On most of our state and city solar companies pages, EcoGen America rates each company out of 100. Companies that pass three checks also carry the EcoGen Verified Installer badge. Both rest on facts you can check yourself: the company’s own website and the state’s public license records, each with the date we read it. Below is what the badge checks, how points turn into stars, and what neither one promises, so you can read any company listing on this site and know what the badge and the stars mean.
Dean sets the three checks and the rating points. He has connected tens of thousands of homeowners with residential solar installers across all 50 states since 2021 and works directly with installation companies on licensing, pricing and service standards. Last methodology review: October 21, 2026, Trevor Guilday.
Key takeaways
- An EcoGen Verified Installer has passed three checks: an active state license in the public registry, real in-state crews shown on its own website, and a workmanship warranty that covers roof penetrations.
- On most state and city companies pages, every company gets up to 100 points from facts anyone can check: its own website and the state’s public license records. Points turn into a star rating from 3 to 5.
- Paying EcoGen for introductions never changes a badge or a rating. Customer star reviews do not count toward either.
- Every check and every rating carries the date we read the facts.
The Three Checks
A company is an EcoGen Verified Installer when it passes all three. Miss any one and the company is listed on our site, but it is not verified.
Check | What Has to Be True | Where You Can See It |
|---|---|---|
1. Active state license | The license the company publishes is active in that state’s public registry, under the exact business name, for the state where the company appears on our site. | The licensing table on the company’s profile, with the registry name and the date we checked. |
2. Real in-state crews | The company’s own website shows it installs in the state: a published service area naming the counties, towns or the state itself, or crews based there. A physical office in the state is not required. Lead marketplaces and resellers never qualify. | The “Where It Installs” section on the profile, with the page we read and the date. |
3. Workmanship warranty with roof coverage | The company publishes a workmanship warranty that covers the roof penetrations its crews make. We record the number of years, but the length is not a pass condition; the roof coverage is. | The warranty table on the profile, with the page we read and the date. |
How We Rate Solar Companies
Each company on a rated state or city solar companies page gets up to 100 points. The points come from facts anyone can check: the company’s own website and the state’s public license records, read on the date shown on that page. A fact the company does not publish earns no points.
Area | Points | What Earns Them |
|---|---|---|
Licensing | 30 | An active state license, a licensed electrician, and license numbers printed on its website |
Warranty protection | 35 | Workmanship warranty length, roof-penetration coverage in writing, and any production guarantee |
Local presence | 15 | An office in the state, and the state named as a service area |
Track record | 10 | Years installing solar |
Options | 10 | Batteries, and the number of ways to pay |
The total sets the stars:
| Points | Stars |
|---|---|
| 85 or more | 5 (Top-rated) |
| 72 to 84 | 4.5 (Excellent) |
| 60 to 71 | 4 (Very good) |
| 45 to 59 | 3.5 (Good) |
| Below 45 | 3 (Average) |
Every listed company starts at 3 stars, so the scale runs from 3 to 5, not 1 to 5. Where a state board has disciplined the company, our rating is one star lower, to no lower than 3 stars.
Each company’s points by area are printed under its listing, so you can see where it earned or missed them. We do not inspect installations, collect customer quotes or test customer service. The rating measures what a company commits to in writing and what the state records show, not how a given crew performs on your roof.
How the Badge and the Rating Fit Together
The badge is pass or fail on three facts. The rating is a score that rises or falls as a company publishes more, or as its license status changes. The two are separate and can disagree. A company with no roof coverage in writing fails the badge, but can still earn 4 stars on its license, office, years in business and options.
What the Badge and the Rating Do Not Mean
- They are not for sale. Whether a company pays EcoGen America for homeowner introductions has no bearing on the checks or the points.
- Paying partners are labeled. Companies that pay us for homeowner introductions carry an “EcoGen partner” tag beside their name.
- They are not customer reviews. Star reviews from Google or Trustpilot never count toward the badge or the rating.
- Review scores are shown, not counted. Some profiles also show the star ratings that Google and Trustpilot display for the company, with the number of reviews and the date we read them. They also show the five newest 5-star reviews and the five newest 1- or 2-star reviews with written text on Google and Trustpilot, each quoted as one sentence, word for word, with a link to the source. These scores belong to those sites. They are shown beside the EcoGen rating, never added into it, and they never affect the badge. We reread them at least every three months.
- They are not a guarantee of your outcome. They mean the facts shown were true on the date shown. Your contract, your roof and your utility still decide the result. That is why every profile ends with the same three things to check before you sign.
Verified Installer vs. Certified Solar Installer
Homeowners often search for a certified solar installer. Certification in this industry usually means NABCEP, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, which certifies individual technicians and salespeople after an exam and documented installs. That is a credential for a person. Our verification is about the company: the legal entity whose name goes on your contract, whose license the state registry lists, and whose warranty covers your roof. A company can employ NABCEP-certified staff and still fail our license check, and a company can pass all three checks with no NABCEP holder on staff. When a company publishes NABCEP credentials on its own site, we record them on the profile under certifications, separately from the badge.
How the Checks and Ratings Stay Current
Each check carries the date it was made, and each rated page shows the date its facts were read. We re-check verified companies on a regular cycle. A company whose license lapses, whose site no longer shows in-state work, or whose warranty terms change loses the badge until the facts are current again, and its rating moves with the same facts. A company that closes gets a closure notice on its profile so its customers know where they stand.
Where the Facts Come From
Every fact behind a badge or a rating comes from two places only: the company’s own published materials, read on a recorded date, and the public state registry for licenses. We do not use third-party review sites for either.
If you are a homeowner comparing quotes, start with your state’s solar companies page, open the profiles, and read the dates. Then put the company through our 18 questions to ask a solar installer and read its proposal with our solar quote guide. If you run a solar company and want to be checked, the same three facts on your own website are all it takes.
How This Fits with the Rest of EcoGen America
Verification is one of the ways we earn trust; the others are on Why Trust EcoGen America, About Us, and How We Make Money, which explains plainly that installers pay us for introductions and that this never touches a check or a rating.
Verified Installer and Rating FAQs
What does EcoGen Verified Installer mean?
It means the company passed three checks on a recorded date: its published state license is active in the public registry under its exact business name, its own website shows real in-state crews or a published service area, and it publishes a workmanship warranty that covers roof penetrations.
How does EcoGen rate solar companies?
Each company gets up to 100 points: 30 for licensing, 35 for warranty protection, 15 for local presence, 10 for track record and 10 for options, all from its own website and the state’s license records. The stars follow the points: 5 at 85 or more, 4.5 at 72, 4 at 60, 3.5 at 45 and 3 below 45. Where a state board has disciplined the company, the rating is one star lower, to no lower than 3. Customer reviews and payments to EcoGen do not count.
Do solar companies pay to be EcoGen Verified or to get a better rating?
No. Whether a company pays EcoGen America for homeowner introductions has no bearing on the checks or the points. A company that pays us nothing can be verified and top-rated, and a company that pays us can fail.
Is a verified installer the same as a NABCEP certified solar installer?
No. NABCEP certifies individual technicians and salespeople. EcoGen verification checks the company that signs your contract: its license, its in-state crews, and its roof warranty. Both can be true of the same company, and we record NABCEP credentials on the profile when the company publishes them.
How do I check a solar installer’s license myself?
Search your state’s contractor or consumer-affairs registry for the exact business name on your contract, then match the license number the company prints on its website. Our profiles show the number, the registry we used and the date we checked, so you can repeat the check in a minute.
