Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated June 2024
Solar is one of the most easily accessible forms of renewable energy for El Centro homeowners. Switching to solar energy can reduce your monthly energy expenses and decrease your carbon output. Before you begin the process, you want to make sure you find a trustworthy installer. Luckily, we’ve conducted comprehensive research local solar installers and put together a guide to the best solar companies in El Centro. These proven and dependable providers are reliable options known for their quality services.
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Informative resources
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Family-operated business
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
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:
Putting solar panels on your roof could cut your electricity payments while benefiting the planet by reducing your carbon footprint through renewable energy use. Key considerations when researching local solar installers are as follows.
Make sure you hire a licensed solar installer. This help guarantee that the work is done correctly using current best installation practices. There are five distinct 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 experience as an apprentice or journeyman, and pass written exams.
Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Google Reviews, TrustPilot, and other review sites to see what past customers have to say about local solar companies. Detailed reviews on these platforms can help you assess a provider's trustworthiness and customer service. Be wary of providers with few or mainly poor reviews.
Get free, detailed quotes from three to five solar companies. The quotes should describe all costs and identify the solar parts included. Looking at several quotes can help you find the best value for your budget.
Quality solar installations should come with strong workmanship and performance warranties. A workmanship guarantee covers any installation defects (such as cracks in the panels, poor alignment, or poor wiring), while a performance warranty ensures a certain level of energy production. Strong guarantees show that a company is confident in its work.
Solar panels can help lower your electricity costs over time. When weighing solar panel's cost and value, be sure to factor in these considerations.
The cost of solar panels varies based on system capacity and the technology being used. The typical El Centro solar array has a capacity of 2.8 kilowatts. Homeowners in the area should expect to pay around $3,470 per kilowatt; the average El Centro homeowners spends roughly $6,745 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 installer will account for things like the panel type, size, and capacity of the planned system, and should include prices for labor, preliminary work, and permit fees.
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
Generally speaking, a solar photovoltaic (PV) system can be used to power any household system or appliance that uses electricity. In the simplest case, you can use a solar water heater.
With home solar panels, you can recoup the cost of the system over time, lower your home's carbon footprint, and be better prepared if there's an outage to the local grid.
Your installer can give you an estimate of what your energy bills will look like after you install solar panels. Generally, your energy bills will decrease significantly because you'll be using energy from the sun for free, instead of buying energy from the utility company. The average annual savings in El Centro amount to $734.
You might be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can get a return on investment from your solar panels. In perennially-sunny El Centro, you could make enough from your solar panels to recoup your investment in 9.2 years per 5 kW of rated capacity at maximum.
The specific required maintenance steps will vary based on the type of solar panels you have. At a minimum, you should clean and inspect each panel once per season. Your solar installer might offer comprehensive plans where they'll do the maintenance on your behalf.
Yes, solar panels can still generate energy during a grid outage. To ensure that your solar system is able to keep working during a power outage, make sure to choose a quality solar provider and look for a solar system that includes a battery backup.
