Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated February 2024
Rooftop solar is one of the most easily accessible forms of renewable energy for Cathedral City residents. Switching to solar energy can allow you to save money and shrink your carbon footprint, but you want to make sure you find a qualified installer. Luckily, we've done the research and compiled a guide to the best and most trustworthy solar installation companies in Cathedral City.
Prompt service delivery
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Free quotes
Services Offered
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Informative resources
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Family-operated business
Informative resources
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Services Offered
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
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:
Installing solar panels can lower your electricity costs and help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. When deciding if a solar provider is the best option for you, consider these key factors.
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 specific classifications of solar contracting licenses in California: boilers, PV electrical, HVAC, thermal, and pool heating. To earn a license, a contractor must take a highly comprehensive educational series, gain four years of field experience, and pass written exams.
Check consumer review platforms 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 companies that have no reviews or mostly negative ones.
Call 3–5 solar companies for free, itemized quotes. The quotes should outline all costs and specify the solar equipment included. Reviewing multiple quotes helps you find the option that aligns with your budget.
High-quality solar installations should come with robust workmanship and performance guarantees. The workmanship guarantee covers any installation issues like poor alignment, poor wiring, or cracks in the panels. The output guarantee ensures an energy generation baseline. Strong guarantees reflect a solar provider's confidence in its installations.
Solar panels can help lower your electricity costs long-term. When evaluating solar panel's cost and value, be sure to consider these considerations.
The cost of solar panels varies based on system capacity and the solar technology used. The typical Cathedral City solar array has a capacity of 2.8 kilowatts. Homeowners in the area can expect to pay approximately $3,470 per kilowatt; the average Cathedral City homeowners spends roughly $6,803 on a new solar system after accounting for federal tax breaks. (Some homeowners prefer to lease solar panels to lower their upfront costs.) A personalized quote from a local solar provider will account for things like the size, capacity, and panel type of the planned system, and should include costs for permit fees, preliminary work, and labor.
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) system can be used to power any household system or appliance that uses electricity. In the smallest case, you can use a solar water heating system.
There are many benefits to home solar energy. You can reduce emissions, qualify for tax benefits, and raise your property values. With the right storage equipment, solar panels can also give you further energy independence and offer some protection from power outages.
It depends on your location and what type of panels you're installing. Since there's a moderate amount of snowfall in Cathedral City, your best time to install solar panels is in the spring and fall.
Your payback period is the time to achieve an ROI on your solar panels. It will vary based on the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power, the average sunlight in your area, and their rated capacity. Cathedral City has extremely high daily sunlight levels, so you could recoup your investment in as little as 8.8 years per 5 kW of rated capacity.
Of course. Solar panels don't depend on the grid to work and will continue to generate power even if the grid is having problems. Bear in mind, however, that a solar system won't take you through a nighttime outage if you don't have a storage system. Your contractor can discuss some economical options to keep your home's power access reliable through the worst conditions, including battery backups or an emergency generator.
Solar panels are gaining in popularity for their high efficiency and low maintenance costs. Depending on how much sunlight your property receives, you may find they're the best performing source of renewable energy compared to others.
