Solar Consumer Advisor
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    • 1. Whether Solar Makes Sense for You
    • 2. What Solar Equipment to Get
    • 3. Who to Get It From
    • 4. How to Acquire It & Pay for It
  • Solar Info
    • 1. Are Solar Panels Worth their Cost? >
      • Is Your House Suitable for Solar
      • Introduction to Solar Loans
      • Environmental Benefits of Solar
    • 2. Solar Equipment >
      • Is 5kW the Right Size System for You?
      • Panel Efficiency, Output, & Price
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      • Solar Panel Monitors
      • Solar Batteries
      • Solar Warranties, Guarantees, & Insurance
    • 3. Solar Installers >
      • Solar Panel Installer Qualifications
      • PV Watts Instructions
    • 4. Solar Financial Issues >
      • Current & Future SCE Rates
      • Inflation
      • Solar Rebates & Financial Aid
      • Solar Tax Credits & Deductions
      • Solar Increases Home Value
      • Solar Panel Risks
      • Solar Lease, Buy, or PPA
      • Solar Financing Options
  • SCE's Website
    • Net Metering
    • SCE Bill Help for Solar Owners
    • Your Average Bill & Yearly Usage
    • SCE phone numbers | Contact info for solar owners
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Calculator
  • Shopping
    • How Not to Shop for Solar
    • Solar Websites Classified & Reviewed
    • The Right Way to Shop for Solar
  • Buying Guides
    • 1. Whether Solar Makes Sense for You
    • 2. What Solar Equipment to Get
    • 3. Who to Get It From
    • 4. How to Acquire It & Pay for It
  • Solar Info
    • 1. Are Solar Panels Worth their Cost? >
      • Is Your House Suitable for Solar
      • Introduction to Solar Loans
      • Environmental Benefits of Solar
    • 2. Solar Equipment >
      • Is 5kW the Right Size System for You?
      • Panel Efficiency, Output, & Price
      • Solar Roof Tiles
      • Solar Panel Inverters
      • Solar Panel Monitors
      • Solar Batteries
      • Solar Warranties, Guarantees, & Insurance
    • 3. Solar Installers >
      • Solar Panel Installer Qualifications
      • PV Watts Instructions
    • 4. Solar Financial Issues >
      • Current & Future SCE Rates
      • Inflation
      • Solar Rebates & Financial Aid
      • Solar Tax Credits & Deductions
      • Solar Increases Home Value
      • Solar Panel Risks
      • Solar Lease, Buy, or PPA
      • Solar Financing Options
  • SCE's Website
    • Net Metering
    • SCE Bill Help for Solar Owners
    • Your Average Bill & Yearly Usage
    • SCE phone numbers | Contact info for solar owners
  • Blog

Solar Buying Guides

The Fastest, Easiest, Most Reliable Way to Shop for a PV System by Yourself

The Solar Buying Guides take you through Solar Consumer Advisor's  exclusive four-step shopping process. They give you all the information you need to make the right decisions in the right order about getting solar, especially in the greater L.A. (Los Angeles) area.

There are four Guides, one per shopping step: Whether, What, Who, and How:

     1.   Whether Solar Makes Sense for You: are solar panels worth it
     2.   What Solar Equipment to Get: size, brands, models, and price
     3.   Who to Get It From: which installer to use
     4.   How to Acquire It and Pay for It: leasing, buying, or PPA, plus financing

You can request any of the free guides by clicking on it's cover in the sidebar of this page.

SolarConsumerAdvisor.com differs from most (if not all) other solar websites in that it does not sell, rent, or otherwise provide your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes, unless you explicitly ask to be put in touch with the top dealer in your area, and even then, only to that single dealer. It is all spelled out in our strict
 Privacy Policy.

Each guide comes with its own Checklist that you can use to record your facts, decisions, and notes as you read. You'll end up with a handy summary of exactly what you want and what questions to ask. Very useful when it's time to talk with an installer.

To Check on Your Potential Costs and Savings

If you haven't already used the Solar Panel Cost & Savings Calculator to see whether your electricity bill is large enough to make solar worthwhile, now would be a good time to try it.​

Free Help Is Also Available When You're Ready

Whenever you're ready - probably after reading the first two Solar Buying Guides - you can take advantage of my free service by phone or email for all SCE customers interested in solar, whether just wondering if it makes sense, starting to learn about it, choosing equipment, considering ways of financing, or looking for a reliable dealer-installer.

I'll also stand behind you throughout the sales process, installation, and even afterward.

Reasurrances: I'm not selling anything; no pressure. I don't reveal any contact information unless you specifically ask me to, and even then only to a single dealer.
You can reach me 7 days a week from 9:00am to 5:00pm at ​
Picture

​or by

​​Email
For details about this service and information about me in a video as well as text, please visit the Home Page.

About the Solar Buying Guides

The Solar Buying Guides cover the four essential steps in shopping for a photo-voltaic (PV) system. They are written for all PV shoppers, beginner to expert. They strike a balance between too technical for most people to understand and too simplistic to be useful.

The Guides have been reduced to the 
bare minimum shoppers need to make the right decisions about getting solar. Links to additional information on and off the website are included for more depth, facts, reasoning, and evidence. The Guides, combined with the supplementary linked articles, contain everything needed to shop for solar successfully. One-stop research.
​

The True Facts about Solar

Widespread myths, errors, and misleading advice about PV systems are noted, explained, and corrected. Important information hard or impossible to find elsewhere is presented and organized to facilitate understanding and quick reference.

The information is as clear, 
accurate, up-to-date, honest, impartial, and thorough as my extensive research has allowed me to make it. Reasoning is always provided and evidence cited, so that you can check for yourself.
​

The Only Guides Designed Specifically for SCE Customers

SolarConsumerAdvisor.com is the only website and these Buying Guides are the only ones written specifically for customers of Southern California Edison (SCE). Most calculations for solar shopping depend heavily on utility rates, and SCE's rate schedules are very different from most other utilities, even in California. In addition, different geographic areas have different amounts of solar radiation and different weather, and these also change the numbers significantly.

Other solar websites generalize across many utilities and regions, which is one of the reasons their estimates and guidelines are often so inaccurate, especially for SCE customers. They call them "ballpark" or "rough approximations."

Restricting the numbers to SCE's customers allows
 very precise calculations and amounts for system sizes, costs, and savings. Assumptions are fully spelled out, so that all estimates can be modified by the consumer to fit their own circumstances.

As far as can be discovered from a thorough look at solar websites and solar information available to the public, SolarConsumerAdvisor.com is also the only resource for solar shoppers that takes all factors into account in its calculations. The unique Solar Panel Cost & Savings Calculator gives the most accurate estimates online of the true, bottom-line costs & savings of PV systems for SCE customers.​

The 4 Solar Buying Guides
By Solar Consumer Advisor


​Click on a cover to download a free copy.
Solar Buying Guide 1 - Whether Solar Makes Sense for You
Solar Buying Guide 2 - What Solar Equipment to Get
Solar Buying Guide 3 - Who to Get It From - Which Installer to Use
Solar Buying Guide 4 - How to Acquire It & Pay for It
Solar SCE is a BBB Accredited Information Bureau in Santa Clarita, CA

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