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Jul 03, 2023

The 6 Best Solar Companies of 2023 (Ranked & Reviewed)

Jump To : Top Solar Companies of 2023 | Bottom Line | Finding a Solar Installer | Methodology | FAQ In this EcoWatch guide on the top solar companies, you’ll learn: EcoWatch has helped thousands of

Jump To: Top Solar Companies of 2023 | Bottom Line | Finding a Solar Installer | Methodology | FAQ

In this EcoWatch guide on the top solar companies, you’ll learn:

EcoWatch has helped thousands of homeowners go solar by helping them find the best providers for their needs, while also saving time and money.

San Jose, California-based SunPower offers the largest solar coverage in the nation, the most advanced equipment and unbeatable warranty coverage throughout the entire U.S.

SunPower designs and installs industry-leading residential solar and storage solutions across all 50 states. With a storied history of innovation dating back to 1985, no other company on this list can match SunPower’s experience and expertise.

SunPower earns its position as the top national installer on our list for a handful of reasons: It installs the most efficient solar technology on the residential market, offers the most expansive service area and backs its installations with a warranty well above the industry standard. All the while, SunPower pioneers sustainability efforts within the industry.

If that weren’t enough, SunPower systems come packaged with products all manufactured in-house by its sister company, Maxeon. This means that your panels, solar cells, inverters, battery and EV chargers are designed to work together and are all covered under the same warranty.

SunPower’s biggest downside? Its high-efficiency panels are considerably more expensive than most of its competitors’ products. However, its powerful panels are workhorses that make up for the initial cost with more backend production (think about this like spending more money for a car that gets more miles per gallon).

Learn More: SunPower Solar Review

Momentum Solar focuses its efforts on making the switch to clean energy as accessible, practical and effective for homeowners as possible. With simple services and an easy process, it’s hard to find a better provider if you live in Momentum’s region.

Though Momentum’s service area seems small in comparison to the other names on this list, it restricts its growth intentionally, choosing to operate in states with favorable net metering programs and other effective solar incentives. By doing so, it ensures that customers within its service area are sure to secure a favorable and speedy return on investment (ROI), along with a smooth installation process.

It can also then focus more of its energy on service and quality than competitors with a wider national reach. Momentum offers a wide variety of financing options, virtual consultations and a start-to-finish process that remains in-house, rounding it out as one of the most effective and accessible companies for those who live in its regional coverage area.

Blue Raven Solar offers unique and innovative payment plans that sets it apart from other solar providers with similar services.

We like Blue Raven Solar because it understands that, for most homeowners, the cost of solar presents the biggest barrier to entry.

For that reason, Blue Raven Solar developed an innovative solar financing plan that offers in-house, flexible, zero-money-down options. The results speak for themselves, as Blue Raven Solar is now one of the fastest-growing solar companies in the nation and was recently acquired by SunPower. Its BluePower Plus+ plan (exclusive to Blue Raven) mimics the flexible structure of a lease while still providing the greatest benefits of owning your system.

Eligible homeowners enjoy 18 months of solar power before having to pay their first bill. When coupled with the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC), the initial energy savings can offset more than a third of the overall cost of a system before requiring a dollar down.

In contrast, other installers can only offer similar financing through solar leases, PPAs or third-party providers (such as Mosaic or Sunlight). Third-party loan providers can complicate the process, while opting for a loan or PPA will disqualify you from some of solar’s biggest benefits (additional property value, federal solar tax credit and local solar incentives).

Learn More: Blue Raven Solar Review

BPalmetto’s breadth of services, coupled with its Peace of Mind Protection Plan, provides unparalleled support to homeowners making the switch to solar.

Palmetto earns a spot on our list of the top solar companies because it knows that an investment in solar is complex, and it focuses on ensuring a customer understands what they’re purchasing and feels supported by its installer. It provides excellent customer service with a Peace of Mind Protection Plan, which includes real-time monitoring and responsive customer support.

Its accurate solar savings calculator lets you budget confidently for the future, and a 25-year output warranty (covering the performance of your entire system, rather than each of its individual parts) guarantees your system will perform as advertised.

Of all the companies highlighted in this article, Palmetto may also offer the most comprehensive services spanning from roof leak protection to pest abatement. Owning a home or business can be unpredictable, but Palmetto ensures that your energy needs are supported for decades after installation.

ADT Solar (formerly Sunpro Solar) is an established name in the solar industry, raising the bar for what a solar warranty should cover.

ADT Solar sets the industry standard for warranty coverage by including a multifaceted guarantee, making it one of the top installers for homeowners who want added peace of mind.

Its warranty coverage includes all of the following for 25 years:

Though in recent years other solar companies have started to offer similar guarantees, ADT Solar has been at it since 2008, performing over 30,000 installations across the country.

Learn More: ADT Solar Review

Family-owned and -operated, Trinity Solar has been installing solar, supporting community partnerships and building its reputation as a veteran in the space for 28 years.

Trinity Solar has been providing energy with integrity since 1994. As the largest family-owned solar provider in the industry, Trinity Solar has one of the more recognizable names in the game. It has nearly 30 years of experience, with over 80,000 installations under its belt.

Trinity has chosen to keep its service area limited to just nine states in the Northeast. This way, it can remain invested in its community and consistently deliver reliable, experienced and effective customer service.

To back this community-oriented approach, Trinity offers an excellent referral program. It pledges to contribute $100 to a charitable organization of your choice when a referral sits with a Trinity consultant; $1,000 to that organization if a referral installs solar with Trinity.

See How Trinity measures up against Momentum Solar

Each of the top solar companies offers slightly different services, coverage areas and customer support. SunPower may have earned the top spot on our list, but that by no means makes it the best solar company for every homeowner.

The right installer for your needs will depend on your location, budget and your unique energy needs.

Click on your state below to connect with a local solar installer in your area:

So, what are the qualities you should look for when selecting the best solar installer for your home? Here’s what we recommend paying attention to:

Your warranty is one of the most important aspects of your solar energy system; each company will offer slightly different coverage.

Most installations will consist of solar products from a handful of different panel manufacturers (think one for your panels, one for your inverters and one for your battery storage, if applicable). Some of the most reputable companies will include an additional all-inclusive warranty that covers the performance of your system as a whole, rather than the functionality of each specific part.

For this reason, we encourage our readers to pay special attention to the types of warranties offered.

For more context, here’s a rundown of each type of warranty you might see, as well as what we consider to be the industry-standard length for each.

The most reputable companies will offer manufacturer and workmanship coverage, but we recommend choosing a company that offers at least a 25-year performance guarantee as well. With this type of coverage, issues with performance can’t be offloaded to equipment manufacturers to troubleshoot, leading to costly delays.

Solar installers rarely manufacture their own equipment. Rather, companies will offer a handful of options and types of panels from the top solar brands (Q Cells, Silfab, Canadian Solar, etc), usually making a recommendation based on your needs.

Part of finding the right installer for you is to ask what type of solar equipment a company offers.

The most reputable solar companies will offer Tier 1, low-profile monocrystalline solar panels and at least one of the leading solar batteries (Tesla Powerwall, Enphase Encharge, LG Chem). Some companies may even offer solar roof shingles.

Knowing what products you have in mind can help narrow down your list. For example, SunPower only offers one choice of brand. If options are important to you, or you have a specific brand of panel in mind, this can help you rule it out.

Read Also: 2022’s Top Solar Generators: Buyers Guide (Updated Review Guide)

There’s no better way to assess the quality of a solar provider than to hear straight from the customers it has served. Read as many customer reviews as you can find online, and ask friends, neighbors or colleagues about their experiences if they’ve installed solar.

In fact, many solar providers find new business primarily through referral networks. A strong network can be a good indicator that a company values its relationships and customer satisfaction.

Pro tip: Make sure the reviews you’re reading reference the production of the system. Some customers will post reviews after their system has been installed, but prior to when it’s actually turned on.

A company’s reputation and accreditations can be helpful indicators of trustworthiness in the industry. Sadly, a few solar companies drag the name of the industry due to aggressive or deceptive sales tactics (Vivint Solar being a prime example).

The most reputable solar companies will hold certifications from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), which are earned through a rigorous examination of industry knowledge and safety protocols. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) may also offer insight into a company’s reputation. Keep an eye out for alerts or low response rates to complaints.

Before you go searching for company reviews and certifications, you’ll want to narrow down your options by looking at a few basic factors. These can help you disqualify companies that won’t work for your home solar installation:

This first step is the simplest. Most solar companies only offer service in about 25 states at most (with the exception of SunPower). Before you reach out to a provider, make sure it covers your area.

If you live in a state where the solar industry has a larger footprint (California, Texas, Arizona, etc.), the odds are higher that you’ll have a better selection of companies to choose from. If you live in an area where the market is still developing, you’ll probably have fewer options.

Each company will offer slightly different solar financing options to its customers. Though these can vary in scope, the most common ways to pay for solar will fall into these categories:

Solar leases and PPAs, popularized by large companies like Sunrun, can be enticing but provide less value over time. Many solar installers choose not to offer leases or PPAs, citing that they don’t closely enough meet the customer’s best interests.

When looking for the right company for you, it’s advised to have an idea of how you’d like to pay for your system. That can help you narrow it down, as not all companies offer all payment options.

Check out our guide to solar financing to learn more about solar loans, leases and PPAs.

We mentioned that not every company on this list will offer free consultations, but all will at least offer you some form of a free estimate. We always recommend reaching out to a handful of solar companies in order to find the right one for you.

In addition to learning more about the options that are available to you, shopping around can help you save on overall costs. You never know what companies might offer sales, discounts or special deals to help secure your business.

To stay impartial, our solar experts evaluated the hundreds of solar companies in our database based on the same range of criteria and assigned scores to each category, using the results to rank them and find the top six. For a more in depth look, visit our solar rankings methodology page.

The main factors we assessed include:

At EcoWatch, we get questions all the time about the nation’s leading solar companies and how solar works. We’ve included the most frequently asked questions below, but if you have a specific query, you reach out to our solar power experts at [email protected].

Rooftop solar saves homeowners money on their energy usage and has proven itself to be a very economical home energy solution. However, rooftop solar will not be a feasible solution for all homeowners. Solar is more likely to save you money if you fall into the following categories:1. You live in a state that receives average or above-average levels of sunshine2. Your home energy consumption is high3. Your roof can support panels, faces south or west, and receives direct sunlight4. Your state has favorable solar policies, such as net metering laws or local rebates

Most of the top solar installation companies allow you to book virtual consultations, but not every company will offer them for free. For example, Palmetto Solar doesn’t offer virtual consultations, but it has an online calculator through which you can receive a detailed estimate of what solar might cost you and how well it could offset your energy bills and carbon footprint.

Solar increases your home value so long as you own the system rather than lease it. An energy system is an asset to your property just like any other time of home improvement. An added bonus: Most states offer property tax exemptions on the additional value that a solar energy system adds to a home. Learn more about how solar increases property value here.

High-quality solar panels are durable; you can expect them to last 25 to 30 years at least. Conservatively, we like to tell our readers to count on your panels to last 25 years, since that’s the industry standard for the length of warranty coverage offered by solar manufacturers.It’s also worth noting that if you plan on purchasing a solar battery for energy storage, expect its lifetime to be 10 to 15 years.

Sunrun, Vivint Solar and Tesla Solar are three household names that did not make our list — and we think you deserve to know why. Though both companies score well in our availability, price and experience categories, they scored too poorly in reputation and quality of service to earn a spot among the top providers in our book.Why We Didn’t Choose Tesla – Tesla Solar may well have earned a top spot if this list were about the top solar manufacturers (it creates high-quality photovoltaic panels as well as the Tesla Powerwall battery). However, as a solar installation company, Tesla receives consistently poor feedback from its customers. It has also dealt with lawsuits and whistleblower claims regarding defective installations that have led to fires.Why We Didn’t Choose Sunrun or Vivint – Claiming to be the No. 1 residential solar panel installer, Sunrun operates a massive business deserving to be mentioned among the largest companies (though not necessarily the nation’s leaders). Vivint Solar, a subsidiary of Sunrun, is also a large solar company frequently named among the top provider. However, these companies both have alerts on the BBB citing reports of government actions involving business misconduct, specifically misleading marketing.

Karsten Neumeister

Karsten is an editor and energy specialist focused on environmental, social and cultural development. His work has been shared by sources including NPR, the World Economic Forum, Marketwatch and the SEIA, and he is certified in ESG with the CFA Institute. Before joining EcoWatch, Karsten worked in the solar energy sector, studying energy policy, climate tech and environmental education. A lover of music and the outdoors, Karsten might be found rock climbing, canoeing or writing songs when away from the workplace.