Sunlight Solar Energy
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc. was founded in Sacramento in 1988 by Paul Israel. Sunlight Solar provides turnkey installations of grid-tie solar electric energy for homes and businesses. The certified SunPower dealer is currently headquartered in Bend, Oregon, and received Central Oregon's Best Green Business of the Year award by The Source Weekly. Sunlight Solar has over three decades of experience, and their team has installed over 2,000 solar energy systems.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Many Financing Options
- Residential Solar Solutions
- Live Monitoring
- Well-Established
- Multiple Office Locations
- Available Solar Resources
Many Financing Options
Sunlight Solar is relatively transparent with financing information. They offer cash purchases and loans.
Residential Solar Solutions
For over 30 years, Sunlight Solar has focused on and installed residential solar. Their teams have completed hundreds of installations along the Northwest, and throughout New England. The company approaches work with a single owner, positive attitude, and great customer service. They claim to put education above sales. Sunlight Solar boasts affordable and aesthetically pleasing solar panels, and cost-effective and emission free electricity. Sunlight Solar handles everything from custom system design, to installation, and more. Those interested can schedule a free solar consultation where a representative will answer any questions.
Live Monitoring
Sunlight Solar's residential solar solutions include live monitoring. People can go to the website to see real-time system production pictures.
Well-Established
The company has been in the industry for over 30 years, and made their start back in 1988. This is longer than average in the industry.
Multiple Office Locations
Customers can visit any of Sunlight Solar's five offices. There are offices in the following locations:
- Bend, Oregon
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Portland, Oregon
- Waltham, Massachusetts
Available Solar Resources
Sunlight Solar offers a gallery with pictures of past residential solar installations, a news and blog page, and multiple solar education resources on their website.
The Bad
- Little Social Media Interaction
- Disorganized Website
- No Live Monitoring Page for Colorado
- Few Verified Sunlight Solar Reviews
Little Social Media Interaction
Regarding social media, Sunlight Solar has a Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube page. However, none of these pages have large followings. Additionally, the company does not especially interact with customers, or answer customer inquiries on Facebook. While the company doesn't post too frequently on Facebook, they are much more active on Twitter. Customers can also find them on Yelp.
Disorganized Website
Their website feels cluttered and disorganized. There are multiple duplicate tabs on the website, and it is hard to pinpoint a desired location when there are so many tabs.
No Live Monitoring Page For Colorado
Sunlight Solar provides multiple tabs for live monitoring in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon, but no tab specifically for Colorado. It is unclear if Colorado systems include the live monitoring feature. Additionally the live monitoring' function is unclear. The company does not explain if the live monitoring is similar to online monitoring, or if it tracks energy usage and production. Sunlight Solar's website also fails to mention where customers can check live monitoring, i.e., from a computer, phone, or tablet.
Few Verified Sunlight Solar Reviews
As of December 2022, fewer than five verified Sunlight Solar reviews have been posted to Best Company. Verified reviews play a crucial role in establishing a solar company's online reputation, along with informing homeowners and potential customers about the solar provider's customer service, solar installation quality, and how effectively the solar panel system reduces the energy bill.
The Bottom Line
Sunlight Solar Energy has been around for over 30 years and specializes in installing turnkey renewable energy solutions for homes and businesses. Their residential solar solution includes live monitoring, a 25-year solar panel warranty, and a 10-year labor warranty. Customers can finance in multiple ways, including: loans, and $0 down PPA/ leasing options with 20 year contracts. The website is disorganized, and it can be hard to find desired information with the multitude of available tabs - some even duplicates of each other. However, Sunlight Solar Energy has a lot of experience in the industry, and are definitely an option worth exploring.
