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Solar Alternatives

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2.0

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: March 26th, 2024

Founded in 2008, Solar Alternatives is a solar installation and energy services provider based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The company has a fleet of thousands of commercial and residential solar panel systems across Louisiana and Mississippi.  

Solar Alternative provides a wide variety of energy management solutions to residential and commercial clients. Homeowners may qualify for a $0 down solar loan with long-term payment options.

Keep reading our Solar Alternatives review to learn more about the pros and cons of choosing this solar company. 

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The Good

  • Variety of Services Offered
  • Ongoing Maintenance
  • Highly-Trained Team Members 
  • Experience and Innovation
  • Competitive Solar Loan Rates
  • Referrals Program
  • Extensive Regional Service Area

Variety of Services Offered 

Residential

Solar Alternatives is aptly named because it offers traditional solar systems but also a number of alternative energy solutions.

Residential services include the following:

  • Rooftop solar
  • Ground mounted solar
  • Solar shingles and canopies
  • Electric vehicle (EV) charger
  • Solar pool heating system
  • Solar attic fan
  • Solar hot water
  • Powerwall
  • Home battery
  • Solar panel cleaning

In addition, solar technicians are also available to perform the following analyses and upgrades for improved energy efficiency:

  • Smart thermostat installation
  • LED lighting retrofits
  • A/C duct sealing
  • Blower door test to identify leaks and gaps
  • Caulking around windows and doors
  • Attic foam insulation
  • HVAC coil and condenser cleaning and tuneup

New Orleans residents can also purchase Kohler generators for full-home standby power.

Commercial

For businesses, Solar Alternatives can provide consultation services on a basic or comprehensive level. Businesses can request a simple initial energy usage report up to a comprehensive sustainability and strategy report for a group of facilities. A site analysis includes commercial solar feasibility, facility and energy analysis, and a customized design.

In addition, the company provides corporate policy regulation and environmental and sustainability consulting.

Ongoing Maintenance 

As part of its consultations, Solar Alternatives performs a full systems analysis aimed to reduce initial expenditures and lifelong operating costs. To supplement these measures, the company provides ongoing operations maintenance to ensure peak performance throughout the lifetime of the solar system. 

Trying to contact a manufacturer about a warranty can take a lot of time and patience.  If a part of your system needs to be replaced, Solar Alternatives will handle warranty claims with the manufacturers for you. 

The commercial case studies listed on the company website describe a 2-10 year workmanship warranty range and 10-25 year manufacturer warranty range. 

Highly-Trained Team Members

Solar Alternatives hires highly trained team members that are NABCEP certified and have multiple years of experience. Team members consist of licensed electrification, certified roofers, plumbers, and electrical engineers. 

Residential customers have access to a 24/7 emergency dispatch service if there is a problem with your system that could risk human safety. 

Experience and Innovation

The Solar Alternatives staff brings decades of combined experience among professional in-house electrical engineers, project managers, and procurement experts. The company performs all the conceptual engineering and estimating tasks as well as full-service solar installation.

Solar Alternatives utilizes industry best practices and incorporates the latest solar and energy storage technologies tailored to each project.

Competitive Solar Loan Rates

Solar Alternatives leverages in-house engineering and financial solutions to provide optimal services at competitive rates. This approach allows clients to benefit from clean energy solutions without breaking the bank.

Referrals Program 

Solar Alternatives’ customers can refer family and friends and receive cash rewards. Solar Alternatives will pay you $25 for each referral that they contact and $500 if your referral chooses to go solar. The referral program requires the free Solar Alternatives smartphone app. 

The app can be used to submit referrals, track referral progress, track your solar project progress, or access information resources. 

Extensive Regional Service Area

The company serves a wide geographic area than very small solar companies, including Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This broad reach means that more property owners can access their services and take advantage of renewable energy solutions.

It's likely that the company is offering the perks of highly localized service alongside its 3-state reach since it is not big enough to be truly nationwide. This means that it has a better pulse on local trends and regulations than a larger solar franchise would.

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The Bad

  • Undisclosed Price and Warranty Details
  • Insufficient Customer Reviews

Undisclosed Price and Warranty Details

There are other solar companies that are more forthcoming with warranty and pricing details.

The company claims it has competitive rates, but offers no baseline, average, or sample prices for either commercial or residential solar systems. You'll need to contact the company and likely complete a full consultation in order to estimate your solar costs.

Similarly, Solar Alternatives offers a number of financing options but does not describe details as to what these financing programs are like. Again, you'll need to call for a consultation for more information.

And while case studies for commercial projects list sample warranties for materials and workmanship, there is no information regarding residential solar warranties available with Solar Alternatives.

Insufficient Customer Reviews

Best Company has not received enough Solar Alternatives reviews to make a final recommendation. We suggest looking at other top-rated solar companies in your area or proceeding with caution when exploring this solar option. 

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The Bottom Line

Offering both commercial and residential solar solutions, Solar Alternatives stands out from the competition in its variety of services offered. The company's goal is to be a trusted leader in renewable energy systems, and it seems to be accomplishing that goal through rooftop solar, ground-mounted solar, and solar shingles and canopies, as well as solar solutions for electric vehicles, pools, and attics.

Be sure to get an estimate and compare quotes before making a final decision on solar. We also suggest asking questions about the product and workmanship warranty. If you are located outside of Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas, or you want to compare top options, explore our list of top solar companies.

View Best Solar Companies

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Star Rating

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4.9

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10 Reviews

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Review Source

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Molly Vigour

Solar Alternatives has a fantastic team both on site and in the office. They installed our solar panels originally and then about 10 or 11 years later helped us add a Tesla Powerwall. They helped us get great financing and provided all the necessary paperwork for tax credits.

1 day ago

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Elvis Gates

I have been "blown away" by how professional and attentive this company was for the solar installation at my house. I was so impressed, I had them double the size of the system and install it at my office.

1 day ago

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Cat D

I have their battery backup system. With the constant random outages in New Orleans, we never even notice a flicker when power goes down. I would recommend this caring and talented company to anyone.

1 day ago

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karen conaway

Great customer service; simple to finance , and I can see the immediate savings on my electric bill . Seamless switch to backup power with the Tesla battery when the power goes out .

5 days ago

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bob mcgeek

I don’t think there is anything to dislike from this company. Outstanding follow through and amazing work by everyone I’ve been involved with.

1 day ago

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Paul Troyano

Great service, replaced my microinverters on a few solar panels and honored the warrenty since they were installed by another company.

2 days ago

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Jeffrey Baroni

Great customer service I appreciate the service I recommend Solar Alternatives to anyone needing a reliable power source.

1 week ago

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Kerry Lewis New Orleans, LA

They were extremely respectful and resourceful. They worked very hard with us every single step of our journey to get the most out of our project and still managed to maintain contact with any and every question we may have.

1 week ago

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Kenneth Olivier Thibodaux, LA

We love our solar panels. The service is great and the techs are very professional, they explain any issues, and do top notch work and always on time.

1 week ago

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Nirav Dhanesha

Fully satisfied with the work. Great job.. Wonderful team..

1 day ago