Going solar and choosing a reputable solar company are big decisions—ones that will likely impact you for a few decades.

There are words like “photovoltaic,” “on grid,” and “monocrystalline,” that mean absolutely nothing to you right now, but they are monumental in the solar world.

With all these new words, practices, and other questions, you need to make sure that you are working with solar installers that know what they are doing and know the industry well enough to make sure you are getting the best possible equipment, services, and overall experience.

There are so many options, and we want to make sure that you are as educated as possible in every aspect of your solar journey. So, how do you find a reputable solar company?

There are a couple of important things to consider: 

1. Check out their social media platforms. Are they active? Do they have negative comments left unanswered? 
2. Do they lease their systems? The best solar companies will help you own your system and own your power. 
3. Look them up on Google reviews. What is the company’s average rating? Are their negative reviews resolved? 
4. Ask around! You might be surprised how many of your neighbors have looked into going solar. 
5. Request more information. If a company can provide you with a quote or information on next steps, you can be sure that they are confident in their processes and practices. 

Social Media

Being able to interact with companies on social media is a great way to get a feel for how they run their business and how they treat their customers. 

If they are active on social media, you can tell that they are up to date on how their entire industry is doing, and they are aware of how they can become better for their customers.

Oftentimes, companies will post their new promotions or products on social media, especially if it is something they are excited about. With those posts, you can see that a company is proud of how they are making their practices better for their employees and their customers.  

Having a social media presence is not necessarily indicative of a company’s reputation or ability to deliver the best results, but it can be part of a larger equation to see what they value and how they go about showing that. 

At Blue Raven Solar, we know that connecting with our customers and employees is an important part of showing people that we value their input, so we are active on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

All these platforms give us the ability to connect with people in the way that they are most comfortable with, and we can answer questions, resolve conflicts, and tell our followers what we are excited about in our business.

We believe in being present for every situation that needs attention, whether it is positive or negative.  

If negative comments are left unanswered, it might be a good indicator of how the company feels about owning up to and fixing their mistakes.

At Blue Raven Solar, our values are “Develop a High-Trust Culture, Be Efficient, and Continuously Improve.” These values are essential in our social media practices, because we want our customers to trust that we are going to do everything we can to make their lives better through the experience that we give them. 

Leasing vs. Buying

Leasing a solar system may seem to have its advantages on the surface.

You will not have a loan, you may not have to worry about maintenance, and if you decide you are done with solar, you can be done leasing the system (depending on the length of contract). However, this is often not the case, and leasing a system can get you in situations you would prefer to avoid. 

A solar company’s reputation can often be determined by their stance on leasing a system, and we advise that everyone that is interested in going solar to steer clear of any company that offers a lease, or a PPA (power purchase agreement).  

Leases have contracts that last for years, and you miss out on any tax credits or incentives that your state might offer and the federal tax credit of 30%–those credits will go to the company you are leasing from, and you will be stuck in a contract.

These contracts have a reputation of increasing in price each year, and you are not able to leave the situation because of the contract’s longevity. You will also never be able to own your system, which is an extremely important part of your financial benefit when making the switch to solar.   

At Blue Raven Solar, we prioritize your ownership over your power. It is important to us that you are able to take advantage of every financial incentive that your area has to offer, and we even help you with the forms!

You can have autonomy over your energy with a reputable solar company like Blue Raven. You can read more about leasing your system versus owning your panels here! 

Reviews

Seeing a company’s reviews can give you a great insight into the way the company has treated their customers in the past and how many customers have been satisfied with their work.

Google Reviews are a solid place to see reviews from people in all parts of the country, so you can filter your results to be more central to your location. Google reviews are not the only place that has reputable reviews for solar companies—you can also look at Solar Reviews, the Better Business Bureau, or another website like Best Company or Energy Sage.

Many solar companies are actively reviewed on these websites, and you can read reviews from people that have had a myriad of experiences while going solar. These are going to be an honest, open, and unfiltered resource of information on a company’s processes and practices, and it might be one of the best resources to look at.  

We are extremely grateful for every review we get at Blue Raven Solar. Each review gives us an opportunity to reflect on the things that we are doing well and the things that we are doing that may need to be reconsidered or improved.

We want all our customers to have a transparent experience with Blue Raven Solar, and we strive to ensure that our customers only have good things to say about their solar journey with us.

We take pride in our ratings across these platforms, and we look forward to being able to provide more 5-star experiences as we continue to help homeowners go solar! 

Ask Around

By 2023, it is projected that over 4 million homeowners will have solar panels on their homes. 

How many of those homeowners live near you?

You might be surprised!

There are solar installers in every state in the country, and Blue Raven Solar operates in 17 of them! Talk to your neighbors and others in your community—if you do not know someone directly that has gone solar, someone else probably does!

Solar demand has increased over 20 times in the last decade, with 2 million systems installed in the United States through 2019. As solar becomes less expensive and more beneficial, more and more people are on the hunt for a reputable solar company to help them make the switch to savings and clean energy.  

Your neighbors and members of your community that have researched or gone solar are another great source of information on companies’ practices with individuals. They will be able to give you their direct perspective and details from their solar journey and you are able to ask them specific questions about how they felt about their installers, salespeople, designers, and other professionals that are involved in the process. They can tell you about the permitting process, their HOA requirements, and other circumstances they had to encounter, but if they went with Blue Raven Solar, they did not need to worry about any of those situations, because we had it covered.

We have departments that handle permitting in the county and with the HOA, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the savings. 

Each of our customers’ homes receives a designer to use an aerial view of the home in order to design the panels in the perfect configuration to produce energy in the most efficient way possible. We are proud of our amazing team of solar professionals to help homeowners achieve their solar goals in the simplest way possible.  

Ask Questions

The last suggestion we have is to ask questions and request information.

Solar companies that are confident and proud of their practices will be able to answer any and all questions that you have about every step of the solar installation process, and they will have answers that will make you comfortable that they know their responsibilities inside and out.

There should not be any uncertainty from the people that are helping you make this investment. You want to have full confidence and trust in the installation team that is helping you make the switch to solar.

At Blue Raven Solar, you can request a free estimate for how much money you can save going solar. You can also ask us any questions in several different ways, and our Support team is available to help you with any other help you might need. 

Any reputable solar company will have answers ready when you need them, even if you are not necessarily ready to make any commitments. 

Blue Raven Solar has people that are excited to help you in any way that you may need it. 

We Want to Help You

Going solar and choosing a reputable solar company are big decisions—we will not downplay it.

It is a large investment that takes a few years to pay you back, but we promise that it is worth it. Homeowners can save between $15,000 and $30,000 on utilities over the years depending on their locations, especially with increasing utility prices across the country (they are projected to increase by 10% before 2022 in some cities)! 

Making the switch to solar is not only an opportunity for huge savings for you, but it has amazing environmental impacts that help to save the planet. Each solar system that operates for 25 years saves about 170 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. Imagine that impact with 4 million homes! 

Blue Raven Solar is also partnered with GivePower Foundation, and every customer’s purchase of a solar panel system sends someone in need access to clean water for 20 years. You can read more about GivePower and our work with them here. 

With increasing benefits and decreasing prices, solar energy has never been a better idea. You can make the switch today by contacting one of our Sales representatives or requesting a free quote.

We are excited to help you save money and save the planet!

Join the movement today.