Choosing the best solar company can sometimes feel like choosing the best tree in a forest. There are so many options to choose from, and they all seem so impressive that they completely overwhelm you. But selecting a solar company is an extremely important decision, and must be done with great care. After all, the equipment they’re going to install for you is going to be a part of your property for decades to come. And beyond that, the system they’re going to design for you is going to affect your life and your budget for just as long. Wouldn’t you rather be treated like a person with a face and a name, than just like a number? At Aurora Energy, we partner top quality customer service with thoughtful, creative customized solutions for each of our customers. We ask smart questions, we provide helpful insights to save you time and money, and we create each customer proposal and system design from scratch for each home and business.
Many of our Gold Country customers in Angels Camp, San Andreas, Mountain Ranch, Sonora, Copperopolis, Murphys and the greater Calaveras, Stanislas, Amador, Tuolumne, Alpine County and Sierra Foothills region approach us with questions about solar generation as well as battery backup options for their homes and commercial properties.
So how can you begin to narrow down the options? There are lots of potentially unhelpful questions you can ask. For example: should you go with a big national corporation or an independent local installer? Both have their pros and cons, but choosing one side or the other could easily eliminate a number of quality options. That’s because this question doesn’t get to the heart of your needs. Instead, you need to ask questions that will help you choose a solar company that will:
- Perform quality installation work
- Offer peace-of-mind through reliable warranties
- Provide manageable payment options
- Design the best system for your unique needs
- Actually save you money
With this goal in mind, here are four fundamental questions you should ask before choosing a solar company:
1) Will they perform high-quality installation work?
This is absolutely essential. Make sure they meet the basic licensing requirements in your area, and it’s a good idea to look for installers certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners® (NABCEP®). Perhaps just as important, try to find out about the quality of work they have produced in the past. Read reviews. Better yet, find out if they have performed any installations in your area, then go see their work for yourself.
2) Do they offer a thorough warranty program?
A good contractor will proudly stand behind the quality of their work, and it is standard to expect long-term warranties on the solar panels, inverters, racking system, batteries (if applicable), and the workmanship that installed it all.
3) Will they carefully design a system optimized for your house and property?
For making an investment as significant as a solar power system, you deserve to have a company that will custom-design your system specifically for you and your property. You can hire the best installers in the world, but if they don’t design the system just right, you may end up with an inefficient system. That means you could be paying for more panels than you need while producing less power than you currently consume.
4) Will they actually save you money?
Hear this: do not assume that lower cost is the same thing as saving money. A low-cost system will certainly come with lower payments but it won’t save you any money if you’re system doesn’t produce enough energy for you to hit net zero. A good solar company should be able to demonstrate how they can actually save you money by installing the most efficient system that fully meets your electrical needs.
Our experts are always ready to help you set up the perfect solar solution for your northern California home. Give us a call today!
