Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated June 2024
Year after year, more Bell residents turn to rooftop solar panels to lower their carbon footprint and add value to their property. Solar power can reduce your energy costs and lower your carbon footprint. However, it's important to choose a trustworthy solar installer. That’s why we’ve analyzed the options and assembled a guide to the most dependable solar providers in Bell. These top installers consistently deliver high-quality and reliable services.
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Prompt service delivery
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Services Offered
Informative resources
Prompt service delivery
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Informative resources
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Prompt service delivery
Services Offered
Today's Homeowner looks at dozens of datapoints on solar companies to come up with our data-driven rankings. It's not possible for a company to pay for preferential treatment in our rankings. We look at the following key factors in determining who should top our list:
Going solar can be a great way to lower electricity costs and help the planet by reducing your carbon footprint using renewable energy. Here are some key factors to consider when deciding if a solar installer is trustworthy.
It's imperative that your solar installer has the proper licensing. This ensures that the work is done correctly using current installation best practices. There are five different classifications of solar contracting licenses in California: boilers, PV electrical, HVAC, thermal, and pool heating. To earn licensure, an installer must take a highly comprehensive educational series, gain four years of experience as an apprentice or journeyman, and pass written exams.
Check review sites like Google Reviews, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and TrustPilot to see feedback from past customers about local solar companies. Detailed reviews can help you evaluate a company's reliability and customer service. Use caution with companies that have hardly any reviews or mostly negative ones.
Get free, detailed quotes from three to five solar companies. The quotes should outline all costs and identify the exact solar parts included. Comparing several quotes can help you find the best value for your budget.
High-quality solar installations should have robust workmanship and performance guarantees. The workmanship warranty covers any installation issues like cracks in the panels, poor wiring, or poor alignment. The output warranty ensures an energy generation baseline. Strong warranties reflect a solar provider's faith in its installations.
Solar energy is great for helping you lower electricity bills over time. Make sure you consider these aspects when considering the final cost and value of solar panels.
In Bell, solar panels cost an average of $3,470 per kilowatt, with an average system size of 2.8 kilowatts. The typical Bell homeowner spends $6,920 on their solar array after federal tax refunds. An estimate from a local provider will consider additional information based on your desired system's size, required preliminary work, panel type, and capacity. In some cases, homeowners may prefer leasing solar panels to reduce upfront costs.
Incentive Amount:
Eligible products can be financed for up to 25 years, depending on the useful life of the eligible product.
Minimum financing: $5,000
The financing may not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the market value of the property, up to the first seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) of the property’s market value, and ten percent (10%) of the remaining value of the Property above seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) minus any PACE assessment on the propertyThe total amount of any annual property taxes and assessments shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the property's fair market value, determined at the time program financing is approved.
Incentive Type: PACE Financing
Incentive Amount:
Locally determined
Incentive Amount:
For projects 30 kW or larger, 50% of incentive will be received up-front; 50% will be received based on actual kWh production over the first 5 years. For projects under 30kW, 100% of the incentive will be paid up front.
Incentives will step down over time. See below for incentive amounts.
Incentive Amount:
Step 1 Incentive Rates (contact utility to determine current incentive levels):
Single Family Residential Incentives:
Systems that displace natural gas: $29.85 per estimated therm displaced
Systems that displace electricity or propane: Funding has been exhausted
Commercial/Multifamily Incentives:
Systems that displace natural gas: $20.19 per estimated therm displaced
Systems that displace electricity or propane: $0.42 per estimated kWh displaced *** Note, funding has been exhausted in this category for SCE and PG&E
Solar Pool heating: $5.00 per estimated therm displaced
A solar photovoltaic (PV) array can generate power to run any electric appliance or system in your home. A more specific example is installing a solar heating system for your water.
With home solar PV, you can save money on your energy bill, lower your home's carbon footprint, and be better prepared if there's an outage to the local grid.
Yes, you can use home solar energy alongside conventional power sources. In many areas, solar panels are designed to supplement your existing energy sources, so you can reap the savings and environmental benefits of solar energy without having to completely switch over.
Your payback period is the time to earn a net profit from your solar panels. It will vary based on their rated capacity, the average sunlight in your area, and the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power. Bell has extremely high daily sunlight levels, so you could recoup your investment in as little as 9.2 years per 5 kW of rated capacity.
Net metering is a power purchasing policy that allows solar energy system owners to be compensated for the amount of energy they put back into the grid. It's available in most states and is a great way to reduce energy costs.
Solar panels are on par with other forms of renewable energy. They have low maintenance costs and today's systems can generate and manage energy under more conditions.
