HOW THE SOLAR INDUSTRY STARTED
Solar Sales Reps Explained
The solar industry in the USA actually started from ex-military who were using solar oversees and then took that knowledge and brought it to the USA to help people in the suburbs get rid of high electric bills. Most solar companies, if you look where their founder lives, it's in Utah. Something like 90% of solar companies are owned by Mormons, I don't know how this started, but in the summer in California, the majority of the sales reps are Mormon. They recruit them at Brigham Young University, and send the to California for the summer. Think about it, they're already great at going door-to-door. The Mormons are great people and they bare really good at selling solar, but what happens, is the Mormon teams go back to Utah after the summer, and then these large solar companies hire sales reps with no solar or electrical experience. These sales reps with no technical experience, more or less lie and say anything to get homeowners to sign a contract. Usually, these are young men who have little to no job experience, but they're good at talking.
Dirty Side of Solar Sales...
Sales reps don't get paid until the solar is installed, so they get their money and run. After the day of the install, you never hear from them again after they block your number. Not all of them, but it's a high percentage. Its common for sales reps to work at one company for 3 months then switch to another, because by the time the problems with the jobs they sold come to light, they are already at another company. So, as the Operations Manager of a solar install field office, I had to deal with all the problems they created. There is no accountability for sales reps in solar. It is one of the only fields of construction without a Union. We would go out to a job, and explain the job to the customer, and this is when he realizes, "Wait so it will only backup my house for a couple days? Not a week?" And then they find out one battery can only backup lights and plugs, but sadly most of them continue with the install, even if we would inform them they should contact the sales rep before install. Once it's installed, your locked in! So, I left my position as an Operations Manager with a bright future at my company, to start my own solar sales company, where my mission is to teach homeowners the truth about how solar works and inform them about all the incentives and rebates there are, where you can own a full solar system for sometimes $10,000.
How Sunrun Works
At this point, Sunrun is basically a bank for energy and money. They accumulate the energy produced by the solar, then they distribute it to PGE and different energy companies including Pioneer, SMUD, etc. The company I worked for was a Sunrun partner called Bright Planet Solar, now Bright Ops, whose business model was all installs no sales reps. In 2020 and 2021, BPS was the 3rd biggest solar company in the USA for installs per year; Sunrun is #1, Tesla #2. So, we had #3 in installs, because we were the main company Sunrun used to do all their installs, services and more. Sunrun has sales teams, then companies like BPS do the installs for them. But Sunrun's business model, is: (1) If customer's pay cash, they install a system for a 50% markup. That 50% pays the sales teams and the dozens of office employees working on your job, and (2) install systems on payment plans, meaning they own it, and therefore, THEY GET THE 30% RENEWABLE ENERGY REBATE. So, for every install, they get $10k to $20k, and this covers the install cost, labor, gas, etc.
30% Tax Refund ENDS DEC. 31, 2025!
This year, Dec. 31, 2025 the 30% rebate for renewable energy credit ends. By the time January 2027 rolls around, I am estimating 50%-80% of all solar companies won't exist. The small companies and large companies will not be able to stay afloat. Only medium sized install companies with very good service departments will stay alive. Over the last 20 years, many very successful solar companies have gone under due to the approach: "Let's install as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible." And they do this well and make millions, but the mistake is that they grow too fast and do not have a team to go out and do the thousands of services they create by pushing installs through, many of which there is issues and never should have been installed. This is why I recommend Homeowners choose a medium sized install company.
Maximum Self Consumption (MSC) = Maximum Cost Savings
The batteries have 3 separate modes: Backup Only, Max. Self Consumption, and AI mode (new). If you are getting the battery for maximum cost savings, you want to put the battery into Max. Self Consumption mode. This makes the battery charge up all day long, then when it hits 4 pm (4pm to 9pm are the Peak PGE times,) so at 4 pm your battery kicks on and feeds your house from 4-10pm and during that time any energy you use is free. The point is to eliminate the kW that are being sent from PGE to your house. After 10 pm, you can set it so at the time you go to sleep, the remaining energy in the battery gets dumped to PGE. Then, in the morning, it is empty, and can soak up all that solar again. It is also good to "exercise" the battery, let it empty then fully recharge. Never have it sitting idle, at least while its plugged in. By keeping the battery between 20%-80% and not letting it sit idle for periods of time, you will increase the lifespan of the battery.
How Bad Installers Can Raise Your Bill AFTER A Battery Install is Complete
Unless you are specifically only using your battery as a backup alternative, your settings should be on Max. Self Consumption or AI Mode, AND NEEDS to be on EXPORT ONLY. Export mode is where it sends extra energy to PGE at night. IMPORT MODE, means that the battery can charge up from PGE during non-peak hours. You can have a battery installed WITHOUT solar, and PGE will charge it up, so when PGE shuts off your power (HAHA), your battery is fully charged to backup your house. You don't want this ever. It's a scam! You only want a battery IF you have solar. The Enphase & Tesla batteries have a "Storm Watch" setting, you always want this on. If your battery is in MSC, if there is a storm coming or fire in your area, it will automatically stop supplying your house or sending to PGE to conserve all the power just in case the power gets knocked out
How Batteries Work
When the sun comes up in the morning, the solar start produces energy. If you use any appliances throughout your house during the day, your house uses the solar energy. But the solar will produce a lot more than you can use, so all this extra solar energy gets stored in your batteries. For PGE, peak times are 4 pm to 9 pm. So, at 4 pm your battery begins to discharge to your house as the sun goes down, and then your house is fully being powered by your ESS (Energy Storage System.)
There are 2 different ways to use your battery: (1) As a backup energy solution for your home during power outages and (2) for maximum cost savings by charging it during the day and using it to feed your house during peak PGE times.
Also, some really important settings I have seen a lot of battery technicians mess up, is the Import Only or Export Only Modes. YOU WANT YOUR BATTERY ON EXPORT ONLY! If the installers leave it on Import Only, your PGE bill will go up after getting your ESS!
Why Nick Got Into Selling Solar / Batteries
As the Operations Manager of a Sunrun partner field office, I handled scheduling, install, and everything for thousands of jobs a year. I made $1-$2 million every 10 days for Bright Planet Solar / Sunrun. As a crew lead / installer / service tech. I made about $150,000 a year by working about 90 hours a week for years. When I got made the O.M., I was put on a salary at $100k, where your supposed to be doing 40 hours a week. But the time I spent on the phone was well over 100 hours a week. And most of my time was spent on the phone dealing with angry customers and walking my installers through problem installs, 95% of the time this was caused by lying sales reps that had disappeared...
So, I started CA Solar Guru to try to reach homeowners before they signed a contract with a Top 10 USA Solar Install Company. You have no idea how many people call me to fix their system, and after they meet me, they say, "I'm so mad I didn't meet you 6 months ago!."
Why Nick Got Into Selling Solar / Batteries
The owner, Nick Vecchio, is a solar consultant and incentives specialist. If you choose Solar Guru to manage your project, we ensure from the beginning we plan your job out correctly to meet all the requirements to get the local, state and federal incentives!
AS OF NOVEMBER, 2025
30% Federal Tax Rebate on All Renewable Energy (ENDS 12/31/25)
PGE - Up to $7,000 for Batteries (Fire Zone OR Well OR Medical +)
PGE - Up to $7,000 for Batteries (Excessive Planned Shutoffs)
HOWEVER, THE POTENTIALLY LARGEST INCENTIVE I'VE EVER SEEN IS IN CALIFORNIA: If you add new solar to your home by the end of 2026, it locks in your property value permanently / until you sell your house. If you spend $12,000 adding solar panels now, you will get $4k back on federal rebate, so for $8,000 you can add solar and LOCK IN YOUR PROPERTY TAX VALUE!!!
(THIS IS POTENTIALLY WORTH 10S OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS)
ASK ME HOW - CASOLARGURU@GMAIL.COM
Why Choose CA Solar Guru?
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
Any type of roof, we can handle. The installers on the Solar Guru Team have been hand picked out of hundreds of installers because of their experience, positive attitude and set of technical skills. Take a look at our Meet The Team page to meet the boys.
Ground Mount Specialists
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
The Solar Guru Team has all been involved in dozens of ground mounts. Nick was one of the first solar installers to use the Earth screws to build a ground mount. We do concrete also and have heavy equipment operators. ANY CHALLENGE ACCEPTED THUS YET!
ESS Certified Technicians
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
ESS Certified Technicians
We know that nearly all the sales reps have no technical knowledge, and we want to help give you the knowledge to make the right decisions when deciding to add a battery to your home. ASK US HOW TO GET A FREE TESLA OR ENPHASE BATTERY!
Nick the Solar Guru
Comp / Tile / Metal Roof Experts
ESS Certified Technicians
Nick has 10+ Experience and can do anything solar related. His experience as a manager, where it was 99% dealing with problems and difficult jobs, his specialty is complicated installations! He has managed multiple businesses and is Everything Solar Certified.