Install Solar Panels For 50% Less – Here's How Monalee Is Democratizing Access To Renewable Energy
Sacramento, CA
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February 21, 2024 08:15 AM Eastern Standard Time
By Meg Flippin, Benzinga
Using the sun to power homes requires cutting-edge technology, but you wouldn’t know it from the companies selling solar panels to consumers. Many rely on pushy salesmen, middlemen and drawn-out, complicated processes to get homeowners up and running.
There are plenty of reports of salespeople who have little to no knowledge of how solar energy works yet are selling expensive systems to homeowners. It’s not uncommon for them to use misleading and aggressive sales tactics to rake in hefty commissions, often from elderly and low-income consumers who are duped by their bait-and-switch sales pitches. It’s gotten so bad that the Better Business Bureau issued directives warning homeowners of potential scammers.
Turning The Solar Industry On Its Head
Monalee, a climate tech company that is accelerating the adoption of home solar, storage and EV charging, wants to change that. It's turning the industry on its head with a technology-first approach to selling and installing solar panels. Monalee’s advanced machine learning uses millions of different data points to give customers the best solar design based on their homes and needs. It takes into consideration factors like the direction the roof faces (for example, a roof in the northern hemisphere that faces south will get the most sun and therefore will be the most efficient), and whether there are nearby trees that might provide shade over the panels.
Anyone can go to their site, enter their home address and receive an accurate solar quote in less than a minute. Through its state-of-the-art design platform, you know exactly how many panels you’ll need, the best layout to maximize sun exposure and the bottom line cost including discounts and rebates before you sign up. And Monalee does all that at what it says is a steep discount to rivals.
By removing salespeople and system designers from the process, Monalee says it’s able to secure the same solar panel systems at half the price compared to the top traditional solar companies in the U.S. In turn, it says it can save customers up to 50% off the total. Consumers get a break without having to sacrifice quality or customer service. Nor do you have to give up peace of mind thanks to the Monalee Guarantee – this ensures the system works as it should for at least 25 years.
At the same time, there are real people behind Monalee. Combined, the team has dozens of years in the solar industry under their belts. While Monalee leans on machine learning to streamline the early stages of the process, they are there to coordinate all the in-person appointments and necessary paperwork that needs filing.
To make it even easier for homeowners to install solar panels, the company recently partnered with GoodLeap, the fintech company that provides financing options for residential solar and sustainable home improvements. GoodLeap is just one of the companies Monalee customers can finance their purchases with.
Monalee should know a thing or two about giving customers what they want. Founder Walid Halty spent nearly a decade leading sales and marketing at big solar companies before launching Monalee. He knew customers wanted transparent pricing, an easy way to compare options and peace of mind. He also wanted a drama-free process, one that doesn’t take four weeks, the typical lag time between signing a contract and installation. Monalee, which is in 15 states and growing, is doing for solar what Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) did for car buying.
Demand For Solar Is Growing
The timing seems ideal – the U.S. is aiming for solar to account for 40% of the country’s electricity by 2035 and 45% by 2050. To meet the first goal, it would need to install about 1,000 gigawatts of solar power by 2035. By 2050, solar capacity would need to reach 1,600 gigawatts to achieve a zero-carbon grid.
Over the last decade, solar and energy battery storage costs have fallen 85% making it cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels in many instances. The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in 2022, is also helping. It provides Americans with rebates and tax incentives to electrify their roofs, embrace electric vehicles, install heat pumps and more. As a result of the law, through 2032, homeowners can get a 30% tax credit when they install solar panels on their roofs.
All of this hasn’t been lost on Americans, who are increasingly embracing solar as a cheaper and greener way to power their homes. In 2022, the U.S. added 6.4 gigawatts of small-scale solar. It marked the most in a single year, with rooftop installations on homes representing the lion’s share of the activity. Still when compared to Europe, penetration is low. As of 2022, just 4% of single-family homes in the U.S. were equipped with solar panels. It’s no wonder, then, that Monalee reports hundreds of customers had signed up to Monalee within two months of testing the market.
Monalee is hoping to further accelerate adoption with its customer-friendly, technology-driven approach. It is taking the middleman out of the equation, offering transparent pricing and bringing solar panels to the masses.
To see how much you can save on your energy bill click here.
Featured photo by Bill Mead on Unsplash.
Monalee is a climate tech company that is accelerating the adoption of home solar, storage, and EV charging. By leveraging powerful machine learning and removing salespeople and system designers from the process, we are able to secure the same solar panel systems for homeowners at half the price compared to the top traditional solar companies in the U.S., making us the fastest, most efficient way to go solar.
This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.
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