Submitted by cbri t3_10g2sr4 in RhodeIsland
We're investigating regional solar companies to see if it makes sense to go the solar route like many people. There's not a lot of good, verifiable information or reviews on companies who do this type of work. Word of mouth is always great so if you went this route who did you use?
Thanks either way!
That's what I've seen so far, and it doesn't instill confidence. Thanks
To be fair the job market is hot and these companies are trying to respond to a fast growing market. It's on the consumer to demand as much info as possible. It always amazes me that people will sign onto a 20-year/multi-decade contract after a 45 minute conversation with a kid selling door to door.
RESNE. Took care of everything for me, super responsive and the workmanship is top notch. No conduit running along my roof. I would also suggest using energysage for the quoting process.
Cool thank you
Sunnova (trinity)
Thanks!
Think they all do some kind of referral programs but if you want a refferal bonus I can get you in contact with my guy
Sol power - we bought. Not a fan of leasing if you have the choice but leasing is better than no system at all!
Newport Solar. Highly recommended.
They just did mine. Really easy to work with. The installation also looks 10x better than other installs I've seen.
This isn't really an answer to your question, but I am going to keep banging the community solar drum as a good first step (or only step) toward greening your electricity mix.
Think of it like your whole neighborhood getting solar, but instead of having 50 different small installs on 50 different roofs, it's one install in a field nearby. The energy billing is handled with a third company so you won't see 100% of the savings from solar, but your startup expense is $0, maintenance expense is $0, and there's no time commitment. With mine, I pay 10% less than whatever total RIE bills.
I joined the Goat Island solar farm, which is now full. There are other projects accepting people now. https://blog.arcadia.com/goat-island-spotlight/
More official info from the OER here, including a link to the community solar marketplace: https://energy.ri.gov/renewable-energy/solar/community-solar
I used SolPower for my system. Install took 6 months and was done in 2 days. On the bad side I've been waiting for a few weeks on them to schedule some additional work to be done.
RoofTop Power gets my highest recommendation. They had some trees cut for me and the installation went perfectly and was done in two days. That being said the whole process takes a few months. But the best recommendation I can give is to quote the utility guy who came out for the final inspection. “It’s perfect. You’re lucky.” Why, I asked? I would expect them all to be perfect. He said “you would think so but I’ve seen some real nightmares. A lot of them need work before we’ll give permission to activate”. It only makes financial sense if you have high electric usage to begin with. We are saving over $100/month and couldn’t be happier with our system or the service from Rooftop Power. Ask for Dexter. He explains and doesn’t sell. Feel free to DM me if you’d like more details.
New England Clean Energy. I’ve referred a few other now-happy customers. They are excellent and no-pressure.
Thanks!
I’ve been thinking of getting solar too but my husband doesn’t want to. I’m wondering if it really works the way the pre presentation say it does. Sound too good to be true.
We looked into and it all seems really good. We were looking at buying not leasing. Unfortunately the break even in my case (approx 10 yrs) is probably longer than I plan living around here. My roof faces perfect direction and we have no trees. I think they are cool, and most of all I would have liked the F-U factor towards the power company.
The awful thing is that they don’t allow homeowners to overproduce if the roof space is available. They try to estimate your last few bills and maybe go slightly over. I think it would help the state situation somewhat if homeowners who had a good roof and were willing, to overproduce to help out the grid.
Yeah the limitation on power is super annoying.
Also - pro tip - if you’re planning on getting an ev, buy the solar system a couple months after buying the ev
You're allowed to overproduce to 125%, but that is the limit.
What happens to the 'excess' energy that's produced, or it just doesn't get that far?
Sell it back to power company as credit. Basically it goes like this… In summer you should have good producing months, hopefully above what you consume. The excess goes to RI Energy and they credit you for it. Winter months you produce less and you probably end up using those credits. The hope is you at least end up with net no electric bill.
Now there are so many factors like your house location, tree cover, your personal consumption etc.
I have no doubt solar works itself, but the vendors are questionable. I'm wondering if they have battery storage that is used at night, or do they revert right back to the grid. If battery are they using something like the tesla wall or similar new technology?
I also wonder about just doing a diy setup, but I'm sure there's steps you have to do to get connected to the grid.
Overall I think it's definitely worth it one way or another.
Battery is not for night usage, it’s for backup if the grid goes down. If you sign up for connected solutions they will pull from it at peak times. Everywhere I’ve seen says they give you 5000 for connected solutions but when the solar guy was here for the quote he said it doesn’t really work like that and it’s at the discretion of the power company.
Part of me just says get a standalone system so you don't have the limitation but it's expensive up front.
Which part sounds too good to be true?
I worked in the industry for 2 years for a company other than Newport Solar. Go Newport Solar.
MonicaPVD t1_j509grr wrote
SunRun. Ask a lot of questions and ask for documentation, regardless of who you talk to. A lot of these companies have inexperienced sales reps scrolling through a presentation on an iPad.