The Best Solar Companies in South Carolina
If you’re reading this, you’ve decided to harness the sun’s energy by going solar with one of the solar power companies in South Carolina. The only remaining question is which reputable solar and roofing companies are best to partner with for your home solar project — and we’re here to help you make that critical decision. Answer #1 is at our SolarPowerSystems website where you will find lots of solar options.
We also recommend you to check out our recent solar research on the best installers in South Carolina, to get an additional information on the topic and if you have decided to go solar — our experts in the solar industry will provide you personalized solar quotes.
Why Go Solar? Before embarking on your solar journey, ensure you clearly understand your motivations, measurable goals, and timeframe for going solar. Are you aiming to reduce your environmental impact and carbon footprint? Lower your overall energy costs? Or some combination of the two? Getting crystal clear on your “why” will help guide the process.
How Much Sun Does South Carolina Actually Get? No matter where you reside in the Palmetto State — be it Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, or Myrtle Beach — you can expect to enjoy around 115 mostly sunny days per year with less than 30% cloud cover. That’s not quite as sun-drenched as California or Nevada. Still, it’s the best solar exposure in the Southeast region, making it an ideal location to tap into renewable solar power.
Costs vs. Savings: Crunching the Numbers. To estimate your potential cost savings, start by reviewing your utility bills and calculating your total annual expenditure on electricity. Then, compare that figure to quotes from several solar power companies in South Carolina for the installation cost and projected energy production of a photovoltaic (PV) system for your home.
In the section below, we’ll dive deeper into estimating how quickly a newly installed solar energy system can pay for itself through generated savings on your electricity bills. But first, let’s explore some key considerations for your home’s solar viability.
Evaluating Your Roof’s Solar Potential. While solar panels can operate effectively in many climates, certain roofs are less suitable for solar installations due to age, pitch/orientation, or excessive shading from trees and buildings. If nearby trees heavily shade your rooftop, it may not provide an ideal solar site to maximize the system’s electricity production potential.
South Carolina solar panels perform most efficiently when facing due South with a roof pitch/tilt between 20 and 42 degrees. This orientation allows the PV modules to capture sunlight at close to a 90-degree angle throughout the day. Roofs with less optimal azimuths and tilts can still be viable for solar, but they may require minor adjustments or additional equipment to maximize production.
Additionally, you’ll want to consider your roof’s age and condition. If it’s 30 years old or older, it may not be able to comfortably bear the additional weight and wind loads of a rooftop solar array. In such cases, you’d need to factor the cost of roof repairs or a full replacement into your overall solar installation budget.
Prioritize Energy Efficiency First. Even before considering solar, one of the smartest moves you can make is to evaluate and improve your home’s overall energy efficiency comprehensively. This includes air sealing, adding insulation, replacing aging appliances and HVAC equipment with more efficient models, and more. By reducing your current energy needs, you can decrease the size and cost of the solar installation required to meet your home’s electricity demands. But before, let’s make a quick run about going solar basics — just in case you missed something and did not check some boxes.
Top Five Solar Companies in South Carolina
Based on thorough research into customer reviews, services offered, website transparency, certifications/credentials, and other key criteria, here are the five best solar companies in South Carolina that are worth a closer look.
Blue Raven
Among the solar companies South Carolina can offer, Blue Raven is one of the largest and most well-established residential installers of solar panels in South Carolina and 18 states. They’ve cultivated a reputation for using only premium equipment like monocrystalline solar panels and Enphase microinverters. However, this top-tier approach has a higher price than more budget-friendly options.
Blue Raven truly shines in their ability to deploy experienced, dedicated project crews comprised of in-house experts across disciplines like engineering, design, permitting, installation, and more. This vertically integrated model ensures consistent quality control and expertise is applied to each solar installation project.
Additionally, as a national leader in the solar industry, Blue Raven can leverage economies of scale to access attractive finance options with low APRs, making their systems more affordable via options like their BluePower Plus+ plan, which provides solar loans requiring no upfront costs.
Renu Energy Solutions
In business since 2010, Renu Energy Solutions is a South Carolina-based solar installer that has completed over 5,000 successful residential and commercial solar projects across North and South Carolina. As a local company with deep roots in the Carolinas, cultivating a stellar reputation through exceptional customer service and workmanship is paramount to its success.
From their fully-staffed office in Columbia, Renu provides turnkey solar solutions for everything from entry-level grid-tied installations to cutting-edge off-grid systems with battery backup. With their diverse offerings, they can tailor system designs and equipment packages to meet virtually any budget or site requirements — including being one of the few solar South Carolina companies licensed to install the premium Tesla Solar Roof.
In reviews, Renu customers highlight their satisfaction with the professionalism and quality craftsmanship of the installation crews. At the same time, some report occasional hiccups with sales processes, lack of transparency regarding fees, and difficulty getting issues resolved with office staff and project managers after-the-fact.
Renu has cultivated a long-standing partnership with Sun Service Specialists, a specialized solar operations & maintenance (O&M) company serving residential and commercial clients across the Carolinas. This unique service relationship helps give Renu’s customers added confidence in the long-term support and upkeep of their solar energy panels investment.
South Coast Solar
Founded in 2007, South Coast Solar is one of the oldest and most tenured solar power installation companies in South Carolina. Its impressive 17-year track record and extensive portfolio of completed solar projects showcase its vast design and engineering experience across virtually every type of residential construction in the region.
However, what’s most compelling about South Coast Solar is the shining customer reviews, which are a universal constant no matter where you look. Virtually every review corpus from former clients is brimming with enthusiastic praise about the company’s consummate professionalism, with many leaving shout-outs to specific members of the sales and installation crews by name.
Based on the available information, South Coast Solar’s only potential downside is the need for more details regarding their specific solar financing options, product offerings, warranties, etc. These key details are only provided case-by-case once you begin the sales process.
South Carolina Solar Project (SCSP)
Among other solar power companies in South Carolina, this family-owned residential solar company, established in 2017, takes a more focused approach, specializing primarily in grid-tied solar installations with battery backup options for homes. Rather than tying themselves to any single equipment manufacturer, SCSP operates as more of an agnostic, independent installer capable of sourcing and deploying solar modules, inverters, and components from various manufacturers.
This brand-neutral approach gives SCSP the flexibility to design and configure customized solar solutions using quality components while keeping overall system costs affordable for their customers. As the reviews attest, SCSP’s installation crews are highly proficient and meticulous in their workmanship, leaving zero messes behind. Clients also frequently commend the company’s transparent, no-pressure sales style and prompt paperwork processing.
One potential area of improvement for SCSP could be expanding the maintenance and long-term care information provided to customers about how to properly care for their solar investment over its 25+ year lifespan. Their website brushes this off too casually, advising that rain and wind are sufficient for keeping panels clean and producing at full capacity.
Southeast Solar Pros
Southeast Solar Pros immediately sets itself apart as one of the best solar companies in South Carolina. The company was founded and continues to be owned/operated by Tommy Wood, a mechanical engineer with over 17 years of wide-ranging experience in the power generation industry. This technical understanding shines through in the company’s obsessive focus on designing and deploying only top-tier solar installations using premium equipment from SolarEdge.
By standardizing SolarEdge’s highly efficient panels and inverters, Southeast Solar Pros can ensure their customers enjoy optimum solar production and electricity bill savings over the system’s lifespan. Homeowners who’ve worked with Southeast appreciate Tommy’s integrity, hands-on involvement, and his crew’s transparency in fully explaining every aspect of the proposed system design.
Of course, restricting one’s product offerings to a single manufacturer does mean less flexibility in accommodating unique site conditions or customer budgets compared to brand-agnostic solar power companies in South Carolina. The company also limits its operations to a roughly three-hour radius around its Irmo, SC, headquarters.
On the finance side, details regarding Southeast Solar Pros’ specific loan products, pricing models, or financing partnerships are scant, so interested parties will likely need to initiate a sales consultation to obtain specifics.
The Benefits of Going Solar in South Carolina
Beyond feel-good motivations like reducing your carbon footprint, one of the biggest drivers compelling South Carolina homeowners to go solar is the prospect of drastically lowering their yearly energy costs. Let’s break down the financials.
As of 2023, the average electricity rate for South Carolina residents hovers around a lofty 14.1 cents per watt. The average household consumes roughly 1,000 kWh per month, which amounts to an annual electricity spend of approximately $1,700 for most families.
Source US Energy Information Administration
And as dispiriting as those costs are currently, analysts project electricity rates will continue to increase by about 10% every 3–4 years. This makes installing solar power an extremely savvy investment in controlling the rising costs of your home energy spend.
To meet a typical home’s energy needs while offsetting 50% of its electricity consumption from the utility, you’d likely require a 4 kilowatt (kW) solar panel system. Based on average pricing data for 2023, such a 4 kW solar installation would cost roughly $14,000.
However, that sticker price becomes much more affordable after applying the 30% federal solar tax credit and South Carolina’s 25% state tax rebate incentives, effectively reducing the net cost of the average 4 kW system to around $6,300 out-of-pocket.
Using a calculation tool from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a 4 kW system in a sunny locale like Columbia, such a residential solar array is estimated to produce just over 5,748 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. South Carolina’s average electricity rate of 14.1 cents/kWh amounts to $810 in annual electricity bill savings in year one alone.
This estimation is made with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory calculator and input the average data about your solar system (city Columbia, Sc, rooftop mounting, 4 kW solar system). That is just a preliminary calculation; get solar quote from different solar power installation companies in South Carolina to get more precise estimations.
When you crunch the numbers, a $6,300 investment recovering $810 in savings year-over-year results in the system paying for itself in full after just 7.7 years. After that break-even point, you’re essentially generating free electricity for the remaining 17+ years of the system’s lifespan.
All above is a approximate calculation; get solar quote from different solar power installation companies in South Carolina to get more precise proposal.
The financial incentives are clearly compelling for South Carolina homeowners. Residential solar electricity generation has nearly doubled from 225,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2020 to 438,000 MWh in 2023. More and more of your neighbors realize the long-term cost savings solar provides compared to continually renting their electricity from monopolistic utilities.
How Do You Know Which Solar Company in South Carolina Is Best for You?
With so many solar companies in South Carolina vying for your business, conducting thorough due diligence on your selection is critical, as your chosen installer will have a profound impact on the finances, logistics, and ultimate satisfaction of your solar investment.
Beyond the obvious fundamentals like ensuring your contractor is properly licensed and insured, maintains a solid reputation, and provides adequate workmanship warranties, here are some potential red flags to watch for when evaluating and vetting prospective solar installation companies.
- Significant Quote Discrepancies. If there’s a major difference ($3,000+) between the approximate installation pricing provided in the initial sales consultation and what’s stated in the final contract, it could indicate poor internal communication and a lack of standardized processes within the company. Such issues can lead to ongoing headaches after installation, including paperwork snags, delayed approvals, miscommunication regarding maintenance requirements, and more.
- Hard-Sell Sales Tactics. Pushy sales representatives who relentlessly pressure you to sign on the dotted line before you’ve had adequate time to perform your research and compare multiple quotes & financing offers represent a major red flag. A reputable solar company should welcome an informed, systematic decision process on your part, not try to rush you into making a high-stakes purchase.
- Excessive Fine Print. When reviewing proposal paperwork, be very wary of agreements where the bulk of the terms and conditions are buried in dense fine print. While some legalese is always to be expected, excessive it could be a tactic for obfuscating unfavorable items like hidden fees, liability clauses, penalties for early termination, etc. Any reputable company should be able to explain all terms in plain language.
- Duplicated Positive Reviews. In today’s age, online customer reviews are one of the best ways to evaluate a solar installer’s reputation and service quality. However, be wary of companies where the same glowingly positive reviews appear copied verbatim across multiple different review platforms — this could signal fraudulent reviews penned by the marketing team rather than actual customers.
- Subcontractor Reliance. While the actual installation work is commonly subcontracted to third-party roofing crews, excessive reliance on subcontracted sales, back-office administration, permitting paperwork, and post-installation support functions could spell trouble. With so many cooks in the kitchen, lines of responsibility and accountability become blurred if issues arise further down the line.
- Poor Post-Installation Support. Another common complaint from solar customers involves how the high level of attention and communication bends nearly completely toward making the sale and completing the physical installation work. Once that’s done and their deposit is paid, many solar power companies in South Carolina have been accused of going radio-silent, providing zero follow-ups, and leaving customers high-and-dry regarding issues with permits, inspections, interconnection approvals, maintenance, and monitoring of their new system.
The old proverb “you get what you pay for” applies to solar installations, so be willing to invest sufficient time cross-shopping multiple companies, interrogating review profiles, and discussing all contractual matters down to the final detail. While it requires effort upfront, this due diligence could save you massive future headaches and regrets.
Top Reasons to Hire a Solar Panel Installation Company in South Carolina
For the vast majority of homeowners, the idea of attempting a solo DIY solar panel installation is simply ill-advised. While the core concept of solar may seem straightforward enough, there are innumerable design considerations, safety implications, logistics challenges, and technical pitfalls that make self-installation extremely risky and inadvisable.
Here are some of the biggest reasons why you should hire professional solar power companies in South Carolina to handle your photovoltaic system deployment rather than going the DIY route:
Time and Convenience. Trying to install solar panels yourself, even for a modest residential array, is an extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming process that can take multiple weeks or months when you account for planning, permitting, material acquisition, and the actual installation work itself. Engaging professional solar power companies in South Carolina allows you to avoid disrupting your daily routine and reallocate those hundreds of man-hours towards more productive or enjoyable activities.
Proper System Design Expertise. Properly sizing and configuring a solar system that will generate sufficient electricity for your home’s needs while complying with regulation involves extensive calculations, 3D energetic modeling, and sophisticated solar design software tools — not exactly an easy DIY feat. Professional solar power companies in South Carolina have the training, experience, and proper equipment to ensure your system is meticulously designed for optimum solar exposure, efficiency, and long-term reliability.
Safety Considerations. Installing a solar panel system, whether roof-mounted or ground-mounted, inherently involves working at dangerous heights and loadings that novices need to gain the proper equipment, training, and experience to handle safely. When you factor in the electrical work and interconnection requirements, attempting DIY installation runs an unacceptably high risk of property damage, injury, or even death if errors occur. Professional crews adhere to all OSHA and workplace safety regulations.
Complex Logistics and Processes. From acquiring and correctly installing racking solutions and wiring components to properly grounding systems, sizing conduit runs, procuring net metering and utility interconnection approvals, and more — the sheer number of logistical considerations involved in a solar project is simply beyond the capabilities of most DlYers. It takes professional project managers, licensed electricians, and qualified installers to ensure every aspect is completed to code.
Quality Workmanship and Warranties. When you pay professionals to install your solar system, their work comes backed by robust workmanship warranties that protect your investment for decades into the future. South Carolina solar installers also leverage partnerships with solar equipment manufacturers to provide extended warranty coverage on the PV modules, inverters, and other components. With DIY installations, you’re essentially flying blind without any recourse if problems develop prematurely.
Licensing, Permits, and Inspections. Virtually all legitimate residential solar projects require nuking through a dizzying amount of red tape like Construction Permits.
If you’re considering making the switch to renewable energy, don’t hesitate to get a solar quote with Solar Power Systems. We offer comprehensive solutions tailored to your specific needs, ensuring you can maximize your investment in clean energy
South Carolina Solar Incentives
First, South Carolina residents should be aware of the Federal Tax Credit (ITC): systems installed in 2020 and 2021 are eligible for a 26% tax credit. However, in August 2022, Congress extended the ITC, raising it to a 30% credit for systems installed between 2022–2032.
In addition to the federal credit, South Carolina offers a 25% tax credit for installing solar power. This state credit maxes out at $3,500 or 50% of your state tax liability for up to 10 years, whichever is lower. Some solar equipment manufacturers and installation companies operating in South Carolina also provide rebates.
Embracing solar power in South Carolina means harnessing the state’s abundant sunshine for your benefit. Whether you’re in Charleston or Greenville, switching to solar energy not only saves money but also helps protect our beautiful environment.
Start your solar adventure on our SolarPowerSystems website to learn more. Find additional information on the top solar installers in South Carolina with our expert guide to make an informed choice.
And our solar experts will help you to unlock potential savings by requesting a personalized solar quote and step into a brighter, greener future.
Radiant Future: Embracing Solar in South Carolina
While not as sunny as Nevada or California, South Carolina still receives ample sunshine, making it a viable place for residential solar panel installations. However, don’t let emotions about being environmentally friendly cloud your judgment. Crunch the numbers, obtain multiple quotes from reputable South Carolina solar companies, and ensure the solar project makes financial sense. Otherwise, you may save money on an attractive but underutilized system while relying heavily on utility power and leaving a carbon footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth going solar in South Carolina?
Absolutely! South Carolina’s abundant sunshine makes it an ideal place to tap into clean, renewable solar energy. With the state’s sun exposure and numerous solar installers in South Carolina, you can save significantly on energy bills while reducing your environmental impact — a true win-win.
What is the average solar cost in South Carolina?
Average costs can vary. Top solar companies in South Carolina tend to price installations around $3.50 per watt. For a 6 kilowatt (kW) system to offset 1,000 kWh monthly usage, you may pay $21,000-$25,000. However, don’t let that deter you — federal and state tax credits can apply. Every project is unique, so contact local solar firms for precise quotes. Contact solar power companies in South Carolina for more precise calculations.
Does South Carolina offer a solar tax credit?
Yes! South Carolina provides a 25% tax credit for solar installations. However, be aware of the limits — the maximum credit is $3,500 or 50% of your state tax liability over 10 years, whichever is lower.
Remember the 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar. Tax incentives can reduce your net system costs by 20–30%. Be sure to discuss financing and incentive eligibility with South Carolina solar companies.
Which is the finest solar company in South Carolina?
One standout is South Coast Solar. As the most experienced solar installers in SC, they are renowned for top-quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and a stellar track record. They are a go-to choice for homeowners looking to seamlessly go solar.
