Brian Sadler talks with John Maher about the benefits of working with a local installer when you get a solar system for your home. He explains how going local improves the customer experience and helps to support your local community.
John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher. I’m here today with Brian Sadler, Vice President at Solaris Renewables, a solar company in Massachusetts, providing premium solar and storage technologies with exceptional customer service. And designing, installing, and servicing solar systems in Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire, and Maine. Today we’re talking about the benefits of working with a local solar installer. Welcome, Brian.
Brian Sadler: Hi, John. Thanks for having me in.
Choosing a Local Installer Supports Your Community
John: Sure. Yeah. So Brian, when it comes to installing solar panels, why is it advantageous to work with a local installer?
Brian: Well, selfishly, we’re a local installer. So of course we do think it’s the ways to go. But we’re well entrenched into the local community, the regulations and policy, even knowing local inspectors and some nuance there. What things are important to them as well. So I think it’s huge for homeowners to get what is really the latest in terms of the local landscape, what the local incentives are, how things work, how their project will flow, and what kind of support they have.
And then also when… We all live here and work here and know the communities. And a lot of times have, we have mutual friends, family, things like that. But we’re well entrenched in the area and then we’re not going anywhere as well. So when you call in, you’re calling and you’re talking to, we know the names of the people. We all know each other. And that is really stable and consistent, which I think goes a long ways for homeowners as well.
John: Right. Absolutely. A lot of people want to work with a company, too, that’s just kind of a local company and maybe help the economy a little bit. Is that an aspect of it as well, that choosing a local solar panel installer might actually help to contribute to the growth and development of the community?
Brian: Absolutely. So in another episode, we talked about “free solar” and third party ownership, where a lot of that benefit is being taken out of state. So by working with a local installer, there’s the benefits of, we know here, locally, what’s going on and what the benefits to the homeowner are. I can speak to that in a fluid manner. But you’re also supporting local families that are the ones working on your solar project. You’re keeping, a lot of times, there’s local banks if you’re financing the system. So it is a real injection and support of the local economy and community development by keeping that, all of that benefit in state. So I think that there’s a tremendous benefit to that aspect as well.
Local Installers Offer a Better Customer Experience
John: Communication and customer service are obviously key factors in any sort of service based industry. What are some of the advantages of having that direct line of communication with a local solar panel installer?
Brian: Well, I think it’s another, a big piece. So a lot times, we all deal with it now when something goes wrong with one of our appliances or devices. And it’s hard to get anyone on the phone. And there’s so many more automated phone lines now, or emails into the ether, and things like this.
Where when people are communicating with us, they’re communicating with a name at Solaris Renewables. When they call in, there’s going to be a human that picks up the phone. And all of us humans know each other. So I think that goes a long ways as well. I think it’s a reason a lot of our customers go with us over some of the big regional, and big national, companies.
And a lot of times they’ll realize that, okay, I see a real difference here. I’m talking direct. I have a direct line of communication. I can talk to the owner. I can talk to the customer care team. I can talk to the folks dealing with permitting. So there’s a direct line of communication, which I think is the real asset for us and the customer, in not being routed around and kind of dismissed as they get foreign calls dropped or sending, like I said, emails to nowhere. So I do feel like it’s something that we take really seriously. And we really hang our hat on our customer care, as well.
John: I think we’ve all dealt with companies where, you know, you call and it’s like, okay, we’ll transfer you to that department. And then you talk to somebody, and you don’t even know where they’re located. They could be anywhere in the country, or even overseas, and you’re talking to somebody and you’re like, they don’t know me, they don’t know my situation. They don’t, I’m just a number maybe to them.
Brian: A lot of times that kind of escalates if it’s a sensitive topic, and it’s maybe time sensitive as well. That might escalate the emotion in the conversation, as well, where by talking directly to us… And we’ll be honest, sometimes we can’t solve it instantly, for instance. But we’ll be honest about it, and at least give the customer the most information we have. And then be able to follow back up and check in with them, and make sure that we take care of their situation.
Knowledge of Local Regulations Streamlines Installation
John: Can you discuss a little bit more about how local installers’ familiarity with local regulations and processes can help to streamline the installation of solar panels?
Brian: Yeah, I think that’s a big one. I live in a community where there’s a lot of solar, and it’s been long-established in my neighborhood. And every time solar’s on the news, it seems to be my neighborhood, and it’s never positive. So basically, we’re… Again, we’re well entrenched in the community and know what the local regulations and incentives are.
And we know how each town, there are 351 towns in Massachusetts, for instance. Each of them have a different process for their permitting. And then have different hours, and some are online. And so knowing that, and being able to prepare for that, we can know that we need to accelerate this particular permit. Also, knowing what’s going on with the utility and those regulations based on system size and other particularities, we’re able to navigate that nuance and make the customer’s experience more complete and efficient as well.
So when we tell folks what a timeline is to expect, we can stick to that. And we know. Now there’s always potential of an unknown, or a utility pushback, but we’re well-prepared to manage that and keep the project moving.
How Local Installers Help With Maintenance
John: And then finally, sustainability and long-term maintenance are essential aspects of a solar panel installation. How do local installers ensure proper maintenance, monitoring, and support for their customer’s solar systems?
Brian: That’s a great question as well. So I mean, part of, we want to… We have long term established relationships with premium manufacturers, with really well backed warranties. And we service those warranties, so we take that out of their customer’s hands as well. So they just have a single point of contact. The idea is that this doesn’t need any maintenance. There’s no moving parts. But it does have electronics.
And again, that’s why we partner with the companies we partner with. And we want to be able to support our customers and make sure that we’re able to react and service their systems in an efficient manner. So we have visibility of all of our customer sites through different monitoring platforms. We’re able to see that. And sometimes we’re proactively diagnosed in that.
We also, because of our relationships with manufacturer, we have some enhanced services, where actually their team is also looking over our customers, our fleet, and they’re actually proactively diagnosing systems, and maybe solving something before even the customer sees it. So in a perfect world, there’s no maintenance.
A lot of times we say the advertising we’re looking for is not our van parked in your driveway, fixing your system. So we want to use great products that are reliable and tried and true. And we use our in-house teams that are really experienced in the products and services that we deliver on, so that we’re not going back. And this is really, we want to make this as much of a set it and forget it type of situation, where they’re just seeing the savings on the utility bill and more money in their bank account.
Go Local With Solaris Renewables
John: Right. All right. Well that’s great advice. Great information. Brian, thanks again for speaking with me today.
Brian: It’s awesome, John. Thanks again.
John: And for more information you can visit the website. It’s solarisrenewable.com. Or call 781-270-6555.