Ask Solar Solar Energy Review

Services Offered

Ask Solar is a marketplace website that connects customers interested in installing a solar energy system in their homes with solar engineering companies that can perform the work. The company serves solar providers by gathering customer information, including details about your site, including your location, your monthly utility costs, and the amount of sun exposure your home gets. The company states that it uses Google Earth as one resource to analyze your home's suitability as a solar site. It promises you an estimate of what you can expect to save by installing a solar energy system. However, when we tested the offer, no such estimate was provided.

To engage with Ask Solar, customers much fill out a brief questionnaire. To complete the questionnaire, it's also necessary to provide your email address and telephone number. We were hopeful that we'd receive some enlightening information, such as seeing multiple system and installer options in our area. We also expected to see the custom energy savings report the site promises in short order. But we were disappointed. No results were presented online. Nor did we receive an emailed report on our potential energy savings. Essentially, filling out the questionnaire just sets you up for a sales call. 

Ask Solar's privacy policy does not preclude the company from selling your personal data to other marketing companies. So if you provide your contact information to the company, you may also wind up receiving a lot of unwanted marketing communications unrelated to solar energy services.

Customer Experience

Ask Solar's website is very shy on details, but you can chalk that up to the company's position as a referral service only. The company doesn't manufacture or install solar systems. It makes money by partnering with solar companies whose services and equipment vary. The company is what's known in the business as a lead generator. That means you will only get to review your system options and project costs once you connect with an actual solar energy company. From our experience with lead generation companies, we can confidently say that once you provide your contact information, you can expect to receive a lot of promotional emails and text messages. But if you aren't familiar with any solar engineering companies that serve your area, Ask Solar could be a good place to start your exploration.

Financing Options

As a marketplace, Ask Solar works with multiple solar system manufacturers, designers, and installers. Financing opportunities vary depending on the supplier(s) you choose. One service Ask Solar says it can provide is helping you with comparing loan, lease, and purchase options to find the most advantageous financing plan for your needs. The company can also alert you to available tax incentives for new solar installations so you can get a clearer picture of the true costs and benefits you'll encounter.

Warranties

Any warranties you'd get when purchasing a solar system would be provided by your solar system designer/installer. Ask Solar does not provide any warranty information on its site

Customer Support

Knowing that Ask Solar was purely a marketing tool used by solar energy companies, we didn't expect to see a lot of educational information about solar systems. To its credit, the company does publish a handful of articles on the subject of home solar systems. But their offering is still thin. We didn't find any articles discussing the different types of systems, basic cost information, what to expect articles, or an FAQ section. 

Ask Solar Summed Up

If you are simply looking to connect with a solar energy system designer and installer, you may find Ask Solar a useful site to visit. But if you're looking for basic information to help you understand how solar energy systems work and understand your options, you're better off visiting a solar engineering company's website or the federal government's website at https://www.energy.gov/solar.