This is part of an ongoing essay detailing my experiences with solar energy. To see if solar is right for you, visit SunPower.
There are a lot of solar vendors out there. Some focus on purchases, others on leasing. Investing in a solar system is a lot like buying a car, you've got to make sure the vendor can deliver what you want with agreeable terms.
And just like car dealers, not everyone's experience is going to be the same. It depends on the sales rep you are assigned, ebbs and flows of the business, wholesale pricing, etc.
I reached out to several vendors.
I started by contacting SolarCity (now Tesla), the vendor used by a friend of mine. Though based in California, they've installed all over the United States. They've also installed in my neighborhood.
Given my street address and approximate electric usage, my sales guy Joe was able to outline a system to be installed on my roof, providing general estimates of system output. It looked pretty good, but their price was pretty steep. The next step would be scheduling a site assessment, requiring a signed contract.
Their contract was 23 pages, delivered by DocuSign. There was a lot of boilerplate and protections for SolarCity, probably stemming from doing business across the country. I'm usually a big fan of DocuSign, except that it doesn't offer you any means to make and initial modifications. There were some good provisions that I liked, some of which I swiped for use elsewhere.
Kenergy Solar (now defunct) was based in Washington, D.C. I used their Solar Estimator and got a fairly quick response back via email:
The first step is evaluating your energy usage. Can you email or fax a copy of your most recent energy bill?
Not having easy access to a scanner or fax machine, I asked what specifics they were looking for; someone named Seth replied:
If you know your average monthly or annual electric usage in kWh that and/or the average dollar amount that will help us in deterring if solar is a good fit for you.
I replied with this information:
Monthly electric usage ranges from 350-750 kWh; average over the last twelve months is 450 kWh.
No response from Seth or anyone else. Silence.
Perhaps that's too small a system for Kenergy to be profitable, but a response would have been nice. Classy business practices.
Green Street Solar is based in Maryland. I signed up for a free consultation with some very basic lead information (name, address, phone, and email), received a confirmation email, then never heard back.
I started to wonder how many of these vendors were fly-by-night or whether business was so good that they could afford to blow off non-preferred prospects.
Vivint Solar is a regional vendor who have installed in my neighborhood, but focus more on leased systems. By this time I was leaning towards a purchased system, so I didn't pursue.
Solar Energy World is based in Elkridge, Maryland. Besides supporting local businesses, there's some comfort in knowing that I can drive over and talk to someone if I have a problem, and that warranty support isn't too far away (and isn't going to be subcontracted). They use solar power themselves atop their office and warehouse.
They also offer periodic solar workshops where you can tour the facility and see the panels up close. I went to one of these events and signed up after the tour to schedule a consultation.
After a fair bit of research, this is the vendor I chose.
Next: Paperwork
Last Modified: 2021-01-17
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