Top 7 Best Solar Companies in Illinois (2024 Reviews)

Blue Raven Solar changed the entire solar industry by implementing a revolutionary financing option that is now the gold standard for solar loans. It was recently purchased by SunPower, too, so it’s now backed by a stellar parent company.

The company has limited service offerings, and it currently doesn’t install batteries. In an area like Illinois, where net metering is mandated but the credit rate isn’t at the retail value per kWh for many customers, this is an important downside to consider.

Why We Chose Blue Raven Solar as the Company With the Best Financing Program

Solar equipment is expensive, even in areas like Illinois, where smaller system size requirements mean below-average costs. Cash purchases and loans are the only payment options we generally recommend, but even a standard solar loan can be prohibitively expensive for the average Illinois resident — especially as batteries become more of a crucial part of your system. That’s where Blue Raven’s BluePower Plus+ program shines.

This financing program requires no down payment, so upfront costs are non-existent. It also couples low interest rates with 18 months of interest-free financing. Over that first year and a half, you can accrue energy savings with your system — potentially more than $1,700, based on the average monthly electric bill in Illinois — to put toward your future payments. This program helps reduce ongoing costs as well as initial pricing, thereby maximizing accessibility.

Blue Raven is a large company, but it’s also well-known for providing great customer service, which is just a bonus upside to choosing this installer.

What We Don’t Like

Blue Raven Solar only installs solar panels, so system customization options are limited. This didn’t used to be a huge deal in Illinois since the state-wide net metering program made batteries a less appealing option, but, as mentioned, that policy recently changed, and the credit rate is lower. We expect it to continue to decline and eventually be phased out. That will make batteries more valuable and might make them necessary to see long-term solar savings. We’d also love to see EV chargers and other services like energy audits added to Blue Raven’s product and service line-ups.

Additionally, Blue Raven doesn’t accept leases or PPAs. Again, this isn’t a major downside since the company has an industry-leading solar loan program to boost accessibility. Still, though, some customers may not qualify, which means these other low-cost options would be a nice addition. And once batteries bump up average system costs, this could be more of an issue.

Read our full review of Blue Raven Solar for more information.

Solar Products

Blue Raven Solar installs four tier-one monocrystalline solar panel brands, including Hyundai, Trina, Canadian Solar and SolarEdge. These are all reliable panel brands that should stand up to the severe weather in Illinois and provide years of substantial energy savings, given their above-average energy efficiency ratings.

The SolarEdge panels are the most affordable of the bunch, so they’re the option we’d recommend if you’re looking to minimize your total system costs. If you instead want to maximize your solar production, the Trina panels have the highest efficiency and will deliver maximum savings.

Unfortunately, Blue Raven doesn’t carry any other add-on products. It does, however, install Enphase inverters, so you can get access to the Enphase monitoring app through the company.

Financing Options

Blue Raven only accepts cash and solar loans through its in-house financing program, BluePower Plus+. We would like to see leases and PPAs offered for maximum accessibility, but we also feel that the loan program does help make solar more accessible throughout Illinois, and creative financing options like this will help out immensely even after batteries become the norm.

While we’re big fans of the BluePower Plus+ program, we do still recommend a cash purchase. This will still lead to higher overall savings on your electricity bills, and your panels will pay themselves off more quickly since they don’t also have to cover the interest from a loan.

Warranty Information

When you go solar with Blue Raven, your panels come with a 25-year manufacturer’s and performance warranty, the latter of which is longer than the industry standard.

Blue Raven also includes a ten-year workmanship warranty for the installation labor, which is in line with the industry average. However, in high-risk areas like Illinois, we really like to see longer coverage for complete protection. Tornadoes and thunderstorms put your system at an increased risk, and above-average labor warranty coverage would be welcome.

Still, the average system from Blue Raven should last for between 25 and 35 years.

Click here for a free quote from Blue Raven Solar.

StraightUp Solar provides the outstanding customer service you’d expect from a local installer with the pricing and availability of a national provider.

The company isn’t as accessible as others, given the limited financing options, but it’s still a great option for those that can pay in cash or qualify for a loan.

Why We Chose StraightUp Solar as the Best Regional Provider

StraightUp Solar is a regional company that has been serving Illinois since 2006 and has completed 2,300+ solar installations. The service is limited to Illinois and Missouri, which means you get local expertise rather than a more generalized company that installs throughout the country.

The customer service offered by this installer is outstanding and more in line with what you’d expect from a much smaller company. It maintains an incredible 4.9-star review on Google Reviews and a 4.55-star review on the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) website. Most customers are thrilled with the communication and overall professionalism of this provider.

The company’s reps are willing and able to help you take advantage of state and local solar incentives, and they can tackle a nice array of solar and energy efficiency services to make your home as efficient as possible.

What We Don’t Like

There isn’t much we can say about StraightUp that isn’t overwhelmingly positive. The only real downside we see is that it doesn’t accept leases or PPAs, so you’ll be limited to choosing a cash purchase or a solar loan. This will be more of a problem in the future, in our opinion, as the industry shifts toward a lack of net metering and batteries being required to see solar savings.

Since a lot of customers understandably can’t make a cash purchase work and may not have the credit score to qualify for a loan, that does make the company a little less accessible now, as well.

The only other potential drawback is that the company doesn’t serve the entire state of Illinois, so you might not have access to this provider.

Solar Products

StraightUp Solar installs panels from a large variety of manufacturers. While most companies just carry a handful of brands, StraightUp prioritizes customization options and can get access to just about any tier-one residential solar panel you might want. Its design team can even compare brands for you to help you choose the one best suited to your energy needs.

In addition to solar panels, StraightUp Solar also provides access to the following products and services:

• Tesla Powerwalls
• Enphase IQ solar batteries
• Enphase islanding inverters to maintain power during blackouts, even if you don’t have batteries installed
• The Tesla and Enphase solar monitoring apps
• SPAN Smart Panel technology for improved system performance
• Commercial solar projects

We love to see the battery options here, especially with net metering declining in the state. Batteries will always provide effective retail-rate net metering, so they’re a great way to boost solar savings, and they’ll be even more beneficial in the future if the policy is discontinued.

Financing Options

StraightUp Solar only accepts cash purchases and loans. These are our only recommended options for most customers, but again, it would be nice for the sake of accessibility if the provider also accepted low-cost options like leases and PPAs.

Between a cash purchase and a loan, we’d recommend going with cash if you can afford it. Paying in cash yields the most benefits over time, like improved energy savings and a faster panel payback period.

Solar loans are affordable upfront, but if batteries become the norm, as we’re expecting them to, StraightUp might need to add leases and PPAs to boost accessibility.

Warranty Information

When you go solar with StraightUp Solar, you get an equipment warranty and performance warranty from the panel manufacturer. In most cases, these will last for 25 years each, although this can vary based on the panel brand you choose to install through the company.

StraightUp also includes a ten-year workmanship warranty, which is the standard in the industry. Again, we’d prefer to see a longer warranty for the labor, given the above-average risk of rooftop panel damage in Illinois. However, we do feel the company’s local expertise and experience should help prevent any from occurring.

Click here for a free quote from StraightUp Solar.

Momentum Solar is a regional installer that couples outstanding, hands-on customer service with above-average warranty coverage for peace of mind.

The company recently settled on a racial discrimination lawsuit with several past employees, which is a significant and serious drawback, although the accusations weren’t substantiated in a court of law. Still, being involved in such a case is, of course, a downside in and of itself.

Why We Chose Momentum Solar as the Best for Customer Service

Momentum Solar sets itself apart from the competition by providing industry-leading customer service, despite being a larger regional company. It does this, in part, by providing a concierge service with all of its installations. From the first call you have with the company to any warranty claims you might need to be addressed, you’ll have a single point of contact to remove confusion and provide continuity of service from start to finish.

Momentum Solar might serve multiple states, but its representatives are all trained experts on local laws and regulations. That means your rep can help you find any and all state and local incentives available to you to help you save money on your conversion. That includes things like the Illinois Shines Program, the Illinois Solar for All Program, the statewide property tax exemption, as well as local incentives from individual municipalities and electricity providers.

Momentum also provides 25 years of warranty coverage for all aspects of your system, which is ideal for ensuring your equipment stands up to the extreme weather in Illinois for years after the installation is completed.

What We Don’t Like

The biggest reason we see not to hire Momentum is that it is was recently wrapped up in a lawsuit for racial discrimination against past employees. The company settled, and there isn’t much information about the case or the settlement, but we’d prefer not to see allegations made in the first place. We like to promote companies that are environmentally and socially sustainable, and Momentum falls short when it comes to the latter.

Additionally, Momentum has limited service offerings, as it only installs panels and batteries. Other add-on products like EV chargers, which are massively popular in Illinois, aren’t available, so you’ll need to choose a different provider if you’re looking for more system customization options. Batteries are, in our opinion, the most important option aside from panels, though, so that’s great to see from this provider.

Read our full review of Momentum Solar for more information.

Solar Products

Much like StraightUp Solar, Momentum works with a wide variety of panel brands and can get you access to most options you might be interested in. The company does mention that it only works with tier-one monocrystalline panels, which we recommend, but within that category, you’ll have plenty of brand options from this installer.

The selection available means you can either optimize for production to maximize savings or for price to minimize your upfront system costs.

Momentum only includes one other product and an additional service aside from solar panel installations:

• Enphase solar batteries
• The system monitoring mobile app from Enphase

We’d love to see more options for batteries, but even just having one is a good sign that the company is ready for changes to NEM policies that we expect in the future.

Financing Options

Momentum keeps its products and services accessible by accepting a wide range of financing options, including cash purchases, loans, leases and PPAs.

We recommend against a lease or a PPA unless these are the only options you can make work. These deliver much lower savings than the other options and prevent you from taking the federal solar tax credit, which holds an average value of over $6,100 in Illinois.

A cash purchase will provide more savings than a loan, but a loan is more widely accessible due to the upfront payment being much lower — sometimes as low as $0.

The variety of options is helpful now, but we expect it will be all but necessary in the future when batteries become a requirement and push up installation costs by $10,000 to $20,000.

Warranty Information

Momentum Solar includes a 25-year warranty with all of its systems, which covers the equipment, the panel production and the workmanship.

In an area like Illinois that sees above-average rainfall and frequent extreme weather, we think the labor warranty is the most valuable. The equipment warranty can also protect you from related issues, like falling tree branches or blown debris from tornadoes.

Overall, we’d expect a solar array from Momentum to last for between 25 and 35 years, which is outstanding.

Click here for a free quote from Momentum Solar.

Windfree Solar is a small local installer that employs experts on local weather conditions, energy needs, incentives and more.

The company only accepts cash and loans and has a limited service area, but it’s still an excellent option for most Illinoisans, in our opinion.

Why We Chose Windfree Solar as the Best Local Installer

Windfree Solar is headquartered right in Chicago and has been serving Illinois solar customers since 2009. With over a decade of localized experience, the representatives understand the needs of IL residents and can custom-fit solar solutions that are designed to meet them.

The reps are knowledgeable about local incentives, including those offered by individual utility companies and municipalities. They can help you file for all applicable perks, which can help you save money overall and get the most value out of your solar array. That includes solar and other energy-efficiency incentives offered by the state, local municipalities and electric companies.

Windfree delivers the kind of stellar customer service you’d expect from a smaller local company. It maintains a 4.7-star rating on Google Reviews, plus an A+ rating from the BBB.

The provider also includes a 15-year workmanship warranty, which is longer than average and ideal in an area like Illinois, where panels are at an above-average risk of damage and roof leaks.

What We Don’t Like

Windfree Solar doesn’t serve all of Illinois, so there’s a chance you’ll fall outside of its service area. This isn’t a major downside, but it is something to keep in mind if you’re considering this provider.

Additionally, it doesn’t accept leases or PPAs, much like most local installers. These payment options aren’t recommended anyway, but they’re lower-cost options than cash payments and loans, so their inclusion can help keep clean energy more widely accessible throughout the state. Plus, they’ll likely be more popular in the future when the need for batteries pushes up installation costs and makes cash purchases and loans less viable.

Solar Products

Rather than working with a small number of panel brands as so many other installers do, Windfree instead takes a one-off design approach, choosing and installing panels for your specific solar array, energy demands and budget.

This keeps your options totally open, so whether you’re looking for low-cost solar panels to keep your installation total down or you want to maximize your solar production with a high efficiency rating, Windfree will likely be able to accommodate you.

In addition to solar panels, Windfree installs some solar batteries and provides access to solar monitoring apps:

• LG Chem solar batteries
• Enphase IQ batteries
• The Enphase solar monitoring app
• Commercial solar projects

The variety of batteries from Windfree is a welcome site, and we expect customers will enjoy the options if and when net metering goes away and batteries are required to see significant savings.

Financing Options

Unfortunately, Windfree Solar only accepts cash purchases and solar loans. These are somewhat accessible in Illinois, where system prices are lower than the national average, but we’d still prefer to see leases and PPAs offered to improve that accessibility.

Of the two options available, we strongly recommend a cash purchase if you can make it work. Paying in cash will lead to immediate panel ownership and help you avoid interest, meaning the greatest financial benefit over time. A loan can also be a great option, though, if you can’t make a cash purchase work.

Warranty Information

Windfree includes a 25-year warranty for the equipment and production provided by the panel manufacturers with which it works. The equipment warranty is average, but the efficiency guarantee is a little longer than the industry average.

Windfree also shines when it comes to the workmanship warranty. In a state like Illinois, where the risk of panel damage and roof leaks from improperly installed panels is relatively high due to the extreme weather and heavy rainfall, the above-average 15-year workmanship warranty offered by Windfree is outstanding.

Click here for a free quote from Windfree Solar.

If you’re looking for a company with decades of local experience to ensure a safe and efficient installation, AES is one of the best companies we can recommend.

The company only includes a less robust labor warranty than we’d like to see, but we feel that the experience speaks for itself and should keep your system protected.

Why We Chose AES Solar as the Company With the Most Local Experience

AES Solar is a small local company that has been serving Southern Illinois for over 24 years. Since 1999, this installer has solely worked in the Prairie State, so its technicians and representatives have extensive experience in the area.

They not only understand the local needs of Illinois solar customers in the face of the state’s extreme weather, but they are also intimately familiar with local solar incentives offered by individual municipalities and electric companies. The reps are always willing to help you file for as many rebates and perks as possible to save you money.

Not only that, but those same reps deliver outstanding customer service, as you’d expect from such a small company.

Unlike most local installers, AES accepts all four standard solar payment options, so it keeps its incredible service available to most residents.

What We Don’t Like

The only thing we’d consider a real downside is that the installer only offers a ten-year workmanship warranty. Again, this is the standard in the industry, but we like to see longer coverage in areas with extreme weather and heavy rainfall, like Illinois. Still, we do think the company’s local experience should mean your system will be professionally installed, meaning you shouldn’t run into any issues.

Another thing to consider is that this is a small company, so it only operates in Southern Illinois. This kind of limited service area is expected from a local provider, but it’s something we feel we had to mention.

Solar Products

AES Solar carries panels from a few different manufacturers, including Trina, LONGi, Silfab and SolarEdge. These are all great options, in general, and they provide a nice array of choices to help optimize for cost, efficiency and other performance specifications.

We recommend the LONGi panels if you’re looking to maximize solar production. These come with a peak efficiency rating of 22.6%, which almost matches the highest in the industry. The SolarEdge panels will likely be the most affordable option, so we’d recommend those to keep your costs down.

Below is a quick list of other products and services you can get via AES Solar:

• LG Chem batteries
• Enphase solar batteries
• The Enphase solar monitoring mobile app
• Ground-mount solar
• Off-grid systems
• Commercial solar projects

Having battery options is stellar, especially since Illinois’ NEM policy recently declined. If it continues to get less appealing, those battery options will be even more beneficial.

Financing Options

AES Solar accepts all four of the main solar payment options. We love to see this many options, as it gives all homeowners the best chance of being able to afford clean energy solutions.

We recommend a cash purchase if you can make it work or a solar loan if you can’t pay in cash. These options both give you access to the federal credit, and they lead to panel ownership and the highest savings overall. A lease can be a decent option if cash and a loan won’t work, and we generally don’t recommend PPAs due to the minimal savings they provide.

Warranty Information

You get a 25-year equipment warranty through AES Solar, which is in line with the industry average, as well as a 25-year production warranty, which is five years longer than average. The workmanship coverage is also average at ten years.

We will reiterate that we’d prefer a longer coverage term for the workmanship in Illinois. The state is prone to severe weather and sees above-average rainfall each year, so longer coverage is preferred. However, we do feel that the company’s decades of local experience mean you’ll get a high-quality installation that should hold up to the weather in the area.

Click here for a free quote from AES Solar.