SunPower vs SolarCity
SunPower and SolarCity are both companies with a large footprint in the solar industry. SunPower has been in business for more than 30 years and has pioneered hundreds of solar technologies. SolarCity had over a decade of experience and developed various innovative solar equipment of its own prior to being acquired by Tesla in 2016.
Overview
SunPower
SunPower
SMA
SunPower
25 Years
25 Years
Yes
N/A
39 Years
SolarCity
SolarCity
SolarCity
Tesla
10 Years
20 Years
N/A
N/A
18 Years
Ratings
SunPower
SolarCity
Reviews
SunPower
Reviews
SolarCity
Reviews for SunPower
Helpful Favorable Review
Ethan Furman
January 31st, 2024
Pasadena, CA
DETAILS
I had a great experience with SunPower. Very high quality panels, excellent warranty, and great savings compared to what I’m paying for with the utility. Given SunPower has been in business for decades, I feel very comfortable using their products.
Helpful Critical Review
Cat Huss
September 27th, 2024
DETAILS
They never told us that when we need power such as after hurricane it’s automatically turned off. SUNPOWER doesn’t work without the Internet. save your money buy a whole house Generac. at least then when you need power, you have it. all we have now is an $81,000 bill
Reviews for SolarCity
Helpful Favorable Review
CLAIRE KAZLMAN
January 24th, 2023
Princeton, WV
DETAILS
Review Source
I love Solar City. For the 10 years+ we have had them, our monthly bill sits at the same price every month. So, being in California, even during the very hot summers with the AC running, our bill never went up. It was very, very affordable, and we never had any technical issues with them. We would own the solar panels after 15-20 years and then pay even less every month. Thank you Solar City. I should say our solar bill was equal to half of what our Electrical/Power bill would have been. And we even have a credit of a few hundred dollars with our electric company.
Helpful Critical Review
Boyd Norman
November 29th, 2022
Wheatland, CA
DETAILS
Review Source
Since going with solar city in 2015, I have not rec and discounts the ,system has often been off line and with error codes and I am paying high bills. I suspect it has to do with the company purchase I, still have not been able to monitor usage. I would like to spk with a rep ASAP for resolution or removal thank you. Jim b Roseville. Ca
The Final Word
Availability
SunPower systems are available in the following states:
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Payment options
SolarCity allowed customers to purchase a solar system outright, finance a system with a loan, lease a system, or utilize a system by signing into a power purchase agreement (PPA).
SunPower also allows outright purchases, loans, PPAs, and leases.
Equipment
SunPower holds 750 solar technology patents and makes the highest-efficiency solar panels currently available on the market. According to testing, SunPower’s panels deliver 44 percent more energy per watt than competitive products and can maintain their production better than other panels in partly-shaded conditions. In addition to being extremely efficient, SunPower solar panels are all black and designed to blend in better with the rooftop than traditional blue panels.
While SolarCity’s panels were not on par with SunPower’s in terms of efficiency, the company did produce and offer solar shingles, which are a unique product in the industry (the equivalent now is Tesla's solar roof).
Installations
SunPower performs its own installations in select areas of California. Outside of these areas, the company’s installations are performed through dealers. In addition to performing the installation, the dealer also acts as the customer care center for the life of the solar energy system.
SolarCity, on the other hand, performed all of its installations with its own in-house team. However, several customers reported issues with delayed and incorrect installations.
Warranties
SunPower offers industry-leading warranties, including a 25-year warranty on equipment, a 25-year warranty on labor and installation, and a 25-year warranty on system performance.
SolarCity provided its customers with a 20-year warranty on equipment, a 10-year warranty on labor and installation, and a 25-year warranty on system performance.
Battery Storage
SunPower uses its proprietary SunVault system batteries.
SolarCity offered Tesla Powerwall batteries to its customers, which are designed to seamlessly integrate with the company’s solar equipment.
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