SolarGaines
Is This Your Business?5.0
5.0
Author: Kaitlyn Short
Founded in 2009 and based in Baltimore, Maryland, SolarGaines is a commercial solar construction company serving Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington D.C.
The SolarGaines team has exceptional expertise as it has been executing construction projects since the 1980s.
The company is a NABCEP-Certified Solar PV Installer and a SolarWorld Platinum Installer that provides a high quality of products and services delivered to customers efficiently. It prioritizes speed, precision, and helping customers maximize their investment.
What sets SolarGaines apart from other solar companies is its specialty in commercial projects rather than residential solar.
That being said, this review may be helpful to you if you’re considering solar for your business or other organization, including a school, municipality, or agricultural entity.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- EPC Contractor
- Quality Assurance
- Operations and Maintenance
- Financing Expertise
- Available Incentives
- Paperwork Assistance
EPC Contractor
As an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractor, SolarGaines is uniquely equipped to take on complex, large-scale projects in the Mid-Atlantic region. This isn’t something we generally see amongst residential solar companies, so keep this distinction in mind.
On the engineering side, the company has expertise in structural and civil engineering and abides by best practices in design and value.
We’ll talk more about this later, but on the procurement side, SolarGaines has established buying power over the years which allows it to handle full system procurement for all projects.
In regards to construction, the company takes care of land clearing and erosion control and other pre-installation project needs. Throughout and after installation, SolarGaines does rack construction, module installation, electrical balancing, testing, commissioning, and system tracking.
Quality Assurance
SolarGaines is more than just talk when it comes to providing high-quality service. The company has a Quality Assurance and Quality Control program ensuring that each project is assigned a designated professional to handle all client needs.
SolarGaines does not use third-party contractors or workers, but rather has an in-house installation model. Therefore, all desires and concerns can be communicated directly with the company rather than with multiple parties.
Additionally, everyone involved in the company, including leadership, is involved in day-to-day operations. Knowing that company leaders have “skin in the game” can bolster customer confidence in the quality of service the company provides.
Operations and Maintenance
With SolarGaines, the relationship doesn’t end when install is done. Rather, the company offers operations and maintenance to ensure optimal functionality for the lifetime of the system, giving customers peace of mind.
Post-installation services offered include the following:
- 24/7 Rapid Response coverage
- Scheduled maintenance to detect and prevent problems
- Overall system inspection and analysis
- String circuit performance analysis
- Thermal imaging
- Storm damage repairs
And in addition to solar installation and maintenance, SolarGaines also offers system decommissioning and medium voltage underground and overhead construction VLF/Tan Delta Testing.
Financing Expertise
SolarGaines claims its financial expertise with solar outweighs that of its competitors.
As a financially secure company, “We always have the capital to complete jobs regardless of size and complexity" according to the corporate website.
SolarGaines offers some of the most popular payment options which are as follows:
- Solar Panel Financing (Loan)
SolarGaines offers an EmpowerLoan™ which is only available in Maryland. This is a type of hybrid loan (up to $50,000) that doesn't require any money out of pocket, no lien or prepayment penalties, provides you with an immediate financial benefit and you only pay interest for 16 months. Additionally, this loan offers an all-inclusive maintenance and performance guarantee and more. - Cash
An outright purchase is always the best way to go if you can afford it. You can see a faster return on your investment this way.
SolarGaines will help you research and apply for the various types of grants, incentives, rebates and tax credits that will help reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. The company also has some great examples on its website that will help make sense of all the costs and how long the payback period might be.
Available Incentives
Customer education is important in the solar industry, and the SolarGaines website does a great job of explaining in detail about all the available incentives, grants and rebates, as well as other pertinent information you need to know.
The website even has the incentives broken down by the different counties. Therefore, you should take a few minutes to visit their website and read about the incentives you might qualify for as you consider a solar purchase.
Paperwork Assistance
When you work with SolarGaines, you can trust that the company will do all of the heavy lifting and time consuming busy work that comes with a solar installation.
SolarGaines handles the entire paperwork process from start to finish so you don't have to worry about missing something or making a mistake. Once your system has been completed, the company will also handle filling out all the necessary federal, state and local grant paperwork, as well as taking care of any other incentives for which you might be eligible.
Additionally, SolarGaines will schedule and oversee all utility company interconnections, inspections and paperwork that is required.
The Bad
- No Residential Solar
- Needs Customer Reviews
- Warranty Information and Terms of Service
No Residential Solar
As far as we can tell, SolarGaines does not offer residential solar installation. We feel that it is actually a strength of this company that they specialize in large-scale commercial solar; however, homeowners should be aware that they’ll need to look elsewhere for solar for their homes.
Needs Customer Reviews
SolarGaines explains that no project is too complex and they are always up for a challenge. The company also says it ensures “projects aren’t stalled due to scheduling conflicts, material delays, or other factors.” We believe these claims to be substantiated based on the information we have.
That being said, we need a reviews repository for this company to be able to confidently gauge where it stands against other solar installers. Reviews can provide insight into a company’s professionalism, transparency, and customer service.
If you are a past or current customer with SolarGaines, please consider leaving a review below.
Warranty Information and Terms of Service
SolarGaines states that it offers a 25-year manufacturer warranty on the panels; however, the company doesn’t mention anything about the workmanship warranty or a manufacturer’s warranty on inverters.
Additionally, the terms of SolarGaines’ contracts are unavailable. Therefore, you will have to contact them to find out what types of warranties they offer and make sure they are all noted in your contract before you sign it.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking into commercial solar construction within the SolarGaines service area, this might be the company for you.
The SolarGaines website provides prospective customers with plenty of detail about how solar works and what you can expect as far as a return on your investment and other important information should you decide to go solar. We also think the project gallery is helpful for business owners who want to envision how solar could look on their property.
SolarGaines offers some great payment options that make it easy for just about anyone to have solar installed at their business should they choose to do so.
SolarGaines has very few negatives and those negatives are primarily due to a few pieces of information missing from their website such as what their policies are in regards to terms of service and warranty details, as well as customer review themes.
