Zenernet Solar Energy Review

Overview

Zenernet is a full-service solar electric energy company for homeowners who want to install solar panels on their houses. The company handles all phases of a residential solar installation project, from procuring the panels, mounting brackets, inverter, and other necessary hardware to installing it on their customers' roofs. The key selling point of the company's operation is one-stop shopping: consumers don't have to coordinate among multiple vendors to get a solar electric system installed and online. Zenernet operates in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas. It plans to expand operations into Arkansas,   Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Services and Features

Zenernet offers customers an array of solar panel options from over a half dozen different manufacturers. Customers can compare the prices, features, and power output of many different photovoltaic arrays, mounting systems, monitoring systems, and inverters. Once the hardware has been selected, Zenernet installs the entire system through its network of premium contractors. 

Upfront costs have long been a source of concern for consumers who want to go solar. Zenernet partners with different financing companies to that provide consumers with various lease and purchase financing options. The company works with Sunrun and Sunpower on lease arrangements and with Mosaic, Sunlight, LoanPal, Dividend, and Sungage on purchase financing. The company also coordinates with PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) programs by partnering with HERO, CalFirst, and Ygrene.

Unlike other solar installation companies that limit solar installations to certain types of roof configurations, Zenernet does not place across-the-board restrictions on the type of roofs it will install solar panels on. The company's experienced installers can put solar panels on just about any kind of roof.

Zenernet warrants its systems and installation for 25 years and also provides a roof damage warranty of at least 20 years. 

The company can be contacted by phone, through a web form, or by email. Its website is functional but is somewhat bare-bones in terms of the information it provides. However, since each installation involves dozens of factors, including roof type, property location and orientation, choice of hardware, size, local regulations, and financing, Zenernet's one-on-one personal approach to guiding consumers through this major purchase makes sense.

The Bottom Line

Zenernet stands out for its flexibility in terms of hardware types, roof types, financing arrangements, warranties, and its one-stop-shopping approach to solar energy. Though the company is one of the newer entries in the solar electricity market, its approach and business model put it in the top tier of its industry.