Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
Expert Advice On Improving Your Home
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Written By David Cusick
Last Updated February 2024
A rooftop solar array could give you a renewable power source that will pay for itself in time. Adopting solar energy can help you save money and reduce your carbon footprint, but you want to make sure you find a qualified installer. Luckily, we've done the research and assembled a guide to the best and most dependable solar installation providers in Mountain View.
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Prompt service delivery
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Prompt service delivery
Services Offered
Prompt service delivery
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Prompt service delivery
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Informative resources
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Informative resources
Prompt service delivery
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Prompt service delivery
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
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:
Going solar can be a great way to lower electricity costs and help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint using renewable energy. Here are some key factors to consider when evaluating if a solar installer is trustworthy.
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 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, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and TrustPilot to see customer feedback about local solar companies. Detailed reviews can help you assess a company's dependability and customer service. Use caution with companies that have barely any reviews or mostly negative ones.
Call 3–5 solar companies for free, itemized quotes. The quotes should describe all costs and list the solar equipment included. Reviewing multiple quotes helps you find the best option that fits your budget.
Quality solar installations should come with comprehensive workmanship and performance warranties. The workmanship guarantee covers any installation issues such as poor wiring, cracks in the panels, or poor alignment. The performance guarantee ensures a specific energy output level. Strong guarantees indicate that a solar installer has faith in its installations.
Solar energy can help lower your energy expenses. Be sure to evaluate these aspects when determining the cost and value of solar panels.
In Mountain View, solar panels cost an average of $3,470 per kilowatt, with an average system size of 3.0 kilowatts. The typical Mountain View homeowner spends $7,249 on their solar array after federal tax refunds. An estimate from a local provider will take into account additional information based on your desired system's size, capacity, required preliminary work, and panel type. 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
Incentive Amount:
Single-family residential gas-displacing systems: $18.59 per therm displaced
Single-family residential electricity or propane-displacing systems: $0.54 per kWh displaced
Multifamily and Commercial gas-displacing systems: $14.53 per therm displaced
Multifamily and Commercial electricity or propane-displacing systems: $0.42 per kWh displaced
Low-Income Multifamily gas-displacing systems: $19.23/therm displaced
Low-Income Multifamily Electric or Propane Displacing systems: $0.56/kWh displaced
Generally speaking, a solar photovoltaic (PV) array can be used to power any household appliance or system that uses electricity. In the simplest case, you can use a solar water heater.
There are many advantages of home solar energy. You can save money, raise your property values, and reduce emissions. With the right storage equipment, solar panels can also offer you further energy independence and offer some protection from power outages.
It depends on your home's location and the kind of panels you plan to use. With the winter months in California being very mild, you have significant leeway to install your panels, though they won't hit peak performance until summer arrives.
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 Mountain View amount to $975.
You might be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can get a return on investment from your solar panels. In perennially-sunny Mountain View, you could make enough from your solar panels to recoup your investment in 7.4 years per 5 kW of rated capacity at maximum.
Of course. Solar panels are independent of the Mountain View grid 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 on par with other forms of renewable energy. Their maintenance costs are low and today's systems can stand up to the worst conditions.
