Subcontractors or in-house: the single biggest decision when picking a solar installer

If you are quoting solar installers right now, every quote in your inbox looks roughly the same. Same panel brands floating around. Same 25-year warranty language. Same financing options. The companies feel interchangeable on paper.

They are not interchangeable on the roof.

The single biggest difference between New England solar installers — bigger than panel brand, bigger than financing structure, bigger than the price tag at the bottom of the proposal — is whether the company employs the crew that shows up at your house, or hires a subcontractor to handle the install. This decision shapes every part of your project, including the parts you will not feel until five or ten years from now.

This article explains what the model actually looks like, why it matters, and how to spot it on a quote before you sign.

What “subcontracted install” actually means

In the solar industry, the company you call (the “installer”) and the company that puts panels on your roof (the “crew”) are often two different businesses.

The installer’s role:

• Generate leads through ads, door-knocking, and referrals
• Run the sales conversation and close the deal
• Hand off the signed contract to a network of regional install partners
• Bill you, collect your money, and disappear from day-to-day execution

The subcontractor’s role:

• Show up at your house with a different company’s logo on their truck
• Install the system using their own labor practices, safety standards, and quality controls
• Leave your project file with their dispatcher, not with your original sales rep
• Move on to the next subcontract job

That is the model used by the largest national installers in the United States. It scales fast — a sales-driven company can grow nationally without owning install crews in every market — and it shifts execution risk away from the brand on the proposal.

It also creates four problems for you.

Problem 1 — The crew you meet is not the crew you signed up for

When you signed your contract, you talked to a designer or a salesperson. That person showed you the proposal, walked through your roof on Google Maps, and named the panel brand on the document. You bought the company you talked to.

When the trucks arrive at your house, the people getting on your roof have never seen your project file. They received a work order this morning. The original designer who sized your system is not on the truck. The salesperson who answered your questions is several handoffs away.

Most of the time, the install still goes fine. But the moment a question comes up on the roof — “this conduit run is going to be ugly, can we route it the other way?” or “your panel is older than expected, do we need to upgrade it?” — there is no one on site authorized to make the call. The crew lead phones the dispatcher. The dispatcher emails the installer. The installer calls the salesperson. By the time the answer comes back, the crew has already made a different decision to keep the day moving.

This is how panel brands get swapped. How conduit runs end up in unexpected places. How wiring decisions get made that nobody planned for at the proposal stage.

Problem 2 — The warranty fight, when it comes, is between two companies

Solar projects come with a stack of warranties:

• Manufacturer warranty — usually 25 years on the panels, 10 to 25 on inverters, 10 to 15 on batteries. Covers product defects.
• Workmanship warranty — usually 5 to 10 years from the installer. Covers installation errors: water leaks at the roof penetrations, loose conduit, electrical mistakes that cause production loss.

The workmanship warranty is the one that matters when something goes wrong in year three. Manufacturers warrant the equipment; the installer warrants the work.

In a subcontractor model, the warranty path is unclear. Did the installer’s salesperson promise the workmanship warranty? Or did the subcontractor who actually did the work? Five years later, when you call the original installer, they may tell you the subcontractor is responsible. Then you call the subcontractor, and they may tell you they only honor warranties for the original install company — and that company never paid them on this project.

Most of the time, the homeowner ends up paying out of pocket for what should have been a warranty claim, simply because the structure makes it easy for both companies to point at each other.

Problem 3 — The phone, in year five, may not get answered

National installers have closed and merged at high rates over the last five years. Several of the biggest names you might recognize from a Super Bowl commercial in 2018 no longer exist. Their warranties — including the workmanship warranty — went with them.

When the company that “installed” your system disappears, the manufacturer warranty on the panels themselves still works. You can call REC, Q CELLS, or whoever made your panels and they will warrant the product. But the workmanship warranty becomes unenforceable, because there is no one to enforce it against.

The subcontractor that actually did the install is still in business — they just have no contractual obligation to you, because their contract was with the original installer. You are stuck.

A privately-owned, in-house installer with thousands of completed installs does not solve this problem perfectly. But it shifts the odds significantly. A company that owns the trucks, employs the crew, and has been profitable in the same New England market for years is a different risk profile than a sales-driven company that scaled nationally over three years and just took a private-equity round.

Problem 4 — The price you pay reflects the handoff, not the work

In a subcontractor model, the installer’s profit and the subcontractor’s profit both come out of your check. The installer marks up the work because they generated the lead. The subcontractor charges market rate for the labor. You pay both margins.

In an in-house model, there is one company, one margin, one labor cost. The total can be lower for equivalent equipment, or — more commonly — equivalent for higher-quality labor. The savings show up in the workmanship, not the sticker.

How to spot the model before you sign

Three questions on the first sales call will tell you which model an installer uses:

1. “Is the crew that will install my system on your payroll?”

The honest answer is yes or no. If you get a long explanation about “our local install partners” or “our trusted regional network,” that is a no.

2. “Will the same person who designs my system also be on-site during the install?”

In an in-house model, the designer and the crew lead are both on the same payroll and often work together regularly. In a subcontractor model, they have never met.

3. “If I have a service question in year ten, who picks up the phone — your office or the install crew’s office?”

In an in-house model, both are the same office. In a subcontractor model, the installer’s office picks up first and routes the call. If the original installer is no longer in business, the routing breaks.

The Teamsun model

We are an in-house installer. Every install across our 9,000-system history was done by W-2 employees on our payroll, dispatched from our Bristol, CT office. The lead tech who walks your roof at the site visit is the same lead tech who installs the system, and the same person who picks up the phone if you call about a service issue in year five.

This model is slower to scale than handing roofs to subcontractors. It is also why three of your neighbors already have us on speed dial.

We are not the only in-house installer in New England, and we will not always be the cheapest quote in your inbox. We will be honest with you on the first call about whether we are the right fit for your specific roof and your specific budget. If a different in-house installer is the better fit, we will tell you that too.

But please — before you sign with whoever wins your bid — ask the three questions above. The model behind the proposal matters more than the brand on the panel.

Common questions

Are subcontractors always worse?

Not always. There are good subcontracted crews working for good national installers. But the structural incentives push toward speed over care, and the warranty path is murky by design. The model has problems even when the individual people are competent.

Why do national installers use subcontractors at all?

Because the alternative — opening offices, hiring W-2 crews, and managing them across all 50 states — is operationally hard and slow. Subcontracting lets a sales-driven company grow nationally in 2 to 3 years instead of 20. The trade-off is the four problems above.

My friend had a great experience with a national installer. Was that just luck?

Mostly, yes. Most subcontracted installs go fine. The model only shows its weakness when something needs to be fixed, when the crew needs to make an unscripted decision, or when the original installer goes out of business. If none of those happen, the install is indistinguishable from an in-house job.

Is this article just an ad for Teamsun?

It is an article that argues you should hire an in-house solar installer. We are an in-house solar installer in CT, MA, and RI, so yes, we benefit if you agree with the argument. There are other in-house installers in New England — Dan can name a few off the top of his head if you ask. The argument stands either way.

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If you are weighing solar quotes right now and want a second opinion, our office line picks up at 203-903-4091. The 15-minute call costs nothing and we will not run your credit, push a contract on you, or follow up unless you ask.