Solar Companies in San Bernardino, CA: Who Installed the Most Systems in 2025

Installers who connected the most home solar systems in San Bernardino in 2025

Counts from utility records, not a ranking or endorsement. Check each license's status and complaint history on the CSLB's Check a License page (checked Sept. 24, 2026).

Source: California Distributed Generation Statistics (CPUC), Interconnected Project Sites data set, data through May 31, 2026 (checked Sept. 24, 2026).

Home solar in San Bernardino by the numbers

SCE approved 983 home solar systems in San Bernardino in 2025, from 114 installers; the top three were named on 44% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2022, with 1,642 (2025: -40%). Another 282 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 76% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 24% owned by the household; 84% with a battery; median size 6.47 kW DC. San Bernardino County: 58% leased or PPA, 75% with a battery, median 6.3 kW.

Hiring a solar company in San Bernardino

Solar companies in San Bernardino apply for residential solar and battery permits through the City's Symbium portal, which the City says may take about one to three business days, and need an active City business license before the permit is issued. A main panel upgrade needs a separate electrical permit. SCE supplies and delivers San Bernardino's power. Compare at least three written bids that model your own SCE bill.

Start with your San Bernardino electricity bill

San Bernardino has no community choice program on the Energy Commission's utility map; Southern California Edison supplies the generation, delivers it and bills for both. A new system goes on SCE's Solar Billing Plan, with exports credited monthly and a yearly settlement. SCE's fixed Base Services Charge stays on the bill whatever the system produces.

What San Bernardino asks for with a solar permit

The Symbium application needs a permit application and the contractor or owner-builder declarations; an owner-builder completes the City's Permit Application Declaration. If a representative of the contracting company signs for the permit instead of the license holder, the City requires a notarized letter of authorization. An active City of San Bernardino business license must be in place before the permit is issued.

The inspection has its own paperwork. The documents submitted through Symbium, bearing their submittal date and time stamp, must be on site in legible hard copy: an 11 by 14 inch site map, the single-line diagram, 8 by 11 inch equipment specification sheets, the inspection checklist and the job card. Ask your installer who prints and brings them.

When a San Bernardino job goes to the counter

The City strongly encourages Symbium but keeps a counter route at Vanir Tower, 290 North D Street, for projects that are not eligible or applicants who prefer it. Those applications get standard plan review unless a system of 10 kW or less meets the City's Eligibility Checklist for Expedited Residential Solar Permitting. A counter submittal needs one hard-copy set of 11 by 17 inch plans with specification sheets, structural calculations, the application, the declaration, the expedited checklist and a valid business license.

Once the system is running, SCE's Solar Billing Plan credits exports with Energy Export Credits that vary by hour, and a yearly settlement bill arrives in the month the system started service. SCE puts its Net Surplus Compensation Rate for any leftover surplus at about $0.02 per kWh, and says that storing your own energy for expensive hours is now worth more than exporting it. Ask each bidder how much of your output its model assumes you export.

Mobile and manufactured homes in San Bernardino County

Solar on a mobile or manufactured home follows state rules rather than the City's Symbium route. The California Department of Housing and Community Development says an HCD permit is required for any solar system installed on a manufactured home, and that a permit is needed before any alteration to one begins; San Bernardino County's own online permitting page says roof-mounted solar on a manufactured home must be permitted through HCD, and lists HCD's number, 951-782-4420. HCD's Southern Area Office is at 3737 Main Street in Riverside.

HCD's advisory warns that manufactured home roofs are not accessible, so damage from poor installation practices is not visible, and tells owners to make sure the solar company is licensed by the Contractors State License Board and has obtained a permit from HCD before signing. HCD's permit guidelines say when a job also needs form HCD MH 415, engineered plans, electrical load calculations or manufacturer specifications, so ask each bidder which of those your roof needs and who files them.

What a San Bernardino quote needs to explain

A comparison to ask for

Ask each San Bernardino bidder whether the job will go through Symbium or the Building and Safety counter at Vanir Tower, and whether the price includes the separate electrical permit if your main panel needs upgrading. A bid that skips either answer may be assuming a timeline or a permit the City will not give.

Verify the company behind the San Bernardino quote

Match the business name and license number on each San Bernardino proposal to the CSLB record, then use our contractor verification steps, the quote comparison guide and the PPA, loan, lease and cash comparison.

San Bernardino solar quote questions