Best Solar Companies In Vermont

• SunPower
• Tesla
• Green Mountain Solar
• Catamount Solar
• HB Energy Solutions
• Sunrun

There are a number of sure-fire ways to pick the best solar panel installation company for you and your family’s needs.

Look for Additional Solar Services

Ideally, you want an all-in-one service that provides ongoing support should things go wrong down the line. Look for a company that offers additional services beyond simple panel installation. Many companies handle all kinds of associated services, like installing solar batteries or placing system monitors for ongoing support. These additional services show that the company knows what it’s doing and is committed to the long-haul.

Consider Financing

Installing a solar energy system can get expensive, costing nearly $20,000 in some cases. If you don’t want to pay that amount all at once, look for a company that offers consumer-friendly financing options. This is common across the industry, given the high upfront cost, but your options may be tied to your credit score. Additionally, some companies and financial institutions offer dedicated solar loans.

Finally, some contractors offer solar leases or power purchase agreements (PPAs). These save you money upfront, but you don’t actually own the equipment so you may lose out in the long-term as you won’t be eligible for many financial incentives.

Gather Multiple Quotes

This is true whenever you’re looking for that perfect contractor. Don’t stop at the first quote. Rather, collect at least three companies to compare and contrast service options, payment options, overall estimate totals and more. You can also use this information to garner a discount with your chosen contractor if you have a couple of lower-priced quotes from rival companies.

Collect Energy Bills and Retrieve Architectural Plans

To gather accurate quotes, you need accurate data. Collect a number of recent energy bills to get an idea how much money you’ll save but, more importantly, grab the design plans for your home to show the contractor. These architectural plans directly inform available options regarding the type of system available and where the panels should be placed. This information, in turn, contributes to the overall cost and saves your pros from having to climb to the roof to conduct measurements.

Prioritize Experience

There’s a reason Burlington, Vermont, was one of the first cities in the country to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. There’s plenty of solar contractors in the region with experience to get the job done. In other words, prioritize experience with solar panels and related equipment to ensure a smooth installation process. Also, pay special attention to companies with plenty of specific Vermont experience, as they’ll know all of the regulatory hoops you have to jump through and will guide you toward financial incentives.

Make Sure The Company Specializes in High-Efficiency Systems

Vermont isn’t like Florida; it only gets direct sunlight less than half of the days each year. High-efficiency panels and related equipment take this into account, so talk to your preferred companies and inquire about high-efficiency tier-one systems to ensure you don’t run out of power in the middle of winter. High-efficiency panels make the most of any available sunlight. You pay a higher upfront cost, but the project pays for itself after a few years.

There are a number of reasons to go with a team of pros when installing solar panels and integrating a new power system to your Vermont home. Here are some worth considering.

Doing It Yourself Is Dangerous

Of course, going the DIY route saves money, but much of the installation process is spent on ladders near or on the roof. As with all roof-based projects, it’s a better choice to go with professional contractors. Not only are they experienced enough to do the work, but they are typically licensed and insured should anything go wrong. There’s also some parts of the job that require fiddling with electrical power grids and related components, which isn’t the safest thing in the world.

Doing It Yourself May Be Inefficient

Pros can install an entire residential solar system in one to three days, depending on complexity. It would likely take an amateur homeowner four or five times as long as that. However, that’s only the beginning of the story, as these systems are more than just panels. There’s the overall design of the system, panel placement concerns, utility interconnection and, of course, installing the system itself. Finally, there’s dealing with the pre-existing electrical system, which presents its own set of headaches.

Permits and Inspections

Remember when we said pros install a solar-based power grid in as little as one business day? That’s not including getting the required permits and both pre-work and post-work inspections. This can balloon the total time frame from mere hours to months, depending on where you live in the state. You likely don’t have connections with local regulatory agencies, but your pros will and they’ll use them to speed up the process. Additionally, on-grid systems need permission to operate from the utility company, which is another aspect of the project your pro handles.

Customer Support

Solar energy systems are complicated and you’ll likely run into a hiccup or two before smoothing things out. Pros offer customer support so you can simply call up your contractor and ask them what’s going on. If you do the installation yourself, you’ll be limited to the customer support provided by the panel manufacturer.

Warranties

This is a big one. Most solar panels offer a 25-year warranty, which is great because they tend to last around 20 to 30 years. You’ll get this warranty whether you perform the installation yourself or hire a pro, but it only pertains to the parts. Reputable contractors offer interconnected warranties that cover parts and workmanship. Additionally, many companies offer power performance guaranties, so if your performance starts to dip, they’ll come in for a free service visit.

Vermont offers an array of solar tax rebates and incentives to make the whole process more affordable to average homeowners. Here are some of the major incentives Vermonters benefit from.

Federal Solar Tax Credit

This tax credit is available nationwide, though Vermonters can certainly take part. The program provides a tax credit equal to 30% of your solar installation costs. That’s nothing to sneeze at, as it also applies to standalone battery installation. This doesn’t come in the form of a rebate or cash payment, rather a deduction on your annual taxes.

Net-Metering

Vermont is a net-metering state, which is great news for consumers. This billing policy lets you send excess energy that your system generates back to the power grid, which means your local utility company will actually pay you money. Contracts differ depending on how much power your panels produce and the rate of your energy company. As an aside, only on-grid systems can buy into net-metering.

Tax Exemptions

Vermont is serious about solar panels, so you don’t have to pay the state’s sales tax on panels, batteries and related equipment. In other words, the price advertised by manufacturers is the actual price, with no surprises. Additionally, any increase in home value necessitates an increase in property taxes. Vermont waives this for solar users, so if your home’s value skyrockets due to an advanced solar power system, your property taxes stay the same.

An average solar panel installation in Vermont costs anywhere from $14,000 to $19,300, but this includes parts, materials and labor and assumes an average system size of five kilowatts. These figures do not take any incentives into account, such as tax exemptions, nor do they assume any associated increase in ROI or decreases in monthly utility bills. Though this is a significant upfront cost, many companies offer financing options to lighten the load.

To determine the best solar panel installation company ranking, the Forbes Home Improvement editorial team analyzed 20 major companies, with each company’s star rating determined by evaluating a variety of metrics, including:

Customer Reviews (35%)

BBB customer ratings and accreditation as well as ratio of complaints to reviews, Trustpilot and Google reviews were all analyzed for each solar panel installation company for 35% total.

Customer Support Options (12%)

The editorial team analyzed all solar companies’ support options including live chat (pre-sale), phone service, FAQ page, knowledge base, community forum and blog for a total of 12% of the total ranking.

Number of States Covered (22%)

Nationwide availability of each solar panel installation company makes up 22% of the ranking. The more states a company covers (including D.C.), the more points it is awarded.

Extra Features (20%)

Extra important features like years in business, average warranty (in years) for products, whether financing is available, free energy consultation availability, home and commercial installation availability and vehicle installation availability, were considered collectively for a combined 20% of the total ranking.

Editorial Judgment Points (11%)

Other editorial judgments were offered for a variety of reasons, including improvement of customer rating and ratio of complaint to review scores from the previous year.