EnergyPal Reviews

EnergyPal specializes in home solar panels, home battery backup systems and solar inverters (that convert power to AC for home use) from manufacturers such as Panasonic and Solaria. It offers equipment from a variety of manufacturers. EnergyPal provides an installer directory and assistance in planning your system’s installation.

Founded in 2008, EnergyPal serves customers in the United States and Canada. Since it customizes your system, the packages and financing available differ depending on your location, energy needs and other factors such as the system’s efficiency rating.

EnergyPal retails solar panels and solar systems from a variety of manufacturers, partnering with independent installation companies. It sells solar panels from leading brands such as Panasonic, SunPower and REC. For residential energy, EnergyPal offers:

• Solar panels: EnergyPal designs energy systems based on your home’s needs. Many brands and types of solar panels are available with different specifications, levels of electricity production and warranties. Consumers can choose from solar panels only, solar panels and partial home backup or solar panels and whole home backup.
• Solar battery backup: Backup batteries are designed to provide you with independence from the public energy grid by storing your solar panel’s energy for when your home actually needs it. Without backup, your solar panels may not provide energy during a utility blackout. Whole home backup is designed to power your home off-grid if something goes wrong with your utility company’s service and there’s a blackout.
• Solar inverters: To use electricity generated by your solar panel, you need a solar inverter to convert the direct current (DC) power to alternating current (AC) that your appliances and electronics can use.

Typical households, according to EnergyPal, need a 6- to 9-kilowatt (kW) system created from solar panels providing between 390 and 440 watts each. When your panels generate extra power, you can save it in a battery or send it to the grid for others to use. If your system is connected to the electrical grid, extra electricity that your household doesn’t need can feed back into the public grid – often resulting in credits or payments from your utility company.

The cost of a residential solar panel system from EnergyPal may range between $8,000 and $32,000, although financing with no out-of-pocket costs may be available.

As a service for solar system customers, EnergyPal provides access to an advisor. Here’s the typical process for buying solar from EnergyPal:

1. Get a home solar quote: First, customers answer questions and request a quote online from EnergyPal or call the company’s contact center to speak with an agent. EnergyPal asks questions about whether you own or rent your home, how much your monthly energy bill is, where your home is located and how EnergyPal’s team can contact you.
2. Talk to an EnergyPal advisor: After you complete an online quote request, a member of the company’s team reviews your questionnaire and reaches out to you with quotes and information.
3. Choose equipment and financing: From there, you’ll consider equipment and financing options available to you based on your needs and the financing you qualify for. You may buy your system outright, use a solar loan to finance a purchase of your energy system or lease your solar panel system – each option, if you qualify, has different upfront costs and savings.
4. Choose an installer: According to EnergyPal, customers can choose from a list of vetted solar installers to help with the installation and transition of your home to a solar energy system.
5. Inspections: Depending on where you live and local laws, your new solar system will likely need inspections. EnergyPal can help customers navigate this process and ensure compliance.

EnergyPal claims to offer full warranty coverage for solar systems, generally ranging from 25 to 30 years, depending on the brand and products you choose. Within the warranty period, solar panels are generally guaranteed to perform at a certain level of energy efficiency before you need to replace them.

EnergyPal focuses on retailing equipment and partnering with independent installers and maintenance companies. As such, it doesn’t directly service these products but claims to help consumers choose reputable providers for installation and service. EnergyPal recommends solar monitoring systems so you can see how your panels are performing and potentially detect maintenance issues.

EnergyPal’s solar panels generally cost between $8,000 and $32,000 for a typical system, with the possibility of offsetting or reducing part of this cost with rebates and credits from EnergyPal or from local, state and federal incentives.

Paying upfront without financing typically costs the most out-of-pocket but may reduce your overall expenses. Conversely, using a financing plan or a lease may cost you more over time but reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.

Financing

EnergyPal customers can seek third-party financing and find out what loans and leasing agreements they are eligible for, but the company doesn’t publicly disclose in-house financing options. Third-party financing companies aren’t listed on EnergyPal’s website, but EnergyPal emphasizes the pros and cons of choosing financing or a lease instead of paying the full price upfront:

• Full payment upfront: By buying upfront from EnergyPal, customers may qualify for tax rebates and incentives.
• Loan: Financing solar through a loan may make budgeting for a new energy system easier by splitting the cost into monthly payments.
• Lease: By leasing your panels, you can avoid upfront costs and budget your investment through monthly payments.

Generally, whether you buy upfront, get a loan or lease your panels, your system includes a service plan, maintenance and warranty. EnergyPal claims to help customers find the right plan for their needs.

Since EnergyPal offers products from a variety of manufacturers and installation from multiple vendors, the warranties offered can differ. For instance, typical warranties last between 25 and 30 years. Warranties normally guarantee a specific level of efficiency and offer repairs or replacement by qualified technicians if the energy system doesn’t meet the standards the company promises. These warranties differ by brand, location and product.

The company recommends monitoring panel performance over time and scheduling professional inspections to keep your system performing well.