Solar Panels San Diego CA

Brooks Lape, January 31, 2015

Below are the companies that installed the most solar panels in San Diego during 2014. Graphed in yellow are the number of systems that were leased to homeowners. Graphed in blue are the number of systems that were sold to homeowners.

ASI Heating and Air had the greatest number of solar panel installations in San Diego with 148 completed projects. All of the systems that ASI provided were purchased by homeowners. Solare Energy had the second most installations in 2014. Virtually all of their systems were purchased as well. Elon Musk’s SolarCity came in third place in terms of total instalations. Unlike ASI and Solare Energy, the majority of SolarCity’s panels were leased to homeowners.

In 2014, more San Diego residents decided to purchase their solar panel system instead of lease. The decision of whether to lease or buy solar panels is one of the toughest decisions a homeowner will face. Purchasing a solar system offers the highest potential return on investment, however it requires an significant outlay of capital or the need to take out a loan. Leasing offers a lower return on investment, however it does not require homeowners to spend any of their own money.

Cost per installed watt is an important metric when deciding which company should install your solar panels. If all other factors such as parts and warranties were the same, a homeowner should select the contractor that provides them with the lowest cost per installed watt. Below is cost per installed watt data from the companies that performed the most solar panel installation in San Diego in 2014.

ASI Heating and Air achieved the lowest cost per installed watt. Solare, Secure Home Improvements and Cosmic Solar also offered residents very affordable systems. Stellar Solar and Suncraft Solar had among the highest cost per installed watt for solar panels in San Diego.

Cost per installed watt is a slightly less useful metric to use when determining which company to lease from. This is because companies report these metrics differently. With that important caveat in mind, below is cost per watt data for systems that were leased in San Diego.

REC Solar and Cosmic Solar achieved the lowest cost per installed watt, while American Solar Direct had the highest. This data should be taken with a grain of salt because, as discussed, companies often calculate and report this metric  differently.

The data provided in the article was provided by the California Energy Commission. If you would like to contact a installer, view the table below. Or, learn more about solar companies in San Diego.