Tesla Powerwall Premier Certified· BBB A+· Google 4.9★ (400+)· CSLB #1023627
Buyer's Guide · Los Angeles
Every 'best solar companies' ranking on the internet was written by someone with a stake in the answer. This one too — we're on it. The difference: we say so in the first sentence, we only make claims you can verify yourself, and the checklist below works whether you hire us or anyone else on this page.
Read this first
OC Solar is a Southern California solar contractor with an office in Hollywood. Yes, a solar company ranking solar companies is a conflict of interest. Here's how we've handled it.
The judging criteria
Star ratings are a starting point, not a verdict. In Los Angeles specifically, these six factors decide whether your project goes smoothly — or stalls in plan check.
California requires solar contractors to hold a CSLB license (typically C-46 or C-10). Look the number up yourself, confirm bonding and workers' comp, and make sure the entity on the license is the entity on your contract — not a sales brand that subs the work out.
Los Angeles is split between LADWP, a municipal utility with its own solar rules, and SCE territory under NEM 3.0. A quote modeled on the wrong rate structure is fiction. Ask how many interconnections the company has completed with your specific utility.
Inside city limits, every solar permit runs through the LA Department of Building and Safety, which has its own plan-check process and quirks. Outside city limits, each of LA County's dozens of cities has its own building department. Crews that permit here weekly move faster.
When the company that sold the job also employs the people on your roof, accountability has nowhere to hide. Ask directly: who pulls the permit, who installs, and who answers the phone if something fails in year six?
California has watched a wave of solar companies fold since 2023, stranding warranties and half-finished projects. Years in business, install volume, and a physical local office are imperfect proxies — but they're the proxies you can actually check.
The residential federal tax credit expired at the end of 2025. Any cash or loan quote still built around a 30% homeowner credit is a red flag for everything else in the proposal. Honest companies updated their math; the rest hope you didn't notice.
The list · 2026
We put ourselves first, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we will do is hand you every receipt so the ranking earns itself.
4.9★
Google rating (400+ reviews)
5,000+
Installations across SoCal
30 days
Median sign-to-install
A+
BBB rating
Our Los Angeles office is at 1800 N Vine St in Hollywood, and our crews work both LADWP and SCE territories every week — which means the rate modeling, the LADBS paperwork, and the inspection scheduling are routine, not a learning experience on your roof.
Also worth your shortlist
These are real, established companies — listed in no particular order, with neutral descriptions only. We deliberately don't quote their ratings or review counts, because point-in-time numbers go stale. Check each company's current Google and Yelp profiles yourself before deciding.
Glendale-headquartered installer with a strong presence across greater Los Angeles, offering solar, battery storage, and roofing.
Visit their site · then check their current Google and Yelp profiles.
Los Angeles–based installer handling residential and commercial solar and storage projects across the region.
Visit their site · then check their current Google and Yelp profiles.
Los Angeles–area company offering solar and roofing services to homeowners in Southern California.
Visit their site · then check their current Google and Yelp profiles.
Veteran-owned California company offering solar, battery storage, roofing, and HVAC across the state.
Visit their site · then check their current Google and Yelp profiles.
National residential solar and battery company, widely known for lease and PPA agreements.
Visit their site · then check their current Google and Yelp profiles.
Bring them to us. We'll review any Los Angeles solar quote free — system size, production estimate, rate modeling, escalators, and fine print — and tell you honestly if it's a good deal, even if it isn't ours.
Get a free second opinion →
Why LA is different
The single most LA-specific question in solar shopping: who's your utility? The answer changes the economics of the same exact system.
If you live inside Los Angeles city limits, your utility is LADWP — a municipal utility that isn't governed by the CPUC. It sets its own rates, its own solar compensation, and its own interconnection process, all separate from the NEM 3.0 framework that applies to investor-owned utilities. An installer who only knows SCE's playbook will model your savings wrong.
Much of LA County outside the city — and pockets within it — is Southern California Edison territory, where NEM 3.0 export rates make battery storage the difference between a system that pencils and one that doesn't. See our guide for SCE customers.
Every solar permit in the City of LA runs through the Department of Building and Safety, with its own plan-check standards and inspection scheduling. Outside city limits, each city in the county runs its own building department. Ask any installer you're vetting how recently they pulled a permit in your specific jurisdiction.
The 2026 pricing reality
The federal residential solar credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025. If you buy with cash or a loan in 2026, there is no federal tax credit for you to claim — full stop. On lease, PPA, and prepaid plans, the financing company that owns the system can still claim the commercial Section 48E credit and pass roughly 30% of that value through as a lower price or payment, generally through about 2027. That's a price benefit baked into the plan — not a credit on your tax return. Any Los Angeles proposal still showing you a 30% homeowner credit is your cue to keep shopping.
Los Angeles solar FAQ
There's no single answer that fits every home — the right company depends on your utility (LADWP customers play by different rules than SCE customers), your roof, and how you want to pay. Instead of trusting any list, including this one, verify four things: an active CSLB license with no disciplinary actions, real installation history in your specific utility territory, current Google and Yelp profiles you check yourself, and a quote that doesn't lean on the expired residential federal tax credit. OC Solar's own verifiable marks: 4.9 stars on Google across 400+ reviews, a BBB A+ rating, 5,000+ installations since 2016, and CSLB license #1023627 you can look up in about a minute.
More 2026 buyer's guides: Best Solar Companies in California · Best Solar Companies in Orange County · Best Solar Companies in San Diego
Research like a pro
The vetting framework, the cost picture, and the local-vs-national question — in depth.
Every criterion in this guide, expanded into a working checklist.
2026 statewide cost benchmarks for comparing LA quotes.
What actually differs after install day.
Get a free, no-pressure estimate from our Hollywood office — modeled on your real roof and your actual utility, LADWP or SCE. If another company is a better fit, we'll tell you.
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Licensed, Bonded & Insured · CSLB #1023627
