With the recent heat wave in Southern California and in the entire United States, many folks have been looking to go solar in San Diego and beyond. Who you choose as a company to install your photovoltaic and/or solar hot water heating could end up costing you additional thousands of dollars or time in needless delays because of that company's inability to perform on a timely basis. Additionally if not properly installed you won't be getting the savings you were promised. From the moment of first contact with your solar provider you need to ask the following questions or check the following resources.
1. How long have you been in business? How long have you been installing solar panels or solar water heaters? These questions are important and should be able to be answered and on the tip of the tongue of the person working for the company. Ask for the legal name of the company. Joe's Solar could be a doing business as name for Smith Solar Company, Inc. Once you have the name of the company look it up at the California or your state's Secretary of State or business division. Here you can verify when they were incorporated and how long they've been in business. A company that I know had been in business for about two years and were telling customers that they had been in business for 11 years by pointing them to a simlarly named company whose owner they compelled to change the name to be close to theirs. Verify information you've been given and if this information isn't readily available, this should raise a red flag.
2. Are you a licensed contractor? What is your contractors license number? The Contractors State License Board of California is your friend. Here you can find out if the company is licensed and if they are using the license number of a diiferent company they they are representing as their own. You can also see who the principals of the com pany are from the officers listed to the RMO (Responsible Managing Officer, usually a journeyman electrician who is responsible for the electrical work done on behalf of the company. If there is volatility in the company you will see names of many people who have associated and disassociated themselves from the company. Addiitionaly, you will see the bonding and workers compensation information for the company. Volatility in officers and/or lack or lapse of insurance or bonding should raise red flags for you.
3. Scour the internet for information on the company and customer complaints on the internet. First, forget about the Better Business Bureau, they are notoriously slow to deal with complaints and the aformentioned company I knew had at times an A+ and an A- rating with the BBB, essentially having paid them off with a membership and delayed providing information. Other places like Yelp or even Angie's List could be gamed by friends of the company promoters and pay little to no attention to online video or other endorsements as these can reflect just a small portion of the customer base and oftentimes are friends and relatives thought they don't tell you this during their testimonials. Twelve "happy customers" may be hiding eighty-eight disgruntled ones. Look for sites like Rip Off Report and look at the postings there and any replies the company may have left. These kinds of postings can be telling regarding the type of company with which you are about to be involved.
There are many reputable solar companies out there who want to help you save moeny on your electricity bill and go solar. It's up to you to do the homework and make sure that the company with which you are getting involved is one of those. Best of luck in your energy future!
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