Since 2005, the number of solar-paneled homes in America has, on average, increased by 32% a year. The popularity of solar panels only makes sense. They offer many benefits to homeowners. 

You've likely read about these benefits and want residential solar panels. So you clicked on this article. As you may have suspected, finding the right solar company is more than writing "solar contractors near me". 

Below, you'll learn how to find the best solar installer. Read on! 

Calculate Your Budget First 

Imagine finding the best solar installer in your area. Then you learn that you can't afford the solar installer's fees. You would probably feel crushed, right? 

The danger of paying solar installer fees and becoming financially insecure also exists. You should want to prevent either situation. You can do that by creating a budget for your solar panels and their installation first. 

How to Make a Solar Budget

Try to predict your income and expenses for the next few months or so. Make sure to also account for any unseen emergencies. See how much leftover money you can set aside to hire a solar installer. 

Don't Set Your Budget Too Low 

Don't set your budget too low. Find the average price of solar installer fees in your area and set your budget close to that. If you can't get your budget close to that price, try saving before you get solar panels installed. 

Don't Buy Too Cheap or Expensive Services

The best solar installers won't come cheap. If you find a solar company that offers cheap prices, be wary. They're likely using inexperienced workers and/or poor-quality materials so they can offer that price. 

You don't want to choose a company with a price that's much higher than the average either and as ...as your local solar installers, we guarantee customer satisfaction. They may not have services that are worth that price. 

Don't Start With "Solar Contractors Near Me"

Typing "solar contractors near me" into your favorite search engine may only get you into a big mess. You'll find hundreds of possible solar companies you could work with. How will you know which one will give you the best services? 

You'd have to check each of those results. You'd go to their site and look for all the details mentioned in some of the sections below. This could take forever, but there is a better method. 

Ask Locals You Know For Recommendations 

Local solar panel installers have probably serviced people in your area. They may even have worked with locals that you know. You can ask these locals about their experiences with solar installers. 

Go Online For More Recommendations

If the locals you know don't have the answers, go online. You should find groups on social media where people from your area hang on. You can ask the people there for their recommendations on solar panel installers. 

Be Cautious With Reviews 

Most people go to review sites to check the quality of a business. You can find useful information on these sites. However, you can also find false information. 

Despite it being illegal, you can still find fake reviews all over the internet. Thus, you need to be cautious when you're looking at reviews. You can also use some methods, such as the ones below, to identify fake reviews. 

Check the Timeline of Reviews 

Some companies use services that promise good reviews in bulk. These often get posted all at once. If you see a sudden burst of good reviews, those reviews are likely fake. 

Consider the Content of the Reviews 

In most real reviews, reviewers will go into a bit of detail about the product or service. Fake reviews usually only have a sentence at most. If you see a review that just says "great service" or something similar, it's fake. 

Check the Products that the Solar Company Uses

The best solar panel companies should use the best products. Their higher-ups should have great knowledge of solar technologies. They should use this knowledge to get the best technologies and avoid disappointing customers. 

An amateur or scam solar panel company won't know or care about this. Thus, you can spot them by analyzing the products they use. 

Find the Products 

Some solar companies list the products they use on their site. If you can't find them there, talk to customer service. They should be able to tell you about the products that the company uses. 

Research the Products 

You can find out about the quality levels of the products in the same way you learn about solar installers. For example, you can check reviews. 

Learn a Bit About Solar Panels 

How can you separate an amateur and/or scam solar installer from a professional one? One way to do this is to ask them questions about solar panels. However, you have to know a fair amount about solar panels before you can ask questions. 

Research Solar Panels 

You don't need to get a vast amount of information about solar power. Just try to get enough so that you can have a conversation about it. Doing this can also help you decide on the products that you want for your solar power system. 

Ask Questions 

Once you have enough knowledge, try to ask questions to the company's customer service. Operators who aren't experts should at least be able to wrangle in experts and get their answers to your questions. If their questions don't seem right, don't work with that company. 

Check Out Our Other Articles For More Fun 

If you use these methods, you shouldn't need to type "solar contractors near me" in a search engine ever again. You'll also find the best solar installer before you know it. Good luck and enjoy your new solar system! 

And when you have more free time, why not spend it checking out our other articles? We have hundreds more articles on events, real estate, and NYC neighborhood news. Check them out!