Solar installer info for Bay Area, CA

April 8, 2015 4:50 PM

I'm interested in buying a solar system for my roof (not interested in a lease option) and am not sure I'm getting the best consumer info from various review sites.

Is there a good message board or does anyone here have a recommendation of who I should consider? This would be for a house on the Peninsula.

posted by quince to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

Best answer: When I was shopping for a PV system in San Francisco, I got eight quotes from various installers, and was extremely disappointed in the proposals from all of them except Albion Power. The proposals from the other vendors were full of mistakes, inaccuracies, excessive exaggeration of ROI, and often ignored specifics I had asked to be included. Albion's, on the other hand, was solid, and I ended up going with them.

They did a really great job for a reasonable price, and managed the installation, the GoSolarSF rebate process, the PG&E hookup and post-install follow-up well. The system's worked out just fine.

The catch is that they don't do leases or PPAs - when we got our system, they exclusively did installations for those purchasing their own systems upfront - so they might not be right for you. However, if you're purchasing upfront, definitely make them one of the companies you have out to give you a quote.
posted by eschatfische at 6:32 PM on April 8, 2015

Best answer: Before you start, do a couple of quick system generation estimates using PVWatts. If your installer estimates higher output, be suspicious.
posted by scruss at 5:20 AM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]