9 Questions to Ask Every Solar Installer Before You Sign Anything
Looking to install solar panels, but don’t want to get stuck with a bad deal? You’re thinking smart, because buying a solar energy system isn’t like buying a car. With a car, you can trade it or sell it in a couple years if you don’t like it. But solar power becomes a fixture of your farm, rural business, or home. It is a mini-power plant on your roof or on your company’s property. In all likelihood, your solar system will be there for decades.
And even with prices falling dramatically from where they were just ten years ago, a typical small rural business or farm will spend at least five figures on their solar system (before solar incentives and possible REAP grant funding, which can save you over 50% of the upfront costs!), and then recover the investment over the next several years.
Do you want to maximize your investment and minimize your trouble?
It all depends on asking the right questions of solar installers — before you choose which company to hire. Don’t choose a solar company just because your friend works there. And whatever you do, don’t try to save money by installing solar panels yourself. See why DIY solar is usually a costly idea.
Get at least two solar quotes, and ask each solar panel installer the following nine questions.
1. Do they design the array and install the solar panels themselves?
A lot of solar companies use subcontractors for the actual installation process. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as the subcontractors also know what they’re doing. But the solar company you choose to work with should design your solar system, project its performance, and provide you with what you’ll need to monitor it and maintain the solar equipment.
System designs need to be done by solar energy professionals who understand how to maximize the potential for each location so you can minimize future utility costs and produce power using solar panels for decades to come.
Key Differentiators
What differentiates one solar company from another comes down to things like
- Responsiveness
- Reliability
- Service
- The warranty situation (more in a bit)
- Expertise and specialization
As you go through this list of questions to ask prospective solar installers, you’ll get a good idea of how to identify these qualities.
2. What is their level of experience and licensure status?
Find out how long each solar installer you meet with has been in business. While every business starts somewhere, solar companies have been known to come and go pretty quickly. Part of the reason for this is because in many states, all you need to become an installer is an electrician’s license. So any good electrician can decide to “offer solar” as an additional service.
Find out how many installations each prospective solar panel installer has done.
Ask for their business license number and insurance information so you can verify they are a certified solar installer in your area. Get the certifications of the solar contractor too, if that’s who is installing your actual solar panels.
Here’s a state-by-state breakdown that gives the solar licensing requirements for each state.
Is installing solar panels their specialization or an add-on?
Some companies, like roofers, don’t really specialize in solar but have started offering it. This makes sense, because if your roof is old, you’ll want to replace it before installing solar panels. So it’s a natural fit for a roofing company to offer solar panel installations. But, that doesn’t mean they prioritize this part of their business or have a high level of expertise, and that’s what matters to you.
Ag Solar specializes in helping farms and rural businesses use solar energy to slash their business expenses. We don’t work with residential solar.
3. Can you see examples and testimonials of other solar customers?
Nothing beats a track record of success. Any good company should be able to present photos of completed projects and have real reviews and testimonials. Ideally, you could get some addresses and go see other projects they’ve installed, but that would probably depend on those previous customers giving permission.
But if you can’t go see any projects, perhaps some of their customers are willing to talk with you on the phone. It doesn’t hurt to ask. The best customer to talk to is someone who had their installation done several years ago. If they are still happy with it, you can have confidence in this solar installation company.
4. How do their warranties work?
One of the best things about questions like this is that you really just want to see how well they know their stuff. A warranty for a solar installation should be a no-brainer, non-negotiable, standard offer that doesn’t cost anything extra.
The investment is too great, and you need to know they stand behind their installation and design work.
Ag Solar Solutions uses tier one panels that come with a 25 to 30 year production warranty.
All reputable solar installers should have a warranty
Any solar company that offers no warranty probably won’t be in business very long.
Ag Solar offers a 25-year warranty on solar equipment for all farms and rural businesses. Some solar companies won’t stick by their work. With how well the technology has advanced, anything less than 25 years should be regarded with suspicion.
Also, be sure and get the warranty for the inverter, which will likely be shorter than the one for the solar panels.
With all this in mind, be sure the warranty is in writing, and make sure you understand the details, including who to contact if something goes wrong and how to activate the warranty.
5. How does your solar installation integrate with the utility?
Utility integration and permitting are two of the primary reasons not to do solar panel installations yourself. The permitting process is very specific, and different in each region. Likewise, different utilities will have different policies on net metering, prices per kilowatt they pay for your extra solar energy production, solar meter inspections, and other items.
Again, this is a great question to ask during your solar consultation because a knowledgeable solar installer will know all this like the back of their hand. They should demonstrate expertise by their answer to this question, because it should be something they talk about with every customer and prospect.
An expert solar installer will know the codes in your area, and understand what is required to meet them and how to have them inspected. They should even be able to give you an approximate timeline for this.
6. Where do they get their solar panels?
There are many highly reputable solar panel manufacturers from all over the world. China has a number of well-regarded companies. There is also Canadian Solar and several good ones in the U.S.
But while there are many solar panel manufacturers with strong track records, you do want to consider that it can be harder to enforce a warranty with less reputable companies.
If you choose to go with a newer solar installation company, you will feel better about that choice if they are using solar panels from a manufacturer with a great reputation.
Don’t forget the inverter
Also, don’t forget to ask the same questions about the inverter. Check online to see reviews of the inverter each solar installer will be using. There is a range of quality here, and you don’t want to get stuck with a lemon.
And on the topic of inverters, one of the better solar equipment questions you can ask is to get an understanding of different types. You can get a central inverter, a string inverter, or micro inverters. Each has pros and cons, but you’ll likely find more advantages to micro inverters over central and string inverters.
7. How do we know the roof won’t leak?
This is yet another question that should be a “softball” for any good solar installer. A good installer should never have leaks. Or if they do, they should be able to spell out what went wrong, and usually the cause is a faulty roof that should have been replaced first.
What you’re looking for here is a clear explanation about racking, mounts, and fasteners, with photos and perhaps examples brought to you during your solar consultation. You should be able to ask, “Where will the water go?”, and feel assured by the answer.
8. Who do we call if there’s a problem?
There should be a local person you can contact if you have any issues with your solar panel array, inverter, or energy production.
You want a phone number that won’t disappear in a few months, and that doesn’t redirect to someone across the world. Ideally, you will have a business card, email, and phone number for the same person who talks through your solar consultation.
One simple way to test this is, send them an email a few days after the consultation. It doesn’t matter what you ask. If they never respond or take days to get back to you, that’s a bad sign. Anyone selling you a solar array — an electricity-generating system that will be a permanent fixture on your property — ought to respond to your emails in a timely manner.
9. How do we know the system is performing well?
During your consultation, your solar panel installer should be able to show you projections for how well different sizes of solar power systems will perform at your location.
Many factors come into play for how much electricity your solar equipment will produce besides just system size, such as
- Trees and other shadow-causing objects
- Brand and type of solar panels
- The angle of your roof
- Which direction the roof faces
- How much sunlight hits the roof
- Options for ground mounts
But the single greatest factor in how much money you will save through solar power is the number of solar panels.
Solar installers should be able to show you the payback period (how long it takes to recover your investment), estimates of local utility company inflation, and what you’ll save in various scenarios. They should also discuss the software you will be given that enables you to monitor your solar system’s performance.
With all this in hand, once your solar panels are installed, you will be able to see how much solar energy your system is producing, and how well it aligns with their projections. Software today enables you to see how much power each individual panel in your array is producing, so any laggards will stand out. And your solar company should have a process in place for handling that sort of problem.
That’s one place the warranty comes in. If a solar panel starts under-performing, will your solar installer come out and inspect it? If it’s faulty, will they replace that panel free of charge? That’s what a warranty should do!
Don’t Forget the Other Solar Incentives
Tax incentives aren’t affected by which solar company installs your panels. But there are other incentives that might.
For example, if you are a farm or rural business, that’s Ag Solar’s specialty. Most companies focus on residential or commercial. One of the things we help agricultural producers and businesses do is apply for the REAP grant. We’ve won millions in grants and helped numerous farms and rural businesses get the best deal imaginable on their solar systems.
We’ve seen farms beat the utility company and save piles on their electricity bills in addition to slashing the cost of installation. Buying solar panels is an investment, but with tax credits and programs like the REAP, the final cost of rural and agricultural solar panel systems can easily end up less than half of the upfront amount.
Next steps — Get your free solar consultation and quote
As you can see, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to installing solar panels.
Solar consultations with experienced installers should not take just 20 minutes. This is a major discussion. Budget some extended time so you can ask your solar installer questions and understand the answers.
Information is power, so if you’re considering solar energy and you have a rural business or farm in the United States, invite Ag Solar to give you a free solar consultation.
