How do you find a solar installer?

Let’s pretend for a second that I don’t work for One Block Off the Grid and let’s pretend that I’ve never heard about the organization.  Now, let’s also pretend that I’m an average homeowner looking to go solar. So, where do I begin?  The first thing I do is a google search.  I might start with “solar installers San Francisco” (since that’s where I live.) Then, since those results aren’t that helpful, I google, “quality” or “best solar installer” or even “how to choose a solar installer.”

=> See also: What 1BOG does to find solar companies.

While I love google as much as anyone, I’m disappointed by my search results.  I end up with lists of solar companies in my area, installer websites, maybe an article or two about general installer selection, but the problem is that there’s no way to tell which installers are providing the best installations at the best price.  Nothing lets me know if the installer uses proper installation practices to pass building inspections or if they will charge me the “sucker price.”

The other problem is that a lot of the information is coming from the installers, who are the ones trying to sell you something.

How 1BOG selects solar companies

So, that’s part of the beauty of 1BOG. We use an in depth, competitive process to figure out which installer is best for you. We start by issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solar installations companies in the area where we want to run a campaign.  The RFP requires the installer to provide information in the following categories:

• Executive Summary
• Company Background
• Product Information
• Installation Timeframe
• Sales Process and Integration with 1BOG
• Ability to Handle Large Orders
• System Monitoring
• Financing/Rebates
• Pricing
• Program Promotion

Our solar experts carefully review the proposals and narrow it down to a few top runners.  We evaluate the proposals based on all on the RFP criteria, but we’re especially interested in the price (we want to give our members a huge discount) and  the quality of the equipment.  Once we’ve reviewed everything we can on paper, we meet with the installers and take a look at installations that they’ve done.  We carefully evaluate the the installations to make sure that the company is using sound practices that will pass building codes and last a very long time.  After that, we negotiate with the top candidates for the absolute best price possible.  Once we’ve gotten a price locked in stone, we alert our members of the details of the program.

Without this RFP process, it’s hard to know what you’re getting. The bottom line is that we do a lot of work so that you don’t have to. We get detailed, direct information from the installers and decipher the pricing and all of the other complicated stuff.  That way, you don’t have to waste time googling, getting nowhere, and giving up. You can feel comfortable knowing that our selected installers have been fully vetted.

More about how 1BOG selects a solar company.