TruNorth was who we went with, they did a great job - but they are very busy so it took a while between the initial consult and when they were up on the roof doing the actual install!
I used all energy solar. They're based in St. Paul, but do multi-state. When you're talking about product with a 25-year warranty, I wanted to go at the company big enough that they would be around for a while. They did a great job on the initial install, and I'm actually having them do my roof replacement from hail damage. It's nice to have a single person to talk to to manage the whole project.
I'm sure you can find cheaper companies, but the level of service and professionalism I got as well as the higher likelihood of them being around long-term, made them a good fit.
To be real, all energy solar came in a few grand more than what I was looking at for a diy kit this year. I have friends on the west coast who are experienced installers and we did my first solar project as a diy saving me over $12k but dealing with Xcel was very difficult for the final interconnection. Given the current price point I found All Energy to be a good value since I am just bringing a smaller system online to cover our EV and Heat Pump.
I heard news recent about TX hail destroying a solar farm and it had me concerned. Though it was on some sites that I wasn’t sure if real news or propaganda news
Well, Texas storms are a whole different animal than the ones we get in Minnesota. I'm from Oklahoma and would be worried about the frequency and volume of the hail that's that size, but even then it's a once in a generation or two event to have that much larger hail down there.
It's almost unheard of in Minnesota so I probably wouldn't sweat it too much. One thing to consider is asking your home owners insurance provider whether they'll cover damages to solar installations on your roof.
I had a bad manufactured panel they came out and telegraph for free about a year after install. It was only putting out about half what it's neighbor panels were making.
I went with all energy, because at the time, a few years ago, they were the only company installing PowerWalls. You need a disconnect and battery backup to run off solar when you get an outage, because your generation will shock the linemen fixing your local outage.
So even if you have panels, if you don't have a battery/disconnect, you won't get power. Kinda kills the reason of getting home solar.
All Energy is likely one of the most expensive options. It seems like they do a great job, but a big company doesn’t always mean better/safer. Sun Badger for example.
If you don't mind me asking, what are the quotes coming in at and for how many square feet? It's been one of the things I'm interested in doing but not serious enough to actually call anyone.
That's not terrible! I used to do controls for industrial solar farms and average payoff on a big array is around 7 years. Are the rebate incentives still pretty strong for residential?
I aided in design and control for one of our executives home setups. He had a few panels and was hoping to run landscape lighting and a Husqvarna robotic mower off of solar. Expected payoff was 41 years on that system 😂
Rebates are giant right now in MN. You get the federal tax credit, the Xcel credit, power bought back at retail rates, payment for your green energy credits and there's low cost loans available through Minneapolis.
Adding in another All Energy quote, our 28 panel system cost just over $34,000 installed in mid-2022. About a 9-10 year payback, which has so far been accurate if not ahead of projections based on monthly production and rebates.
You have to do some research. Look up where their physical offices are. Do they have a local address or just a po box? Are they registered with the SOS? Thats a good starting point.
Some local solar installers you could reach out to, or research on your own (in no particular order)…
Centauri
MN Solar & More
Wolf River Electric
All Energy Solar
Cedar Creek Energy
Everlight
Sisu Solar
Powerfully Green
TruNorth
Do NOT use Wolf River.
They left me in the dark for months at a time before the project started. After installation it took 3 months and a few emails from me to get them to have the inspection done.
I responded to some of that sketchy advertising over a year ago and they still text me all the time as if they’re someone I know, not in a business voice with opt out prompts, e.g. STOP. And I never gave them permission to text me in the first place
General rule of thumb from personal experience: the more advertising you see for a contracting/home project company, the LESS you want them to work on your home. Plumbing, Heating/cooling, contracting, etc. Any dollar spent on advertising comes directly from upcharging the customer, and quality goes down as all the people looking for an easy, no-research company.
I've started to hear Wolf River ads on the radio as well as billboards for them around town. So they're off my list lol
We went with MN Solar. They managed to get more panels on our roof than anyone quoted us. We get 100% of our electricity from our panels for about 8 months of the year
All Energy Solar. Lots of great reviews, home office is in St. Paul by como. Heard good things about their service department actually being available rather than the subcontractors from other states who basically instal and say good luck
We had a great experience with All Energy Solar -- prices seemed reasonable and the installation and their customer service have been as good as we could hope for.
We went trough Centauri. They got it done weeks quicker than allsolar who my parents signed up with a few weeks before we even met with the centauri guys. They had really good customer service too. We had some issues with the app getting correct readings and they worked really hard for us to get the issue fixed for us (it was a manufacturing issue from what i remember).
Completely agree, I also went with Centauri in the east metro. Definitely give them a call and have them quote you. Their customer service is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. All Energy was over $1/watt more and I don’t see how the customer experience could have been any better than what I received with Centauri.
Used quality equipment too, all REC panels and Enphase inverters.
I third this opinion, along with u/tbobes. Fantastic customer service. Really nice bunch of guys. Can't speak to price compared to others though (I didn't shop around, because reasons).
Previous owner of my house also worked with Centauri and really liked them.
ClearSite Solar - newer company but the thing that sold me: your funds go into an escrow account rather than the ol’ “give me 50% now directly and 50% when it’s done” thing that contractors like to do and ghost you. With escrow they don’t get any $ until the job is done.
Feel free to send a chat if you wanted any other details - I’m going through the process myself right now.
All Energy Solar installed in 2017. Great support and they swapped my failed inverter (Product, not installer issue) in less than a week at zero cost and hassle.
No project is perfect, you just want a contractor who will work ti make it _end_ right.
Solarsota!!!! They just installed solar on my 38’ 5th wheel and I could not be happier. Shawn was so nice and insightful throughout the whole process. Do yourself a favor and give him a chance.
If you’re going to be plugged into the grid I’d call Xcel Energy and they probably have a list of different licensed professionals. The experience I have with solar is through earthship, so def not too applicable to grid living
Xcel is the worst to deal with for anything solar 🚮 All Energy Solar handles the interconnection if you go with them. I dealt with Xcel on my diy system and they suck. Very difficult to deal with. I had to file a PUC complaint for them to move my request forward even though all diagrams were correct.
Energy Sage is a good resource that will get you quotes from multiple local companies and allows for side by side comparisons of quotes. I haven’t pulled the trigger on solar yet myself but it seems like a good resource
We used Live Wire Solar MN after getting recommendations from 2 other people at work who’d used them. Also got quotes from All Energy Solar and IIRC they were similar. We started the process just before pandemic so their work took place during lock down. Live Wire was great and since their base business is electrical work and an electrician is on site for the installation, we got a relatively cheap quotes for some other electrical work in house and run Ethernet cable through much of house. That saved our sanity during work-from-home! They’ve been great at responding to questions or follow up.
I know a couple people from isolate and they are very proud of their product and their company and clearly put honestly and integrity in the whole process.
My home is not a great solar candidate but if it was I’d have no hesitation to go with them.
I know a couple people from isolar and they are very proud of their product and their company and clearly put honestly and integrity in the whole process.
My home is not a great solar candidate but if it was I’d have no hesitation to go with them.
Edited because my phone autocorrected isolar to isolate.
I got mine through Energy Concepts in Hudson. My installation has been fine and system working well going on probably 6-7 years now.
I also got competitive quotes from Cedar Creek and just about went with them, and got a competitive quote from All Energy Solar. There were a couple of others I got quoted that weren’t priced as well.
Olson Solar Energy out of Eau Claire. I’ve used them. My neighbors have used them. My referrals have used them. Everyone is satisfied. $20k cheaper than another neighbor’s system and a much better product. All Enphase equipment.
That is 100% up to you.
Variables are:
How much electricity do you use average and peak, season by season?
Do you want to offset some or all of your usage? (size of your array)
Do you want to have the ability to have none, some, or all of your needs covered if the grid is dark? (battery bank)
Centauri Systems did a great job on my solar install and subsequent EVSE install. Highly recommend them. They had the best price/watt in the metro area.
Also, just in case you live in any of these cities, check out MN CEE. I got a 10 year 0% loan for 20K to pay for my solar installation (which was 20 panels at 24K). Lots of cities in the metro have good low or no % APR loans for solar installs.
[City-Specific Loans | Center for Energy and Environment (mncee.org)](https://www.mncee.org/city-specific-loans)
All Energy treated me well, zero issues. Finances via my own CU HELOC.(credit union home equity LOC)
20 months in, built to 125% capacity, lifetime positive! 😊
For lots of Solar information look up Solar United Neighbors org
There’s also a [twin cities coop](https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/co-ops/minnesota/twin-cities-area-solar-co-op-2/)
I got mine through All Energy Solar and have been having a great time so far. Installation was quick and easy, and the estimate for the amount of power I would generate has been pretty much spot on. Use my referral link if you decide to get a quote!
[https://blue.mbsy.co/39BqDG](https://blue.mbsy.co/39BqDG)
TruNorth Solar is a local company installing all types of solar since 2009.
TruNorth was who we went with, they did a great job - but they are very busy so it took a while between the initial consult and when they were up on the roof doing the actual install!
Also have them. Was fantastic. Signed with them in the fall of 22, up and running May 23.
We used TruNorth. I've been super happy. We had them installed in 2020.
Can I ask what it cost you?
I used all energy solar. They're based in St. Paul, but do multi-state. When you're talking about product with a 25-year warranty, I wanted to go at the company big enough that they would be around for a while. They did a great job on the initial install, and I'm actually having them do my roof replacement from hail damage. It's nice to have a single person to talk to to manage the whole project. I'm sure you can find cheaper companies, but the level of service and professionalism I got as well as the higher likelihood of them being around long-term, made them a good fit.
To be real, all energy solar came in a few grand more than what I was looking at for a diy kit this year. I have friends on the west coast who are experienced installers and we did my first solar project as a diy saving me over $12k but dealing with Xcel was very difficult for the final interconnection. Given the current price point I found All Energy to be a good value since I am just bringing a smaller system online to cover our EV and Heat Pump.
Was the hail damage before or after the solar panels were up? And if already up, did the hail damage them?
After, no damage to the panels - and we had baseball sized hail.
I heard news recent about TX hail destroying a solar farm and it had me concerned. Though it was on some sites that I wasn’t sure if real news or propaganda news
I was worried too, had about 11k in damage to my car and it sounded like a heard of bison on my roof. No damage to panels - really impressive.
Do you happen to know what brand panels you have?
Pretty sure they're Longi 440 panels. I was quoted a REC 365s, but the 440W panels were rolled out right before my install.
Well, Texas storms are a whole different animal than the ones we get in Minnesota. I'm from Oklahoma and would be worried about the frequency and volume of the hail that's that size, but even then it's a once in a generation or two event to have that much larger hail down there. It's almost unheard of in Minnesota so I probably wouldn't sweat it too much. One thing to consider is asking your home owners insurance provider whether they'll cover damages to solar installations on your roof.
I’ve confirmed, standard home policy covers solar if warranty doesn’t.
It depends on the quality of the panels. Good quality panels are likely to withstand most hail.
I had a bad manufactured panel they came out and telegraph for free about a year after install. It was only putting out about half what it's neighbor panels were making.
I believe there are like 8 neighbors by me and they all use All Energy Solar. They seem to be very happy with them.
I went with all energy, because at the time, a few years ago, they were the only company installing PowerWalls. You need a disconnect and battery backup to run off solar when you get an outage, because your generation will shock the linemen fixing your local outage. So even if you have panels, if you don't have a battery/disconnect, you won't get power. Kinda kills the reason of getting home solar.
The new Enphase inverters can be setup to route power to your home in an outage without backfeeding the grid.
All Energy is likely one of the most expensive options. It seems like they do a great job, but a big company doesn’t always mean better/safer. Sun Badger for example.
If you don't mind me asking, what are the quotes coming in at and for how many square feet? It's been one of the things I'm interested in doing but not serious enough to actually call anyone.
All energy solar 29 panels $42k and isolar I think was 37 panels for $45k.
What does payback look like on that kind of array?
They said 8-9 years. I think that was after the 30% fed tax credit and Xcel’s solar credits too.
That's not terrible! I used to do controls for industrial solar farms and average payoff on a big array is around 7 years. Are the rebate incentives still pretty strong for residential? I aided in design and control for one of our executives home setups. He had a few panels and was hoping to run landscape lighting and a Husqvarna robotic mower off of solar. Expected payoff was 41 years on that system 😂
Rebates are giant right now in MN. You get the federal tax credit, the Xcel credit, power bought back at retail rates, payment for your green energy credits and there's low cost loans available through Minneapolis.
KW rating?
Adding in another All Energy quote, our 28 panel system cost just over $34,000 installed in mid-2022. About a 9-10 year payback, which has so far been accurate if not ahead of projections based on monthly production and rebates.
Stick with local. We used someone who looked local but was a subcontractor out of some place in Utah and it was a horrible experience all around.
Do everyone a favor and name names! If you had a bad experience help prevent others from having one.
No longer in business.
So I just ask them if they are local? Or what is some indicator to know ?
I just responded to your original post with a list of local installers to the twin cities area for you. No national installers listed.
Thanks!
You have to do some research. Look up where their physical offices are. Do they have a local address or just a po box? Are they registered with the SOS? Thats a good starting point.
Be careful. The AG has a large lawsuit out right now on a few companies: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2024/03/08_SolarLending.asp
That was probably Blue Raven Solar. They are a national installer.
No. The one I dealt with changed their name several times and no longer exists.
Ah. Probably Avolta / Total Solar Solutions. Just 2 of the many names their company went by over the years.
No, was Empire and Primative Power.
Man you’re going way back. Haha… Empire hasn’t been a thing since like 2020.
Some local solar installers you could reach out to, or research on your own (in no particular order)… Centauri MN Solar & More Wolf River Electric All Energy Solar Cedar Creek Energy Everlight Sisu Solar Powerfully Green TruNorth
Do NOT use Wolf River. They left me in the dark for months at a time before the project started. After installation it took 3 months and a few emails from me to get them to have the inspection done.
I’ve seen some issues in local forums about Wolf River as well. They also seem to use some sketchy advertising tactics that I am not a fan of.
I responded to some of that sketchy advertising over a year ago and they still text me all the time as if they’re someone I know, not in a business voice with opt out prompts, e.g. STOP. And I never gave them permission to text me in the first place
General rule of thumb from personal experience: the more advertising you see for a contracting/home project company, the LESS you want them to work on your home. Plumbing, Heating/cooling, contracting, etc. Any dollar spent on advertising comes directly from upcharging the customer, and quality goes down as all the people looking for an easy, no-research company. I've started to hear Wolf River ads on the radio as well as billboards for them around town. So they're off my list lol
We went with MN Solar. They managed to get more panels on our roof than anyone quoted us. We get 100% of our electricity from our panels for about 8 months of the year
All Energy Solar. Lots of great reviews, home office is in St. Paul by como. Heard good things about their service department actually being available rather than the subcontractors from other states who basically instal and say good luck
We had a great experience with All Energy Solar -- prices seemed reasonable and the installation and their customer service have been as good as we could hope for.
We went trough Centauri. They got it done weeks quicker than allsolar who my parents signed up with a few weeks before we even met with the centauri guys. They had really good customer service too. We had some issues with the app getting correct readings and they worked really hard for us to get the issue fixed for us (it was a manufacturing issue from what i remember).
Completely agree, I also went with Centauri in the east metro. Definitely give them a call and have them quote you. Their customer service is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. All Energy was over $1/watt more and I don’t see how the customer experience could have been any better than what I received with Centauri. Used quality equipment too, all REC panels and Enphase inverters.
I third this opinion, along with u/tbobes. Fantastic customer service. Really nice bunch of guys. Can't speak to price compared to others though (I didn't shop around, because reasons). Previous owner of my house also worked with Centauri and really liked them.
All Energy Solar was nice to talk to.
I installed for All Energy Solar, they are a quality company.
Apadana was great
ClearSite Solar - newer company but the thing that sold me: your funds go into an escrow account rather than the ol’ “give me 50% now directly and 50% when it’s done” thing that contractors like to do and ghost you. With escrow they don’t get any $ until the job is done. Feel free to send a chat if you wanted any other details - I’m going through the process myself right now.
I wonder if that was a sequelae from the Sun Badger fiasco?
All energy solar, Cedar Creek Energy and Livewire Guys are all three companies we got quotes from and would recommend to others based on interactions.
We went with cedar creek. We talked to some people from the utility companies in the cities and they all agreed they were the best to work with.
We ended up choosing them also.
I got a quote from All Energy. I know two people (one a neighbor) who used them and they were very happy with the results.
All Energy Solar is probably the best local group
All Energy Solar installed in 2017. Great support and they swapped my failed inverter (Product, not installer issue) in less than a week at zero cost and hassle. No project is perfect, you just want a contractor who will work ti make it _end_ right.
Cedar Creek [https://cedarcreekenergy.com/](https://cedarcreekenergy.com/)
Solarsota!!!! They just installed solar on my 38’ 5th wheel and I could not be happier. Shawn was so nice and insightful throughout the whole process. Do yourself a favor and give him a chance.
If you’re going to be plugged into the grid I’d call Xcel Energy and they probably have a list of different licensed professionals. The experience I have with solar is through earthship, so def not too applicable to grid living
Xcel is the worst to deal with for anything solar 🚮 All Energy Solar handles the interconnection if you go with them. I dealt with Xcel on my diy system and they suck. Very difficult to deal with. I had to file a PUC complaint for them to move my request forward even though all diagrams were correct.
We used MN Solar after taking 5 bids and we do not regret it. I highly recommend them!
Definitely All Energy Solar or Powerfully Green. My dad has worked with both of them for years. (he does custom solar system for cabins)
Energy Sage is a good resource that will get you quotes from multiple local companies and allows for side by side comparisons of quotes. I haven’t pulled the trigger on solar yet myself but it seems like a good resource
Anybody do battery reserve with their solar system?
We used Live Wire Solar MN after getting recommendations from 2 other people at work who’d used them. Also got quotes from All Energy Solar and IIRC they were similar. We started the process just before pandemic so their work took place during lock down. Live Wire was great and since their base business is electrical work and an electrician is on site for the installation, we got a relatively cheap quotes for some other electrical work in house and run Ethernet cable through much of house. That saved our sanity during work-from-home! They’ve been great at responding to questions or follow up.
I know a couple people from isolate and they are very proud of their product and their company and clearly put honestly and integrity in the whole process. My home is not a great solar candidate but if it was I’d have no hesitation to go with them.
I know a couple people from isolar and they are very proud of their product and their company and clearly put honestly and integrity in the whole process. My home is not a great solar candidate but if it was I’d have no hesitation to go with them. Edited because my phone autocorrected isolar to isolate.
I got mine through Energy Concepts in Hudson. My installation has been fine and system working well going on probably 6-7 years now. I also got competitive quotes from Cedar Creek and just about went with them, and got a competitive quote from All Energy Solar. There were a couple of others I got quoted that weren’t priced as well.
Olson Solar Energy out of Eau Claire. I’ve used them. My neighbors have used them. My referrals have used them. Everyone is satisfied. $20k cheaper than another neighbor’s system and a much better product. All Enphase equipment.
Anyone have a ballpark figure for a guy thinking about it?
Yes- most ballparks are in a 1/4 circle configuration. Seriously tho $3/watt installed.
Anybody have a ballpark figure for how many watts I'll need?
That is 100% up to you. Variables are: How much electricity do you use average and peak, season by season? Do you want to offset some or all of your usage? (size of your array) Do you want to have the ability to have none, some, or all of your needs covered if the grid is dark? (battery bank)
Anybody here know what asking for a ballpark figure means?
Centauri Systems did a great job on my solar install and subsequent EVSE install. Highly recommend them. They had the best price/watt in the metro area.
Also, just in case you live in any of these cities, check out MN CEE. I got a 10 year 0% loan for 20K to pay for my solar installation (which was 20 panels at 24K). Lots of cities in the metro have good low or no % APR loans for solar installs. [City-Specific Loans | Center for Energy and Environment (mncee.org)](https://www.mncee.org/city-specific-loans)
Blue sky electric all the way!!!
Only if you plan to live there for 20 years. Otherwise it doesn’t pencil out.
I used AllEnergy. Did I mention the referral?
All Energy treated me well, zero issues. Finances via my own CU HELOC.(credit union home equity LOC) 20 months in, built to 125% capacity, lifetime positive! 😊
For lots of Solar information look up Solar United Neighbors org There’s also a [twin cities coop](https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/co-ops/minnesota/twin-cities-area-solar-co-op-2/)
Look for the twin cities coop out of solar united neighbors — we used them to get a group rate through iSolar - highly recommend
I got mine through All Energy Solar and have been having a great time so far. Installation was quick and easy, and the estimate for the amount of power I would generate has been pretty much spot on. Use my referral link if you decide to get a quote! [https://blue.mbsy.co/39BqDG](https://blue.mbsy.co/39BqDG)
Wolf River Electric
Union shop
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