EnergyPal Review: A Convenient Way to Go Solar - CNET

Nov 03, 2024

Operating across the US and Canada, EnergyPal is a marketplace and energy advisor that can help you with your solar installation.

If you're a homeowner hoping to reduce your electric bills, solar panels are a great way to defray costs while also going green and reducing your dependence on the grid. In many states and on the federal level, there are also excellent tax incentives for installing them, especially if you own or plan to get an electric vehicle. The best solar companies on the market can guide you through the often complicated residential installation process, but it can be hard to know where to start, especially with lesser-known companies like EnergyPal.

Originating in 2008, the EnergyPal executive team created an online shopping and clean energy marketing firm. Both were acquired by NRG and Sunrun, respectively, resulting in the founding of EnergyPal in 2016. Like many solar installers, EnergyPal acts as an advisor platform and marketplace, with consultations that can provide quotes, warranty support, and various packages and financing.

While EnergyPal doesn't perform the installations itself, it will contract with a local company that does and will arrange everything through the entire process, including permitting, coordinating the installation and working with utility companies. We particularly like the many options EnergyPal offers for solar hardware, with customers able to pick panels, batteries, inverters and microinverters from various top solar brands, including Qcells, Enphase, Tesla, SolarEdge and others.

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For this review, we evaluated EnergyPal's services, warranties and financing options in detail and spoke with a representative. The company was forthcoming about its offerings and process, but as with many companies, the upfront pricing isn't always very clear without taking the time to speak with a representative and generate a quote.

Solar panel and battery installations happen in the rain all the time.

While this review is as comprehensive as possible, CNET didn't go through the ordering and installation process with EnergyPal. The solar market is known for having its ups and downs (the famous solar coaster), and solar scams aren't unheard of. It's important to do your own research, shop around and get multiple quotes before committing to a solar company.

EnergyPal is a solar marketplace operating in the US and Canada. It's important to understand that EnergyPal connects you with a variety of solar installers and an advisor platform that crafts customized recommendations. While EnergyPal doesn't perform solar installations itself, it can guide you through the entire process from beginning to end.

The company starts with a solar system consultation and offers various financing options, such as solar loans, leases, power purchase agreements, home improvement loans and direct cash purchases. The company also has an internal database to help customers take advantage of all potential federal, state and local incentives, tax credits, and rebates. After that, EnergyPal will work with a licensed installer to install your solar system and provide you with ongoing customer support and energy monitoring.

The equipment installed by EnergyPal depends on your solar consultation and preferences. Unlike many solar companies, EnergyPal gives you flexibility when picking solar hardware, including solar panels, batteries, inverters and microinverters."EnergyPal's role is to advise and provide recommendations based on the customer's needs, location, energy goals, and budget and help customers to narrow down options," said Ian Hilborn, Co-founder and COO at EnergyPal. "Through a digital or phone consultation, EnergyPal advisers will share different options, explaining the pros and cons of each component, so customers can make an informed decision."

Solar panel hardware options include ones from QCells, REC, Silfab and Aptos, with all of them coming recommended by EnergyPal. With QCells, you get options like the QCells Q.TRON BLK-MG2+, which has a 440-watt wattage per panel and an efficiency of 22.5% for a sleek, black panel. REC panels rank highly in CNET's list of the best solar panels, with the company coming second only to Maxeon in efficiency (by just 0.5%). The panels are all black or mostly black, giving them a sleek look, with a 25-year warranty that guarantees the production of 86% or 92% of their rated power.

Solar panels above parking spaces at the QCells solar panel manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, U.S., on Monday, May 3, 2021.

Battery hardware options include QCells, Enphase, SolarEdge, FranklinWH, Tesla and more. The Enphase IQ Battery 5P features on CNET's best solar batteries. It's a 5 kWh battery with 7.68 kW peak power and 3.84 kW continuous power. It has a 90% round trip efficiency and comes with a 15-year warranty. While customers can express their hardware preferences, EnergyPal will also advise you to ensure the preferences work with your solar system and balance savings, efficiency and performance.

EnergyPal also offers both microinverters and string inverters, with options from SolarEdge, Tesla, Enphase and Qcells, which all feature on CNET's best solar inverters roundup.

Solar installations managed by EnergyPal include warranties on workmanship and products and performance guarantees for many solar financing programs. The workmanship guarantees typically last 10 years and cover issues with the solar installation process itself. The product manufacturer warranties are up to 30 years, depending on the component and cover solar panels, inverters, batteries, and monitoring across the life of the system's components.

QCell panels are guaranteed to produce 85% of rated capacity after 25 years, though some models also go up to 92%. Tesla batteries typically come with a 10-year warranty. Most Enphase batteries also come with 10 years, but some of the new IQ 5P batteries come with a 15-year warranty.

EnergyPal offers monitoring services as part of the solar system package. Monitoring is usually integrated into the inverter or battery system. However, EnergyPal doesn't run its own app, though it does offer customer support after installation to help with any issues, including monitoring.

Instead, it uses the apps or online platforms provided by Enphase, SolarEdge or Tesla, all of which are available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, respectively. These apps allow you to monitor your system performance, energy production, analyze performance against historical weather data and more.

Which ones you'll need to download will depend on the hardware you have installed. If you have Enphase hardware, you can get the app from Google Play where it's rated 4.1 stars or the App Store where it has 4.6 stars. For SolarEdge users, the mySolarEdge app has 4.4 stars on Google Play and 4.6 stars on the App Store. Tesla Powerwall users can download the app on the Google Store and App Store where it has 3.8 stars, though this includes owners of Tesla vehicles.

EnergyPal uses a local network of pre-vetted and partnered, certified solar installers. All contractors EnergyPall works with are certified and vetted. Local installers are licensed, insured and have necessary certifications, such as the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.

EnergyPal also tracks contractor metrics. "EnergyPal further vets providers based on historical performance and real project reviews, and will take action to transition customers to higher performing contractors when necessary to get the project done right," Hilborn said.

EnergyPal also has exclusive offers from various installers, financers, roofers and warranty providers, with customers being able to get all the information on pricing, service and products through the company's recommendation and engine.

Like many solar companies, EnergyPal doesn't make its pricing readily available. However, it did share with us that typical solar panels will cost between $200 and $400, depending on the make and model. That doesn't account for things like inverters, racking, installation costs, permit costs and administration costs, which the company estimates could range from $600 to $1,000 per panel after incentives.

Filling out the contact form will get you a response from an EnergyPal representative who can provide you with a quote and walk you through the process.

This pricing is in-line with analysis by solar consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, the median price per watt for a solar system was $2.99 in 2022 for a 8 kW system. The median cost of a solar system will run you $23,920. If you factor in the 30% federal clean energy credit, the US national average cost comes out to $3.60 per watt, or $18,073 for a 5 kW system.

EnergyPal does offer a price match for like-for-like packages. However, this may not apply in many cases since the company claims that it "often" provides better equipment, warranties and service than the majority of the industry.

EnergyPal offers all major financing options via financiers like Enfin, Lightreach, GoodLeap, IGS, Everbright and over 20 other options. These financing options include solar loans, home improvement loans, solar leases, power purchase agreements and cash purchase. Also notable is that EnergyPal compares different financing options for each customer and lays out their options with its proprietary recommendation engine, with terms, interest rates and payments structures tailored to each homeowner.

It'll also use an internal database to help you take advantage of all potential federal, state and local incentives, tax credits, and rebates. Finally, the bidding process is also competitive since EnergyPal works with multiple providers and installers.

1.Solar Loans: EnergyPal partners offer low-interest solar loans with terms of 5 to 25 years. Customers can own the system and benefit from tax incentives, rebates, and credits. They can be installer-financed and work similarly to a personal loan. They may have variable interest rates, monthly payments and loan terms.

2. Home Improvement Loans: Loans at fixed rate APR are often offered by general home improvement lenders with no dealer fees. This can be a good alternative to solar loans.

3. Solar Leases: Fixed monthly payments are available to lease the system without ownership, offering immediate savings on the homeowner's utility bills. However, federal tax credits or other incentives aren't available and some leases include escalators that increase payment amounts over time.

4. Power Purchase Agreements: These have the advantage of no upfront costs. Homeowners buy the solar energy produced at a lower rate than buying energy from their utility power, but the solar panels and other hardware belong to the company.

5. Cash Purchase: If you can afford it, an upfront payment to own the system can help you maximize long-term savings, tax incentives and rebates offered on the state and federal level.

EnergyPal operates in the majority of the US and Canada. It's present in 40 US states and Washington, DC. It also operates in six of Canada's provinces, including Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan.

To start an order or get a consultation with EnergyPal, simply fill out the contact form. An EnergyPal adviser will then reach out to walk you through your options, financing and more. After filling out the form, I received outreach from an EnergyPal representative the same day by email and phone.

EnergyPal's process for providing a quote is done through the company's quote builder engine, which is overseen by an energy advisor. You must fill out name, phone, email, property address and an estimate of monthly electric bills. The quote builder will account for property attributes, energy usage and future needs. During the consultation, EnergyPal's quote builder also conducts a more detailed review of utility bills, expected future electric usage, satellite imagery (LiDAR) of your home roof orientation, shading and energy production potential.

EnergyPal also offers a variety of tools to help with customer orders, including a solar EV charging calculator, home solar guide and guides for solar panels, home battery systems and solar inverters. The MyEnergyPal customer portal gets shared during the quoting process. It provides quotes, comparisons, product spec sheets, warranty information and resources on incentive programs and financing. Solar designs and shading reports are also provided during the advisor consultation.

EnergyPal isn't listed on the Better Business Bureau, but it scores a solid 4.7 rating on Trustpilot. Users rank it highly for efficiency, easy communication and friendly agents. We couldn't find any notable negative reviews on Trustpilot, but checking Reddit gave us more negative experiences. These reviews have been slightly edited for clarity, spelling and punctuation without changing the message.

"(sic) Feb. 2023, I signed three Complete Solar/EnergyPal homes/contracts for San Diego and Los Angeles. At the end of Oct. 2023, so far After 9 months, no solar, not even close. Panels [are also] blocking the driveway for 6 months in LA," said Reddit user u/lauraechristine.

"What a superb find. These guys are great at what they do, efficient, very good at communication and generally a pleasure to work with. I have multiple sites, and I am absolutely certain Paul and his team will save me valuable hours renewing contracts and hunting the best deals. Definitely recommend them x," said Ismail on Trustpilot.

With any major purchase, but especially one as big as a solar system, it's important to shop around and get multiple quotes from different sources. That said, EnergyPal may do at least some of the shopping around for you. Its proprietary engine provides you with a variety of financing options for your solar system and engages in a competitive bidding process for the installation.

EnergyPal is a good option if you want a single point of contact that can handle all the details of a solar install, from planning to permitting to coordinating contractors. The company works with certified and vetted local installers and partners, though it won't perform the installation itself. You also get plenty of hardware choices when it comes to solar hardware, which is rare to find, though this might add some variation to warranty length.

Customer service is also a strong suit, with a high Trustpilot rating and generally positive customer reviews online. It's important to note that CNET didn't go through the full solar installation process with EnergyPal and we didn't purchase or test the hardware directly. It's always important to do your own research before committing to a solar company.

EnergyPal isn't just a middleman, though it doesn't install the solar system itself either. EnergyPal functions as both an energy advisor platform and marketplace. You can get a solar system consultation and EnergyPal will assess your needs, create a plan, lay out financing options for you and handle the installation process, including coordinating with subcontractors.

If you have a problem with an installation, EnergyPal will help resolve it. It offers support from its project support specialists throughout the entire process, including post-installation support. "EnergyPal acts as the homeowner's advocate, coordinating with the installation team, local permitting office, and even with the utility company, roofers or HOAs to resolve the problem," said Marcus Joo, co-founder at EnergyPal.

EnergyPal doesn't offer hardware directly, but it works with installers to install a wide variety of solar panels, batteries, inverters and microinverters. Brands include QCells, Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla and others.

Reviewing solar companies in a hands-on way is difficult. Accounting for all the differences project to project is impossible. To provide a helpful review, we focused on what we can measure and meaningfully compare among companies.

We focus on three buckets of criteria: equipment, warranties and service.

Within the equipment category, companies receive scores for the panels, inverters and batteries they install. Warranties include the guarantees on the panels, workmanship and weatherization against leaks. Companies earn points for service if they offer a price match, a meaningful level of price transparency and a well-rated app for monitoring solar production. They lose points if there are major issues pertaining to customer service (lawsuits, investigations or clear reputations for shoddy service). These issues will always be detailed in the review.

You can read a detailed look at how the scoring breaks down.

We don't consider the average price of a company's installations in its score. This information is difficult to find and hard to compare across service areas (and even roof to roof). Companies are often slow to disclose it too. We also leave out easily found but not useful information like how many states a company operates in.

Read more: If a rooftop solar system isn't for you, you can still take advantage of solar generators, which pair with portable solar panels.

Article updated on November 1, 2024 at 11:20 AM PDT

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