Now, there’s plenty of “yelping” going on about solar energy across the greater blogosphere. But what do real Yelpers have to say about it? In an effort to find out, we canvassed Yelp reviews of solar contractors in cities across the country. For solar, when reviews are given, they are generally positive, with only a few negative exceptions. Furthermore, the highest density of reviews come out of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is not surprising for two reasons. One, the Bay Area is a national leader in home solar power installations and, two, Yelp.com was born there in 2004.

Photo Credit: Clean Energy Florida

Still, solar power is a global movement, and solar contractors are everywhere. Here are highlights from our nationwide Yelp search for the best gurus of solar. All of the following contractors received a four-star rating or better.

Solar Electric

Sungevity (Berkeley, 5 Stars) – Sungevity specializes in residential solar sales and installation in the Bay Area, including thorough short- and long-term cost estimates. Aaron M. of Berkeley enjoyed a “flawless experience” with Sungevity. “This is a company that cares and gets it right.”

Bobby J. of San Francisco saw Sungevity on NBC, so he gave them a call. “It took me 5 minutes to get a quote and they emailed me back within a day. It had a pic of my building [using Google Earth], and a breakdown of the financial savings.” (more…)

Home solar power is an investment. An investment in clean energy, a clean environment and the satisfaction of low or no utility bills. Residential solar power is the driving force behind the solar movement in the United States. While large-scale solar power hovers in environmental controversy, small-scale solar systems continue to flourish.

So there’s no shortage of residential solar installers offering their professional services to homeowners across the country. Those of us in California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the ever-growing number of solar states are well aware of that fact. But regardless of where we live, when we choose to make the solar leap, we want to find the right kind of residential solar installer.

Solar installers are much like any remodeling contractor but with a more specialized talent. Still, you want experience, quality and a robust knowledge of the several variables involved in solar power installations today. That includes technical as well as financial details. The latter varies widely by region. (more…)

Photo credit: juanpol

Solar energy installations require a skill set all their own or, more accurately, a unique combination of several skills. A solar contractor is at once an electrician, plumber, and carpenter. Not that these aren’t highly specialized occupations. Both require a license. But that’s not all there is to a solar contractor.

Behind every good contractor is a good set of tools, and in the case of a solar thermal installer, that is a wide set of tools. It seems little attention is paid to the solar installer’s toolbox. I suppose sometimes we tend to think that a solar installer already knows better, but that is ignoring a whole new generation growing up with solar energy on the mind, in the classroom, and quite possibly as their best bet for a successful future. (more…)