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 solar panel array will provide you with a renewable power source that will eventually pay for itself. Adopting 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 reviewed the options and assembled a guide to the best and most trustworthy solar installation companies in San Bernardino.
Informative resources
Prompt service delivery
Reliable customer support
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Informative resources
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Informative resources
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Free quotes
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Free quotes
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Free quotes
Informative resources
Reliable customer support
Clear pricing policy
Services Offered
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
Services Offered
Clear pricing policy
Reliable customer support
Informative resources
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 cut your electricity costs and benefit the planet by reducing your carbon footprint. When deciding if a solar provider is the best option for you, consider these key factors.
It's important to hire a licensed solar installer. This helps ensure that the work is done properly using current installation best practices. There are five specific types 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 field experience, and pass written exams.
Check TrustPilot, Google Reviews, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and other review sites to see what past customers have to say about local solar providers. Detailed reviews can help you assess a provider's integrity and customer service. Be wary of providers with few or mainly poor reviews.
Call three to five solar companies for free, itemized quotes. The quotes should describe all costs and specify the solar equipment included. Reviewing multiple quotes helps you find the option that aligns with your budget.
Quality solar installations should come with comprehensive workmanship and performance guarantees. The workmanship guarantee covers any installation issues such as poor wiring, cracks in the panels, or poor alignment. The performance guarantee promises a specific energy output level. Strong guarantees indicate that a solar installer has faith in its installations.
Solar panels can help reduce your electricity costs in the long run. When considering solar panel's cost and value, be sure to factor in these considerations.
The average San Bernardino homeowner will spend around $6,973 on a home solar system after federal tax refunds. Solar arrays in San Bernardino cost roughly $3,470 per kilowatt, with an average size of 2.9 kilowatts. An estimate from a local solar provider will include costs for permit fees, labor, and preliminary work, and will account for your system's panel type, size, and capacity. Some homeowners prefer to lease solar panels in order 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 system or appliance in your home. More specifically, you can install a solar heating system for your water.
There are a number of advantages of home solar energy. You can save money, qualify for tax benefits, and raise your property values. With the right storage equipment, solar panels can also offer you additional energy security and offer some protection from power outages.
It depends on where you live and the kind of panels you plan to use. Since there's a moderate amount of snowfall in San Bernardino, your best time to get solar is in the spring and fall.
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 San Bernardino amount to $806.
Your payback period is the time to achieve an ROI on your solar panels. It will vary based on their rated capacity, the rate your utility charges per kilowatt of power, and the average sunlight in your area. San Bernardino has extremely high daily sunlight levels, so you could recoup your investment in as little as 8.7 years per 5 kW of rated capacity.
The specific types of maintenance you need will depend on the type of panels you're using. Regardless of type, you should clean your panels regularly and inspect them for damage. Many solar contractors in the San Bernardino area offer multipoint maintenance plans to help you make the most of your panels and keep them healthy for as long as possible.
While solar energy might not be the best option for some in dark or wet areas, the latest generation of equipment and energy storage systems could increase your property's solar viability enough to achieve a return on investment. A contractor could also recommend a different primary source of renewable energy like wind or geothermal to boost your generation.
The answer depends on your specific needs and goals. Generally speaking, monocrystalline solar panels are the most efficient for houses in San Bernardino. However, if lowering cost is your top priority, then you may want to consider thin-film or polycrystalline solar panels. When you're choosing a contractor, make sure to ask about the brand names and models of solar panels an installer offers and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
