If you roll your eyes during some of our virtue signaling, please know that we do too. While we are tripping on our solar super-hero capes and promoting basic decency and ethics in solar marketing, sales, and business like it’s our own personal superpower, it implies that all other solar contractors are villains. All of them are not, but many are. It is a dirty industry that is cleaning itself up.
One of the villains’ biggest weapons is going away in 2026. That is the federal solar tax credit. We are glad it is going away. Many solar villains depended on it to sell solar. They made outlandish claims about it and took advantage of a lot of solar customers with it. Lawsuits abound. It is our hope that these contractors are held accountable for their treachery. We hope those that inevitably get away with it, choose another industry in which to ply their lies.
It is also our hope that as these dishonest contractors leave the industry, our business will pick up. While other companies have reduced the size of their teams as their business has slowed, we have hired new employees in anticipation of increased calls in the coming months. Our business has always been 90% service, and we have learned to work on all brands, so we think we are ready for the influx.
Now, as we once again managed to present ourselves as perfect and the rest of the industry as incompetent and dishonest, let’s point out the obvious. There are other solar contractors that do a fine job, and we hope they also prosper in the coming months. Solar isn’t going anywhere. It makes too much sense, and word is the power companies are about to get silly. There is and will be enough solar business to go around. But be careful.
Scrutinize your solar contractor’s qualifications carefully. Even ours. We are blessed to have earned our bona fides in the solar industry by now. We have a very high rating (4.9) based on hundreds of reviews. We have certifications and other proofs of competency from several manufacturers. We have been doing this since 1999 and have thousands of customers in the area. We have acquired the phone numbers of seven defunct solar companies (so far) and have routed their numbers to our phones in order to gain the business of their abandoned customers. We have launched additional websites to attract orphaned solar customers (www.allsolarcares.com). Service is what we do, and we excel at it.
Some other companies are great too, but no industry will ever get rid of all of its scoundrels. Hold whoever you choose for new sales or service to the highest standards. Incompetent contractors can void warranties and leave you worse off than you were. Dishonest sales organizations or contractors can do even more damage. Try not to choose based solely on price.
Everybody wants the best price. Being fair takes discipline. Pricing fairly is a walk along a ragged edge. We base our pricing as fairly as possible on what it costs us to procure the equipment and materials, plus what we pay our technicians for their labor and expertise, plus overhead, and finally plus a little profit for the company. What makes it a ragged edge is that some of these numbers are constantly changing.
You may have noticed that we do not take competitive pricing into consideration. We can’t. We don’t. It is too much to keep up with. We have trusted and reliable suppliers of equipment and materials. The manufacturer’s equipment we promote is all top-tier, tried and true, and will not be a service nightmare in the future. But prices and availability do fluctuate. It’s that ragged edge we mentioned. We can’t stay on top of that and stay on top of what Billy-Bob’s Solar down the street is charging too.
We make sure we use the highest quality equipment and materials, pay our people well, pay our bills on time, and sock a bit away for Christmas parties and future growth. Billy-Bob may have just scored a deal on some cheap panels out of Kazakhstan, or found a bargain on wire and racking that fell off a truck, or he pays his techs less. Maybe he has done none of those and is making less or no profit.
Cheap panels and materials lead to future hassles for both the customer and Billy-Bob. Techs that are willing to work for less money typically have equivalent competence and expertise, this also leads to future problems. Many solar companies that were here today and gone tomorrow were run by fine people with great intentions but not enough business acumen. They offered their prospects great prices and then did them the disservice of going of business. As I said, we have a few of their numbers directed to ours now.
Know that buying solar electric is at least a thirty-year marriage between you and your solar contractor. If your solar needs anything, it is always better if the original installer provides it. Everything goes smoother with maintenance, service, and warranties. Buying from the lowest bidder means you bought shortcuts. Was it in equipment and material quality? Was it workmanship? Was it in the longevity of the company you chose? All can eventually eat up whatever money you saved by choosing the lowest bidder.
If all this sounds like the whining of the most expensive solar contractor in town, it’s not. We are gob smacked by what some other companies are charging. The other end of the spectrum is no better. We find our pricing to fall on the middle to lower end of the spectrum. Please choose wisely.
Depending on when this post is posted, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and happy New Year. If we left out a holiday that is important to you, Happy Everything! Thank you all who have chosen us for your solar needs and those that will in the future. May the holidays bring you everything you desire. If one of those is an honest and fair solar contractor, we got you.
