I learned the hard way that there is a real difference in Solar Contractors.

The first one sold me inferior panels that started to fail within four years, then charged like a wounded buffalo for the travel time it took to replace the "guaranteed" panels. $500 a call.

Enter Sun Solar Electric! Not only did these people find a way to remove and replace the hopeless panels with top-of-the-line ones without charging for the labor, but the replacements had individual micro-processors, so that a failure of one would not mean a failure of all, or shade cast on one or two would not reduce the output of the others — unlike the previous system.

Thanks to their amazing research, we got a loan at 3.5% to cover the new system. The payments on the loan are less than our previous PG&E bill.

But yesterday — wait for it — these two guys showed up at our place, a 90-minute drive for them, having discovered that two of our panels may be underperforming. They knew this because they monitor the systems they install remotely. They had provided us with a way to see this on our own computer, but we had been a bit lax. So they checked the panels, which took them a good bit of time, reported concisely on their satisfactory condition, and retraced their 90-minute drive to Rohnert Park. And all this for free, just part of the service.

I wouldn't have felt good denouncing our previous contractor by name, but I have no reservations about recommending this company. They do excellent work, and — unlike the previous guy, who took several months to complete the job — these guys did it all in one day.

I wish someone had recommended this company before I had to learn the hard way! Their e-mail is:

[email protected]