Installer Standards
The Shortlist Solar Standard
Shortlist Solar is a vetted network, not an open directory. Before a solar company can receive a single inquiry from us, it has to pass the marks below — and keep passing them.
We publish this in full because a promise you cannot check is not worth much. If you are comparing quotes right now, this is the filter the companies you hear from have already been through.
What every installer has to pass
1. Certified by Tesla, FranklinWH, Enphase, SolarEdge or Sigenergy
Accreditation means the manufacturer has trained and signed off on them for the product they are quoting you. It is the one mark we never make an exception against — if an installer quotes you a brand, they are accredited for that brand.
2. Typically 2+ years in business
Most of the failures homeowners get burnt by are not hardware failures. They are companies that stopped answering the phone. Time trading is the simplest available signal that a business will still be around when a warranty claim lands in year six.
3. A track record of after-sales service for their existing customers
How a company treats the customers it already has is the best available guide to how it will treat you once the deposit has cleared. We look at what existing customers say about what happened after the install, not just at the sale.
4. A final manual review by our team
Nothing joins the network automatically. Every application is read by a person, and applications that do not meet the standard are declined.
On exceptions — rare, and on purpose
You will notice the word typically in front of the two-year mark. It is deliberate, and this is what it means.
A new business is not always new people. Once in a while we meet a company that is only months old but is run by people who have been installing in this industry for years, or one that an established contractor or manufacturer is standing behind. Turning that company away on the age of its business registration would be the wrong call — the thing we are actually screening for is whether a company will still be there to service the system in year six. Time trading is a proxy for that. It is a good proxy. It is not the thing itself.
So in rare cases, and case by case, we accept a newer business. The grounds are narrow:
- ✓ The people running it have an established track record in solar.
- ✓ It is backed by an established solar contractor or manufacturer.
- ✓ We know their work directly.
An exception means more scrutiny, not less. Brand certification is never waived — there is no version of this where an installer quotes you a battery they are not certified for. Neither is the after-sales mark. The review is manual, every exception is recorded, and the decision is ours to make and to stand behind. If we get one wrong, that is on us, and the installer comes out of the network.
What this standard does not promise
Vetting reduces risk. It does not remove it, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Shortlist Solar does not design, supply, install or warrant any system — your contract is with the installer you choose, not with us.
Before you sign anything, check the installer’s state contractor license and electrical licensing yourself, and read the contract properly. Any installer worth choosing will expect you to.
The legally precise version of everything on this page, including the exception clause, is in our Terms & Conditions.