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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated June 2024
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular for homeowners in Big Bear City. A new solar energy system can help you add value to your property, decrease your carbon footprint, and provide a dependable source of power. Making the switch to solar power helps cut your utility bills and shrink your environmental impact. But you'll want to find a trustworthy installation company first. Luckily, we’ve analyzed local solar installers and created a guide to the best solar companies in Big Bear City. These proven and dependable providers are smart choices homeowners can depend on.
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
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Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Prompt service delivery
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Family-operated business
Informative resources
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Prompt service delivery
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Informative resources
Services Offered
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
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:
Adopting solar power lets homeowners reduce utility bills while benefiting the planet by reducing your carbon footprint using clean energy. If you’re evaluating if you want to go solar, consider these key factors for choosing an installer.
Confirm that your solar installer is properly licensed. This helps ensure that the work is done correctly using current best installation practices. There are five different levels of solar contracting licenses in California: boilers, PV electrical, HVAC, thermal, and pool heating. To earn a license, an installer must take a highly comprehensive educational series, gain four years of field experience, and pass written exams.
Check review sites like Google Reviews, TrustPilot, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see customer feedback about local solar companies. Detailed reviews can help you evaluate a company's reliability and customer service. Use caution with providers that have very few reviews or mostly negative ones.
Call three to five solar companies for free, itemized quotes. A quote should explain all costs and list the solar equipment included. Reviewing multiple quotes helps you find the most cost-effective option for your budget.
Quality solar installations should have comprehensive workmanship and performance guarantees. The workmanship warranty covers any installation issues such as cracks in the panels, poor wiring, or poor alignment. The performance warranty ensures a specific energy output level. Strong guarantees indicate that a solar installer trusts its installations.
Going solar can help lower your energy expenses. Be sure to consider these aspects when judging the cost and value of solar panels.
The cost of solar panels varies based on your system's capacity and the technology being used. The typical Big Bear City solar array has a capacity of 2.9 kilowatts. Homeowners in the area can expect to pay approximately $3,470 per kilowatt; the average Big Bear City homeowners spends about $6,973 on a new solar system after accounting for federal tax breaks. (Some homeowners prefer to lease solar panels to reduce their upfront costs.) A personalized quote from a local solar provider will account for things like the panel type, size, and capacity of the planned system, and should include costs for labor, permit fees, and preliminary work.
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
Generally speaking, a solar photovoltaic (PV) array can be used to power any household system or appliance that uses electricity. In the simplest case, you can use a solar water heating system.
With home solar energy, 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.
Absolutely. The grid in Big Bear City already uses a large share of renewable energy sources, and you may be able to sell your excess generated energy to your utility for additional cost savings.
Generally speaking, your energy bills will significantly decrease after you install solar panels. This is because you're using the energy you generate for free rather than buying it from your power company. In Big Bear City, the average amount someone can save is $1,041 per year. With net metering programs offered by many utilities, you could ultimately make a profit from your system when your payback period is done.
Your payback period is the time to achieve an ROI on your solar panels. It will vary based on the average sunlight in your area, the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power, and their rated capacity. Big Bear City has extremely high daily sunlight levels, so you could recoup your investment in as little as 6.7 years per 5 kW of rated capacity.
The type of solar panels you have will have specific maintenance steps to follow. Regardless of type, you should clean your panels regularly and inspect them for damage. A majority of solar contractors in the Big Bear City area offer comprehensive maintenance plans to help you keep your panels healthy and make the most of your system.
With respect to taxes, the federal government offers a tax credit of up to 30% of the panels' cost. Depending on where you live, you could also claim or apply for state or property tax incentives. Regarding insurance, your monthly premium may be slightly higher because solar panels increase your property's value. You should talk with your accountant or insurance agent for information specific to your case.
Solar panels are becoming more popular for their low upkeep costs and high efficiency under a variety of conditions. Depending on how much sunlight your property receives, you may find they're the best performing source of renewable energy compared to others.