11/11/2013
Anonymous
Since the price of solar systems have come down in the past couple of years, I decided to dive in again and get a few bids. The two companies which I focused on were Highlight Solar (small company) and Clear Solar (large company). Highlight Solar was by far the lowest price, but they ended being the best choice for me. They were responsive to my questions and even installed a couple of extras for me without additional charges.<br /><br />The Highlight Solar job completed in about a week and the solar system was generating power fairly quickly even though I was not yet onto the PG&E net metering as of yet. The quoted system with 34 Canadian Solar 250W panels and 34 Enphase micro-inverters work quite well and I am already seeing 40% less energy usage even with our shorter days.<br /><br />Considering that buying a solar system is like buying a car, do your homework and ask a lot of questions regarding installation. That's were the companies differentiate themselves. The system parts are pretty much a commodity now without much difference in price and performance. Almost all the quotes used the same parts.<br /><br />Overall, nobody does a perfect job and there will be something to nitpick about, but the main point is that Highlight Solar satisfied all my needs and concerns. <br />Plus, I feel I could pick up the phone call them and they would respond to any future questions or problems I may encounter. Therefore, I give them a 5 star rating.<br /><br />- Smaller company, more flexible and agile to meet my needs<br />- Lowest cost system, very cost competitive<br />- Mounting system installed under roof tiles, not drilled thru them<br />- Cannot see the conduit running to the power panel, very aesthetic install<br />- Installed a new electrical outlet and my EV charger with a 240v plug outlet and added a 24v adapter plug to my Clipper Creek EV charger at no extra charge<br />- Clean and professional work, they cleaned up thoroughly at completion