One of the best photo voltaic firms of 2024

This greatest checklist attracts from nationwide or in any other case notable installers of (principally) rooftop photo voltaic panels. A few of our picks may present industrial set up companies, however each firm we have chosen for this checklist has been chosen primarily based on their service relating to residential installations. Our choices are topic to alter as we assessment extra firms or as firms change their choices. CNET consultants have written or edited every of the critiques this greatest checklist attracts from, and developed a particular in-house scoring methodology. All through this course of, our writers have spent hours studying gear spec sheets, nationwide traits, investigating buyer critiques, interviewing business consultants and talking with representatives from many of those firms to rank them on the factors that issues to you.

These firms have been rated on the variability and high quality of apparatus and merchandise they provided, their acknowledged warranties and obvious commitments to customer support. (Customer support is tough to pin down and due to this fact makes up a smaller portion of an organization’s complete rating, regardless that we acknowledge that it is a vital a part of the buying course of.)

Moreover our high decide, Palmetto, a number of different firms ranked above the competitors. All of them provide stable gear however stand out in particular methods: Tesla for decrease costs, and Momentum for its in-house installers. NRG Clear Energy and Renu Vitality Options stood out as distinctive installers in additional localized areas as effectively.

Greatest regional or native photo voltaic firms of 2024

The businesses on this breakout checklist could have scored greater than the businesses on the nationwide greatest checklist. However since they function in just a few states and are usually not as accessible because the nationwide suppliers, we selected to present them a greatest regional or native callout right here.

Examine the very best photo voltaic firms of 2024

This desk compares how firms charge towards each other by some (however not all) of the factors we use to evaluate them. To get the complete image, click on the corporate identify to go to their assessment.

Different photo voltaic firms we reviewed

Our consultants reviewed different photo voltaic firms that do not seem in our greatest checklist above. Given the character of the photo voltaic panel business, which shifts from state to state and roof to roof, a few of these different firms we reviewed may nonetheless be a very good choice to your scenario.

Blue Raven

Blue Raven installs a wide range of panels alongside SunVault batteries utilizing all in-house set up groups. Like many different photo voltaic installers, Blue Raven may provide a worth match assure and larger worth transparency however will get robust marks for customer support. Blue Raven performs installations in 18 states, which makes the corporate a nationwide operation in its personal proper.

In August, SunPower introduced plans to promote Blue Raven and all of its property to Full Solaria as a part of its chapter proceedings.

Primitive Energy

Working on a brokerage mannequin, Primitive Energy goes between the client and installer, promising to supply higher costs via a aggressive bidding mannequin. As a result of the enterprise mannequin would not match our assessment scoring methodology, Primitive would not get a rating from us, however might be a very good place to get a number of quotes suddenly.

Qcells

Qcells is extra of a photo voltaic panel producer than a photo voltaic panel installer, however representatives for the corporate will join you with installers that works with Qcells’ merchandise. The corporate would not provide the identical ensures or insurance policies many of the installers on this checklist have, so it would not get a rating. In the event you’re involved in its high-quality, American-made panels, we now have a write up with all the particulars right here.

Smartflower

Smartflower seems to be like a photo voltaic sunflower and is perhaps a gorgeous solution to set up photo voltaic panels, however except you are attempting to promote your inexperienced commitments or discover a assertion piece to your yard, it is doubtless an excessive amount of cash for too little photo voltaic.

Sunnova 

Sunnova lately gained mortgage ensures from the US authorities to assist low- and moderate-income households undertake photo voltaic. When you have less-than-stellar credit score, Sunnova is perhaps a very good choice for you. It is best to check quotes, although. It installs all kinds of batteries and gives some robust warranties. We present in our reporting a historical past of customer support points and seems to have misplaced its Higher Enterprise Bureau accreditation — a difficulty the corporate advised CNET it was working to rectify.

Sunrun

The most important photo voltaic firm in America, Sunrun gives high quality panels, a selection of a few batteries and high quality inverters. It additionally gives robust warranties. Most of its enterprise is in photo voltaic leases or energy buy agreements. However you will need to notice that Sunrun gives stronger warranties for energy buy agreements than purchases.

Tesla

Tesla’s Photo voltaic Roof is an thrilling solution to think about photo voltaic. It is smooth, it is low profile, but it surely’s very costly. Relying on the dimensions of your roof and your location, it may be a number of instances dearer than photo voltaic panels. 

Trinity Photo voltaic

For some time, Trinity Photo voltaic was CNET’s high firm for customer support and nonetheless receives high marks. It additionally gives high quality gear and warranties, though a few of its warranties, like its workmanship guarantee, are a bit weaker than different firms.

WindMar Photo voltaic and Roofing

WindMar Photo voltaic and Roofing is without doubt one of the longest-tenured photo voltaic installers working in Puerto Rico and Florida. It installs high quality gear, though clients who finance their system via a mortgage or enter a lease obtain stronger warranties than those that buy outright.

Photo voltaic business traits: Why go photo voltaic now?

In the event you’re planning to purchase photo voltaic panels to keep away from rising vitality prices and blackouts or to change to renewable vitality, you are not alone.

New federal tax incentives have led to large nationwide development in photo voltaic installations. The nation’s largest residential photo voltaic market, California, took an enormous hit, nonetheless, with set up numbers dropping off. The rationale: California’s new web metering coverage, referred to as NEM 3.0, has significantly harm web metering incentives within the state, making it take longer to recoup the cash initially invested in a photo voltaic panel system. Paired with excessive rates of interest that make it tougher for folks to finance photo voltaic techniques, it is led to 17,000 layoffs within the state, in keeping with the California Photo voltaic and Storage Affiliation.

Some photo voltaic companies are closing up store altogether. That features CNET’s earlier highest rated photo voltaic firm, ADT Photo voltaic, which closed its photo voltaic enterprise in January 2024.

You will get 30% of the price of photo voltaic panels again in your taxes and take part in native incentives and web metering (the place obtainable). The Inflation Discount Act, handed in 2022, opened up extra rebates for energy-efficient dwelling enhancements, electrical home equipment and different renewable vitality options, which may enable you save much more with photo voltaic panels.

Enhancements in photo voltaic panel know-how and manufacturing have additionally introduced the costs of photo voltaic panels down considerably from the place they have been a decade in the past, and business consultants say that pattern ought to proceed. Coupled with newly expanded tax credit, photo voltaic panels have by no means been extra reasonably priced.

Local weather change is anticipated to proceed fueling extreme climate occasions that may trigger extra energy outages. Photo voltaic panels paired with a backup battery can maintain your property powered.

Photo voltaic panels could be a expensive funding. And since few folks can construct their very own photo voltaic panels, you may have to rigorously analysis which installer is greatest for you.

Components to think about when selecting a photo voltaic installer

Selecting a photo voltaic installer is like selecting a contractor for any dwelling enchancment mission. It’s a must to be certain that to ask quite a lot of questions and evaluate a number of quotes. Your last choice will doubtless be primarily based on which provides you the very best worth and which firm provides you essentially the most confidence. CNET outlines some professional recommendations on selecting a photo voltaic installer that’ll make your life simpler, although.

• Get a number of quotes and evaluate: That is the one most necessary step. You possibly can’t know in the event you’re getting ripped off with out checking a quote towards one thing else. To get a way of the worth selection, evaluate no less than three quotes to 5 quotes from varied native installers.
• Perceive your native incentives: Be sure you know whether or not your native authorities and utility have solar-friendly insurance policies that may make photo voltaic a safer monetary guess.
• Learn critiques and complaints: On-line critiques aren’t the one legitimate supply of reality, however they’re helpful for educating your self on the problems which may crop up and customary experiences that clients have had with an organization. Google and Yelp critiques are a few good locations to begin studying buyer critiques, and also you definitely cannot go unsuitable with referencing the Higher Enterprise Bureau.
• Speak to your neighbors who’ve photo voltaic panels: Ask your neighbor(s) how effectively their chosen firm communicated, caught to the schedule, navigated the allowing course of and supported them after set up. If the corporate has a referral program, you could possibly kick just a few hundred {dollars} your neighbor’s method, too.
• Test licenses and certifications: You possibly can test the North American Board of Licensed Vitality Practitioners for licensed installers close to you. There are different certifying organizations, so ask installers the place their licensure comes from.
• Ask your installer questions: A good installer should not be afraid of questions. In the event you really feel you are getting the run-around, ask different installers the identical and evaluate their solutions. Your installer ought to be capable of reply all of your questions, even the tough ones. Be sure to ask your installer about mission deadlines and the way financing works to your explicit scenario.
• Calculate your financial savings: If an organization appears to be promising an excessive amount of, it is perhaps lower than sincere. Photo voltaic panels can prevent some huge cash in the long run, however not in all conditions. Learn the way to calculate your anticipated financial savings with photo voltaic panels. In case your calculation is available in a lot decrease or greater than a salesman’s, ask about it. 

What to anticipate: How does a photo voltaic panel set up work?

The method of getting photo voltaic panels seems to be a little bit completely different from firm to firm, however the broad strokes are the identical.

After preliminary contact with the corporate, somebody ought to go to your property for an inspection. Whereas elements of the design and quoting course of may contain satellite tv for pc imagery, having an expert truly go to your own home permits them to take note of timber which may have grown or every other obstacles that shade your rooftop which may not be accounted for within the aerial pictures. They will additionally be capable of assess the well being of your roof and whether or not it must be changed or not and determine every other limitations to going photo voltaic.

Some photo voltaic installers are adopting AI instruments into their photo voltaic planning course of. It is but to be decided AI’s affect on the business, however consultants imagine AI use within the photo voltaic area will assist maintain prices down and velocity up set up timelines.

Then the system shall be designed, sized, permitted by you and permitted. After the corporate receives permits from the required authorities, your set up shall be scheduled. Set up sometimes takes just a few days or as much as per week relying on the climate.

Set up for a majority of photo voltaic panel techniques requires drilling holes via your roof and into the joists that help it. It’s a necessity to maintain your photo voltaic panels securely hooked up, however you may wish to ask your photo voltaic installer how lengthy it ensures these penetrations will stay watertight with a purpose to maintain your property safe.

Set up may also require new wiring to be put in. Generally meaning new conduit being hooked up to the skin of your own home. By means of our reporting we realized some firms will set up it in your attic free of charge or for a further cost.

Except your system is off the grid, you may have to get permission to function grid-tied photo voltaic panels out of your utility. As soon as you have obtained permission, you may transition to producing vitality, monitoring your array’s efficiency and sustaining your photo voltaic panels to maintain them up and working throughout your system’s lifespan. Your new photo voltaic panels ought to final many years, particularly in case you are locked right into a contract with a good guarantee.

Whereas the timeline will fluctuate, it often takes a number of months to design, allow, set up and swap on residential photo voltaic arrays. When buying round, it is best to ask what the estimated timeline is.

How a lot do photo voltaic panels value?

The common value for a residential photo voltaic set up is $2.99 per watt, in keeping with an evaluation by Wooden Mackenzie. Based on these figures, a mean 8-kilowatt photo voltaic panel system would value about $23,920. The price of photo voltaic panels varies by location, and the native value for allowing, inspection charges, labor and extra. It additionally relies upon closely on what sort of photo voltaic panel system you get and whether or not you purchase a battery to boost the efficiency of your photo voltaic array. Batteries will add considerably to your price ticket, costing round $10,000 or extra.

Whereas round $3 per watt is a good ballpark estimate, the completely different sources that report photo voltaic costs fluctuate of their outcomes. That is as a result of they get their knowledge in numerous methods. For instance, within the chart beneath, EnergySage attracts its info from quotes offered in its personal photo voltaic market whereas Wooden Mackenzie’s makes use of wholesale costs of apparatus and interviews with business figures.

Common nationwide value of photo voltaic panels

*The above estimates are for various intervals of time. EnergySage covers the second half of 2023. Wooden Mackenzie is for the fourth quarter of 2023. Lawrence Berkeley Lab is for 2022.

The map beneath pulls knowledge from FindEnergy.com to present the typical complete money worth, value per watt and common photo voltaic panel system dimension in states throughout the nation. These costs are consultant of your prices earlier than federal, state or native incentives. States in grey lack enough knowledge pricing knowledge on FindEnergy.

Photo voltaic panel incentives and rebates

There are many incentives to cut back the price of photo voltaic panels or your tax invoice. The Inflation Discount Act elevated the federal tax credit score for photo voltaic panels to 30% and made it obtainable for 10 years. Different native tax exemptions or incentives might be potential, too. In case your utility has a web metering program, you could possibly obtain credit in your utility invoice that can enable you get monetary savings. Different potential state incentives embody property tax exemptions, gross sales tax exemptions, SREC markets or state tax credit.

How a lot can I save by going photo voltaic?

The reply relies upon by yourself private vitality utilization, the photo voltaic panel system you select and a wide range of different elements akin to web metering insurance policies.

There are just a few issues you possibly can calculate that can assist you learn how a lot it can save you. The primary is your payback interval, wherein you calculate the price of putting in photo voltaic panels after tax credit and incentives, and divide that by how a lot cash in vitality prices you count on to save lots of every year.

That will provide you with a interval, in years, after which your photo voltaic panels can have paid for themselves in financial savings. Your photo voltaic panel payback interval can fluctuate broadly. However after you hit that date, any vitality you generate is cash saved.

It is also solely potential that photo voltaic panels won’t prevent cash however offset solely partial prices of your vitality invoice. Photo voltaic financial savings can rely on elements akin to how environment friendly your panels are, how a lot solar your panels get, how many panels you may have, your electrical charges, your state’s web metering coverage, and your electrical consumption.

If you wish to go photo voltaic however both cannot afford the upfront value of a photo voltaic array otherwise you hire your property, neighborhood photo voltaic may also be a viable choice.

Learn extra: Need one thing smaller than a whole-home photo voltaic system? See our picks for the greatest transportable photo voltaic panels and photo voltaic mills.

What different photo voltaic gear goes right into a photo voltaic system?

Whereas the panels are essentially the most seen and well-known element of a photo voltaic array, there are different items of apparatus you may have to know — some are crucial elements of your photo voltaic panel system, whereas others are elective gear that would enable you save much more cash.

Photo voltaic panels

Almost 100% of the residential photo voltaic panels put in at the moment are monocrystalline, in keeping with the Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory (PDF). Polycrystalline panels are nonetheless put in, however at a far decrease charge than monocrystalline panels. They’re cheaper however much less environment friendly, however odds are that polycrystalline panels doubtless will not be a priority for you.

Photo voltaic inverters

Photo voltaic panels produce electrical energy in direct present. Our homes and all of the home equipment inside them use alternating present. We want some solution to convert the electrical energy from DC to AC to be used in our homes: that is the place the photo voltaic inverter is available in.

There are two essential sorts of inverters in use: string inverters and microinverters. String inverters remodel the electrical energy from a gaggle (or string) of photo voltaic panels, suddenly. This implies you solely want one per residential array, sometimes, however your complete array is affected by the lowest-performing panel. If one among your panels is shaded or broken, it could considerably scale back the output of the remainder of the array. String inverters are sometimes cheaper to put in however include shorter warranties.

You’ll find CNET’s decide for greatest photo voltaic inverters right here.

Microinverters are the rather more frequent photo voltaic inverters in use at the moment. They function on the panel degree, which suggests if one is shaded, the remainder can maintain producing at full capability. As a result of they’re put in on the roof with the panel, they’re sometimes a little bit tougher to service however make sure that your photo voltaic panel system produces a extra dependable quantity of vitality. Microinverters value a bit extra to put in however usually include 25-year warranties.

String inverters may also be put in with energy optimizers, which carry out an identical function to microinverters. The vitality remains to be translated to alternating present on the central string inverter, however the energy optimizer lets panels work independently of one another.

Photo voltaic backup battery

Backup batteries have gotten a extra common addition to photo voltaic arrays. Time of use charges from utilities (the place electrical energy is usually cheaper when photo voltaic panels are producing ample quantities of vitality to your households and dearer throughout much less productive hours) make batteries a extra financially possible selection for a lot of. Photo voltaic panels will not generate electrical energy throughout a blackout except they’ve a battery that permits them to go off the grid quickly, a course of referred to as islanding.

Backup batteries do not all the time make monetary sense, so be sure you perceive whether or not or not it does for you earlier than diving in. In the event you’re hoping to have energy throughout a blackout, the monetary calculation could also be much less necessary to you.

You’ll find CNET’s decide of the very best photo voltaic batteries right here.

The way to pay for photo voltaic panels

Photo voltaic panels include a hefty price ticket so, identical to different main purchases, just a few financing choices have turn into commonplace.

Paying for photo voltaic panels with money

Paying with money is essentially the most easy and fee-free solution to pay for photo voltaic panels. You will not pay curiosity or mortgage charges and you may lock within the 30% federal tax credit score. The apparent draw back is that you’re going to have to drop an enormous chunk of money suddenly, which not everybody can do.

Paying for photo voltaic panels with a photo voltaic mortgage

Most photo voltaic firms provide financing choices, together with third-party or in-house loans. In the event you buy photo voltaic with a mortgage, you may get the federal tax credit score, too. Loans of any kind include curiosity and charges and it pays to check charges and rates of interest. You may also pay with a mortgage you deliver from elsewhere, like a private mortgage out of your financial institution.

Paying for photo voltaic panels with a house fairness mortgage

Residence fairness loans or dwelling fairness strains of credit score allow you to borrow cash towards the worth of your own home. This will safe you a decrease rate of interest however introduces another dangers. In the event you default on a house fairness mortgage, your property could be foreclosed on. Since you are still buying your photo voltaic panels, you may qualify for the federal tax credit score.

Getting a solar energy buy settlement or photo voltaic lease

In the event you see adverts touting owners going photo voltaic with zero cash down, they’re most likely for solar energy buy agreements and leases. However what’s a PPA? It is the much less acquainted cousin of a lease.

With a lease or PPA, you do not truly personal the photo voltaic panels in your roof. As an alternative, you conform to pay a month-to-month payment for the gear (a photo voltaic lease) or to purchase the electrical energy the photo voltaic panels produce (a PPA). This implies you possibly can go photo voltaic and not using a hefty price ticket (and infrequently zero cash up entrance). It’s normal for these charges to extend every year, so pay cautious consideration. If the escalation charge is simply too excessive, you might find yourself saving much less cash than anticipated over the lifetime of the deal. Since you do not personal the panels with these agreements, you will not be eligible for the federal tax credit score.

How we consider photo voltaic firms

Reviewing photo voltaic firms in a hands-on method is hard. Every mission is as distinctive as the home it goes on and the household that can use its electrical energy. To guage these photo voltaic installers in a significant method, we needed to give attention to what we may measure and what could be helpful to you.

We charge firms on three classes of standards: gear, warranties and repair.

Within the gear bucket, firms get scored on the panels, inverters and batteries they set up. Warranties embody the ensures on the panels (which usually come from the producer), workmanship and weatherization towards leaks. Firms achieve factors for service for providing a worth match, a significant degree of worth transparency and a well-rated app for monitoring photo voltaic manufacturing. They lose factors for main customer support points (lawsuits, investigations or apparent reputations for shoddy service). We’ll all the time element these within the assessment.

You possibly can learn an in depth take a look at how the scoring breaks down right here.

We do not contemplate the typical worth of an organization’s installations of their rating. Common costs are arduous to seek out and evaluate place to put (and even roof to roof). Firms are sometimes gradual to reveal it, too. We additionally miss info that is straightforward to seek out, however not helpful to you, like what number of states an organization operates in.

Photo voltaic panel FAQ

Correction, Jan. 31, 2023: An earlier model of this text misstated the Higher Enterprise Bureau’s grading course of. Any firm can obtain a grade from the Bureau, no matter whether or not it has paid to undergo the accreditation course of.