Installers used by forum members

[sensij]

With the new forum policy on sharing installers via their www.solarreviews.com page, perhaps the time is right for this thread. A number of members have taken the time to share their experience... motivation for installing PV, weighing options for how to pay for it, pros and cons of different equipment. This is an attempt to compile some of that information, by vendor, and provide a link to each of those threads. I'm just starting with San Diego for now because it is local, but there is no reason that it can't be expanded to other areas if this is helpful.

This is not intended to be an endorsement of any particular installer, please read the solarreviews page and the member's linked installation thread for the specifics in each case. The list is a bit narrow right now; if I've missed you, please don't clutter the thread with replies to be included... just PM me with a link to your thread and who your installer is and I'll add it to the list.

Cosmic Solar (San Diego County)
Poway

CM Solar (San Diego County)
cmarschi
MoJ

Jamar Power Systems (San Diego County)
AaronG
cmarschi
ericf1
forrest1
Hugo Z Hackenbush
jakepv
JBinCBad
lkstaack
mungosocal
subdriver97
thejq

Milholland Electric (San Diego County)
makarowski

Green Power Installers (SF Bay area)
abyebye
dshenmdyn
justthinking
solar_newbie
Yaryman

SR&S (no solarreviews.com listing) (San Diego)
jd31
SD_Rider

G-.com (no solarreviews.com listing) (National)
sensij (San Diego)






Homeowner DIY or act as GC
71SoCal (San Diego)
bcroe (Northern ILL)
foo1bar (SF Bay area)
MARKSDCA (San Diego)
venvis2001 (SF Bay area)

[dannieboiz]

Would it be too much to ask if this list get broken down by general location?

[sensij]

Would it be too much to ask if this list get broken down by general location?

So far, it is just San Diego area right now, because that is all I've personally been watching. If this will be helpful, I can reach out to members who have posted good threads in other areas and list their installers as well (or they could PM me).

[J.P.M.]

If I were going to track installs, I might consider using the old CSI database as a model of what's possible. Seems like that had most everything one could ask for. Still about the best consumer tool for solar comparison shopping I've seen.

[charles2]

If I were going to track installs, I might consider using the old CSI database as a model of what's possible. Seems like that had most everything one could ask for. Still about the best consumer tool for solar comparison shopping I've seen.

What/where is the CSI database?

[inetdog]

What/where is the CSI database?

The California Solar Initiative offered some subsidy for PV installation in CA and as part of the program each installation was documented in a massive online database which included equipment used, cost, timing of installation, etc.
The money finally ran out and was not renewed and at that time additions to the database stopped, but the historical data is still available online through the CSI website.

[charles2]

the historical data is still available online through the CSI website.

Can you give me an exact link? I'm having trouble finding it at http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/about/csi.php

[sensij]

Can you give me an exact link? I'm having trouble finding it at http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/about/csi.php

https://www.californiasolarstatistics.ca.gov/data_downloads/

[sensij]

Oh wow, there is a new dataset of all installs that count against the NEM cap.... see the "Currently Interconnected Data Set" following the link I just posted. Includes basically the same information that was collected for CSI. Cost information wasn't included for a few months, but looks like it started showing up again in June. I found my install on the list, it definitely wasn't a CSI submission. Last updated 7/31/15... the readme says to expect monthly updates, transitioning to weekly updates in the fall. Guess they are a bit behind.

Started a new thread on this dataset here:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?23545-NEW-CA-Installation-dataset

[solar pete]

Hi All, Happy New Year.

As many may have noticed we have several new sub topics in the forum. I have moved this post from Sensij to this new location for forum members to discuss installers used by forum members. So I cleaned it up a bit by deleting a few posts that didn't relate to the topic of the thread. This thread is now a sticky. Cheers

[Drastyn]

I really like this initiative! It is truth that not all installers are equal and it is great that we can get more authentic information and learn about the experience. Actually, most people usually pay their attention at the product itself and the price, choosing the Solar Panels Company. However, it is not the right strategy and reading different stories, people share you become even more aware of it. So, just hope to see many useful tips and information that will help people .

To expand the initiative, having this forum many non-US members, I suggest to include also others “reviews-websites” like PVCompare (worldwide) ratedsolarinstaller (UK)

[randomuser]

Thanks for all the info I've gathered here so far. Hope this is the beginning of my journey and not near the end. I signed a contract to have SRE install my system. I'm in the San Diego area. I'll update in my own specific topic post as things progress. Thanks again everyone for all the info I've learned from you so far.

[thu292]

Actually, most people usually pay their attention at the product itself and the price, choosing the Solar Panels Company. However, it is not the right strategy and reading different stories, people share you become even more aware of it. So, just hope to see many useful tips and information that will help people .