Aeternus Power

How to choose a home solar company in California

By Fabio-Massimo Querrioux, Founder & CEO

Choose a company you can check: a contractor with an active CSLB license for solar work, a salesperson registered with the CSLB, and a contract that opens with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document, written in the language you were sold in. Then take your time, use the right to cancel if you need it, and walk away from anyone who pushes.

Why does the company matter as much as the equipment?

Before I founded Aeternus Power, I worked in residential solar sales in Florida and Puerto Rico. What I saw there was a fragmented market that is hard to compare, where homeowners and good installers both lose out. The equipment matters, but the company matters as much: how it sells, what it puts in writing, and whether it answers the phone when something goes wrong.

The complaints tell the same story. In its 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) logged 2,263 solar complaints; the most common were about workmanship or abandoned jobs, followed by misrepresentation or fraud. California gives you specific tools to avoid both, and they only help if you use them.

How do you check a contractor’s license?

Ask for the company’s CSLB license number and look it up on the board’s Check a License page, or call 800-321-2752. Check that the license is active, that the business name matches the contract, and what the record shows about complaints and bonds.

The CPUC’s Solar Consumer Protection Guide says a license for home solar should carry the C-46 (Solar), C-10 (Electrical) or B (General Building) classification. A license number in an advertisement proves nothing on its own; look it up every time.

Is the salesperson registered?

Solar sales representatives must generally be registered with the CSLB as home improvement salespersons, and registered with the contractor they sell for. The registration number has up to eight digits followed by SP, and the same lookup shows it. Ask for it at the door, on the phone or at your kitchen table.

Only a licensed contractor, or a registered salesperson working for one, may give you a quote or offer for a home solar system. The CSLB has said that lead generators and brokers may refer you or book an appointment, but cannot quote. If the person pitching cannot show a registration, I would end the conversation there.

What should the front page of the contract show?

Every residential solar contract in California must open with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document, in bold 16-point type. It shows the total cost, including financing and energy or power costs where they apply, how to complain to the CSLB, and your right to cancel.

Read the supporting pages too. Their bill-savings estimate covers your first 12 months, should use your last 12 months of hourly usage, and assumes utility rates do not rise. Any longer projection a salesperson shows may assume rate increases no higher than the average the CPUC publishes. A pitch that leans on steep future rate rises is selling a forecast, not a system.

Is the contract in the language you were sold in?

It has to be. Under section 7169 of the Business and Professions Code, the contract and the disclosure must be in the language mainly used in the sales presentation or the marketing you received. The CPUC adds that you can ask for its guide in Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog or Vietnamese.

You are entitled to sign the CPUC’s guide on paper if you prefer. If you sign anything electronically, use an email address you created and control; never let a salesperson set one up for you or sign on your behalf.

How long do you have to cancel?

If the contract was not negotiated at the contractor’s place of business, you can cancel within three business days of receiving a signed and dated copy, or five business days if you are 65 or older, by email, mail, fax or a delivered written notice. Do not let work start during that window. For a purchase, the down payment cannot exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and later payments cannot run ahead of the work done.

Which red flags should end the conversation?

  • “Free solar” or “you will never pay an electric bill again.” The CPUC lists both as false claims.
  • Pressure to sign today, or no time to read the contract and the CPUC’s guide.
  • A promised 30 percent federal tax credit on a system you buy in 2026. That credit ended for systems finished after 2025.
  • Advice to set up an LLC to claim business tax credits, which the CPUC calls illegal.
  • No CSLB registration for the salesperson, or a license that is inactive or in another name.
  • An escalator above about 3 percent a year in a lease or PPA, beyond the range the CPUC calls typical.
  • Savings shown only as long-term projections built on steep utility rate rises.

How does Aeternus fit into this?

We do not install systems ourselves. In California we are arranging a home solar PPA, and our office opens on December 1, 2026. When we can make an offer, it will come through a licensed contractor and registered salespeople you can check on the CSLB website, with the disclosure on the front of the contract and in the language we spoke with you.

The PPA is not available yet, and we will not give a date until a provider is signed. Our plans are set out in Aeternus Power in California, and the contract itself in solar PPAs for California homes. If you would like us to contact you when it is ready, register your interest.

Questions

Which CSLB license should a home solar installer have?

The CPUC lists C-46 (Solar Contractor), C-10 (Electrical Contractor) and B (General Building Contractor). Whatever the classification, check on the CSLB website that the license is active.

Do door-to-door solar salespeople need to be registered?

Generally, yes. Solar sales representatives must be registered with the CSLB as home improvement salespersons. Ask for the number and check that it is linked to the contractor they sell for.

Can I cancel a solar contract after signing?

Yes, within three business days of receiving a signed and dated copy, or five business days if you are 65 or older, when the contract was not negotiated at the company’s place of business. Send the cancellation in writing.

Where do I complain about a solar company?

To the CSLB, through its solar complaint form or by calling 800-321-2752. For suspected financial fraud, the CPUC points to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

How many quotes should I get?

At least three, as the CPUC recommends. It also warns that the cheapest bid is not always the best, since a very low bid can mean corners are being cut.

Sources

  • CSLB: Solar Smart (license checks, salesperson registration, contracts, complaints): https://www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers/solar_smart/
  • CSLB: Check a License or Home Improvement Salesperson registration: https://www.cslb.ca.gov/onlineservices/checklicenseII/checklicense.aspx
  • CSLB Industry Bulletin 20-22 (November 17, 2020): home improvement contract requirements for solar jobs: https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/IndustryBulletins/2020/20-22_solar_contracts.pdf
  • CSLB Contractor Newsletter, Spring 2020: advisory on lead generation and solar broker services: https://web.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/Newsletters/ContractorNewsletterSpring_2020.pdf
  • CSLB: Solar Energy System Disclosure requirements (front page, 16-point bold, language of the sales presentation): https://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/Solar_Requirements.aspx
  • California Business and Professions Code section 7169 (solar energy system disclosure document): https://california.public.law/codes/business_and_professions_code_section_7169
  • CSLB: Solar Energy System Disclosure Document, five-day right to cancel version: https://www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/Contractors/RightToCancel.Dec2020.Eng.pdf
  • CPUC: California Solar Consumer Protection Guide, published October 2025 (PDF): https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/solar-guide/2025-versions/solarguide25.pdf
  • CPUC: California Solar Consumer Protection Guide (leases and PPAs, escalators, selling your home, questions to ask): https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/demand-side-management/customer-generation/california-solar-consumer-protection-guide
  • CPUC Resolution E-5364 (adopted March 13, 2025): inputs and assumptions for bill savings estimates in the CSLB Solar Energy System Disclosure Document: https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M559/K800/559800004.PDF
  • IRS Fact Sheet FS-2025-05: FAQs on the modification of sections 25C, 25D and other credits under Public Law 119-21: https://www.irs.gov/EnergyCreditFAQs

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