StraightUp Solar Review

Solar, battery and EV charger installerBased in St. Louis, MissouriProfile updated October 14, 2026

Is StraightUp Solar a good choice?

StraightUp Solar fits Missouri and central and southern Illinois homeowners who want a long-running local installer with its own service team. It says it was founded in St. Louis in 2006 and is a certified B Corp. Its warranty page publishes a 10-year workmanship guarantee and a 10-year production guarantee at 85% of its estimate. It lists no separate roof penetration term, so ask whether leaks are covered.

Price
Quote required; no system price on the company pages we reviewed. Costs
Coverage
MO (St. Louis area, Columbia, Rolla, Washington) and IL (Bloomington, Peoria, Springfield, Metro East, Chicago suburbs and more). Service area
Warranty
10-year workmanship and 10-year production guarantee; maker warranties on equipment. Warranty
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On this page
  1. Why choose it, or not
  2. StraightUp Solar reviews
  3. Cost and ways to pay
  4. Warranty
  5. Service area and licenses
  6. Compare installers
  7. Before choosing
  8. How we researched

Why choose StraightUp Solar, and why you might not

What StraightUp does well, and where to be careful, compared with the installers it competes with most.

Reasons to choose StraightUp

  • It promises how much power you getFor 10 years, if your system makes less than 85% of its estimate, StraightUp says it fixes it, upgrades it, or pays you for the missing power. Ask for the estimate in writing.

  • It covers its own work for 10 yearsStraightUp lists a 10-year warranty on its own work. Certasun also lists 10 years. Shinnova and Cromwell give no clear length.

  • You can buy, borrow or take a PPAIt offers loans through Clean Energy Credit Union with no fee for paying early. In parts of Illinois it also offers a PPA (you pay for the power; the company owns the panels), with upkeep included.

  • It has worked since 2006StraightUp says it was founded in St. Louis in 2006 and has its own service team. It names REC panels, Enphase and SolarEdge inverters, and Tesla and Enphase batteries.

Reasons to look at others

  • No set warranty for roof leaksStraightUp lists no separate warranty for leaks where the panels are bolted to the roof, and no battery warranty. Ask who fixes a leak there, who pays, and for how long.

  • It prints no license numbersWe found no license numbers for StraightUp in Missouri or Illinois on its site. Ask for them and check them before you sign.

  • Its PPA owner is not namedWith the PPA, you do not own the panels, and it does not name who does. Your price for the power can go up each year if you choose that option. Ask who owns the panels and how much the price can rise.

  • No reviews to readWe found no Google listing for StraightUp. Ask for recent local customers you can call, and who handles service after the install.

StraightUp Solar reviews: what customers say

We found no Google or Trustpilot reviews for StraightUp Solar when we checked in October 2026. Ask the company for references from recent customers in your area.

How much does StraightUp Solar cost?

StraightUp Solar does not publish a system price on the pages we reviewed. Ask for an itemized quote showing the cash price, system size, equipment models and payment schedule; it says cash purchases are paid in phases. If you finance, get the APR, fees and financed total. Its warranty page says that when the inverter warranty is shorter than the panel warranty, it includes the replacement cost in the estimate, so ask to see that line. For state price ranges, see our solar panel cost guide; for how the plans compare, see loans, leases and PPAs.

Purchase

You own it

Paid on a phased payment schedule; you handle service after the warranties.

Solar loan

You own it

Through Clean Energy Credit Union: $0 down options, 12, 15 or 20-year terms and no prepayment penalty, per the company.

PPA (Illinois only)

A third-party financier owns it

For Ameren Illinois and ComEd customers: $0 down, maintenance included, a 25-year term, an optional yearly escalator and a purchase option after year 5.

Plans as listed on StraightUp Solar’s lease or buy page (posted July 10, 2026), read October 13, 2026.

StraightUp Solar says every panel it offers is Tier 1 rated, and its REC webinar page says it is a Premiere REC Certified Solar Professional installer. Its inverter page mentions Enphase and SolarEdge, and its add-ons page names Tesla Powerwall and Enphase IQ Battery as its storage platforms. It also lists Span smart panels and EV chargers. Your written proposal should list the exact panel, inverter and battery models, the system size in kilowatts (kW) and the forecast yearly production in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

What does StraightUp Solar’s warranty cover?

Warranty terms StraightUp publishes, by type of coverage
Coverage
What StraightUp publishes
What to confirm
Solar panels
25-year product warranty (maker’s)
The panel maker and that its 25-year term applies to your model.
Panel output
10-year production guarantee: if output falls below 85% of its estimate, it repairs, upgrades or pays the retail value of the shortfall
How the estimate is set and how a shortfall is measured.
Inverter
Maker’s warranty, typically 10 to 25 years; replacement cost built into the estimate when shorter than the panel term
The inverter model, its term and the replacement allowance in your quote.
Battery
Not published
Confirm in your proposal: the battery maker’s term and who services it.
Labor and workmanship
10 years
What the workmanship guarantee excludes.
Roof penetrations
Not listed as a separate term
Confirm in your proposal: whether the 10-year workmanship guarantee covers leaks at panel mounts.

Company-published terms from StraightUp Solar’s residential warranty page, read October 13, 2026. Your signed agreement decides what applies.

Under the Illinois PPA, the third-party owner’s contract decides maintenance and warranty terms; ask for it before you sign.

Where does StraightUp Solar operate, and which licenses were checked?

StraightUp Solar’s service areas page lists St. Louis City and County, St. Charles County, Washington, Columbia and Rolla in Missouri, and Bloomington, Carbondale, Champaign, Marion, the Metro East, Peoria, Springfield and the Chicago suburbs in Illinois, “but not limited to” these areas (read October 13, 2026). Its PPA is offered only in Ameren Illinois and ComEd territory. A listed area does not mean every address qualifies or that EcoGen can connect you with StraightUp Solar there.

Showing St. Louis, MO (headquarters)

Office addresses (3)

Address from StraightUp’s website, read October 13, 2026.

Licenses

We have not checked StraightUp’s licenses in a state registry yet, and its website does not list license numbers we could match. Check the license yourself under the exact business name on your contract. A license check confirms registration, not workmanship quality.

Missourino number publishedNot published
  • License
    License or registration
    Number
    Not published
    Registry check
    Not checked by us
    Note
    No Missouri license or permit number is printed on the pages we read (October 13, 2026). Ask which license covers electrical work at your address.
Illinoisno number publishedNot published
  • License
    Distributed Generation installer certification
    Number
    Not published
    Registry check
    Not checked by us
    Note
    No Illinois certification number is printed on the pages we read (October 13, 2026). Ask for its Illinois Commerce Commission Distributed Generation installer certification.

StraightUp Solar says it has been a certified B Corp since 2015 (our story) and shows a 2022 Torch Award for Ethics and Illinois Solar Energy and Storage Association membership on its homepage. These are company statements; we did not verify them.

StraightUp Solar compared with three other installers

Shinnova is the only alternative that shares both of StraightUp’s states. We added Certasun, which works in Illinois and names its brands too, and Cromwell, a long-running installer that serves Missouri. Every fact comes from the company profiles linked below.

StraightUp Solar compared with three installers that serve the same states
StraightUp SolarThis pageShinnova SolarCertasunCromwell Solar
Best forSt. Louis and Illinois homes, with its own service teamSolar with a whole-home battery in KC or St. LouisOne local crew for panels, battery and EV chargerSolar, batteries, generators and EV chargers
Head officeSt. Louis, MOKansas City, KSBuffalo Grove, ILLawrence, KS
States shared with StraightUpBoth of its states2: IL, MO1: IL1: MO
RoofingNot listedNot listedNot listedNot listed
Ways to payBuy, credit union loan, PPA (Illinois only)No-money-down options, no detailsBuy, loan, prepaid plan, rentBuy, loan, rent
Labor warranty10 yearsNot clear (mentions a “25-yr warranty”)10 yearsNot listed
Roof leak warrantyNot listed separatelyNot listedNot listedNot listed
Brands namedREC, Enphase, SolarEdge, TeslaEcoFlow, EnphaseREC, Enphase, Tesla, FranklinWHTesla, Enphase, FranklinWH (batteries)
Google score*No Google listing foundNo Google listing foundNo Google listing found4.9 (38 reviews)

*Each Google score is for the company’s head-office listing only, read October 12 and 13, 2026.

Full profiles: Shinnova Solar · Certasun · Cromwell Solar

Before choosing StraightUp Solar

Ask for these in writing:

  1. An itemized quote with the cash price and the financed total, including the APR and all fees.
  2. The exact panel, inverter and battery models, the system size in kW and the forecast yearly production in kWh.
  3. The warranty documents for your payment plan: panels, inverter, labor and roof penetrations.
  4. Your local service contact, and who handles utility approval and warranty claims.
  5. The exact company on the contract, such as StraightUp Solar, LLC, and its license for your state.

Before you sign, read the quote line by line and bring our questions to ask a solar installer.

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How we researched this profile

We read StraightUp Solar’s own pages on October 13, 2026: homepage, our story, residential warranties, lease or buy, solar inverters, service areas and contact. We did not check its licenses in a registry. On October 14, 2026 we also read its add-ons, REC webinar and Marion pages, its Missouri business registry record (through OpenCorporates) and its Google Business listing for Marion. We did not buy a system, request a quote, visit an office or interview customers. StraightUp Solar did not review this page.

Our installer methodology explains what we check.

Sources (12)
  1. StraightUp Solar: Homepage, read October 13, 2026
  2. StraightUp Solar: Our story (history), read October 13, 2026
  3. StraightUp Solar: Residential solar warranties, read October 13, 2026
  4. StraightUp Solar: Lease or buy solar panels, read October 13, 2026
  5. StraightUp Solar: Solar inverters, read October 13, 2026
  6. StraightUp Solar: Service areas, read October 13, 2026
  7. StraightUp Solar: Contact (addresses), read October 13, 2026
  8. StraightUp Solar: Solar add-ons (Tesla Powerwall, Enphase IQ Battery), read October 14, 2026
  9. StraightUp Solar: REC solar panels webinar page, read October 14, 2026
  10. StraightUp Solar: Marion, IL, read October 14, 2026
  11. Google Business listing: StraightUp Solar, Marion (no street address shown), read October 14, 2026
  12. Missouri business registry record for StraightUp Solar, LLC, via OpenCorporates, read October 14, 2026