Pet Peeve Among Solar Professionals

Solar is, admittedly, a really fun industry to work in. Solar professionals have knowledge that can be vital for making the right decisions for someone’s or a business’s solar energy needs. Like many industries, there is a really steep learning curve. However, once you get past it, there are opportunities to meet with like-minded people, work with fun people who appreciate green advancements in technology, travel, laugh and constantly be on your toes to learn something new to better serve customers.  Even better, when you walk into our Solar Showroom, you are welcomed by a wide array of people who not only love the company they work for, they are all excited to talk about what they do and why they do it.  There are very few things people in our industry, and our office, can really complain about.   However, the one question that makes every single solar professional cringe is “Can I just get a ball park quote?”  And in some lessor solar companies, they might throw a number out to you.  We, however, refuse.  This short article will explain why pricing is personalized and not something we can ‘ball park’ without having some real information in front of us.

Solar Professionals: House Size is Important

Almost daily, we get a phone call from someone asking for a quote. They eagerly tell us they live in a 2-story, 3200 square foot home in Oakley with 3 dogs, 2 kids and a gold fish.  And then they wait.  They wait and patiently ask, “About how much will a solar system cost for me?” As much as we appreciate the introduction to your home and want to meet your dogs and are oddly curious to what you named your gold fish, these are all details that do not feed into the size of a solar system.

No two households are alike.  You and a neighbor may have exactly the same model of home (and perhaps 3 dogs, 2 kids and a gold fish), but that does not mean that your solar systems will be built identically.  House size is not relevant when it comes to designing the size of a system or determining how much the solar PV system will cost.

Solar Professionals: Electricity Usage

We cannot give a ball park quote on your solar system because all of our quotes are based off of your energy usage.  We take the time to collect the last 12 months’ worth of utility usage and design a system that answers to the needs of the electricity your household actually uses. This is why the same model home generally has a different sized solar PV system than a neighbor.  Different households use energy quite differently. Due to these radical differences between homes and energy use, our Energy Adviser’s truly cannot provide a ‘ball park’ quote that is accurate.  Other solar companies that ‘guesstimate’ system sizes frequently have to go back and rebuild systems and add panels.  That strategy is expensive, and frustrating, for homeowners.  Our quotes start with real numbers to ensure our systems are large enough to really cover a homeowner’s usage.

 

Energy Usage Goals

Another reason our Energy Adviser’s cannot ‘ballpark’ a quote is because we do not know what energy goals a household, or business owner, has.  A true conversation unveils details that could make a big difference in how large, or small, a system should be build.  Plans such as adding on a pool or hot tub, purchasing an EV car, or expanding the family with more children or in-laws moving into a home.  Ballpark figures do not include these vital details.

Solar Professionals: Are Personalized Systems Important?

Each solar PV system we install on homes and each residential solar pv system we design is designed by a highly trained solar designer and engineer.  These specialists take all the hard data points and details from our sales professionals to ensure the system that is installed on our roof produces at least as much energy as the household will consume.  When there are goals of pools, spas and EV cars, we design systems that can produce enough energy to eliminate future utility charges.

Solar is frequently touted to be “simple.”  And we do not think that it is as complicated as other home improvements, the time an Energy Adviser takes to truly know what size system a home needs is vital.  Conversations allow us to build solar systems that will produce energy for homeowners and business owners in the long-run.

If you are ready to have a real conversation about solar, now is the time to reach out to one of our Energy Advisers today. Why ballpark a solar system when you can get a personalized system with a personalized experience from us, today?