Residential Customer Stories

Nothing beats hearing from another customer when you are considering hiring a particular company to do your solar panels for home. Here at New England Clean Energy, we’ve done over 1500 solar installations and 1000s of service calls, so you might say we’ve got A LOT of solar installation stories to tell.

Below is a shortlist of stories we’ve collected or you can also find many more stories that exist as reviews on multiple independent websites – sites such as Solar Reviews, Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, etc. Our reviews are why we claim the title as the highest-ranked solar installer in New England.

Plus, if you’re also interested in seeing how solar might work on your own home, definitely check out the New England Clean Energy Virtual Showroom. In it, we’ve brought together 100s of images so you can see solar installations by house style, roof materials, town, and more. If you’re not sure of your computer skills, we suggest starting with our Showroom Tutorial on how to find the right example systems for you.

Embracing Solar Energy: The Path Towards an Eco-Friendly Home

Solar Electric

Martine Behra and her family in New Hampshire had always envisioned their home being energy-neutral with a minimal carbon footprint. The desire to use solar energy in New Hampshire was a long-held aspiration, and when their roof was redone and they had good sun exposure, it became a question of when, not why, to make the jump. Read her story. 

A Journey to Solar Energy Savings

Solar Electric

Aaron Vandesteen and his family live in a recently purchased, completely electric home, so the idea of reducing the costs of electricity – even by $100 – was incredibly appealing. Although it was a financial decision primarily, the environmental benefits solar provided were also a crucial factor, as he was always looking for ways to reduce his carbon footprint. Read his story.

Solar Success: Splendid Surprises and Significant Savings

Solar Electric

Believe it or not, the above quote came from one of our more hesitant customers. Kay Richards and her husband had an interest in solar for a while, but did not venture into the world of solar energy until 2015. Read their story.

Who Doesn’t Like Getting Two for the Price of One?

Solar Electric

Most of our customers come to us with two motivations for their solar investment: the prospect of reduced electrical expenses and the pride in doing something good for the environment. Tony Vrame of Rosindale, MA was one such customer who jumped on the solar bandwagon in 2019. “I knew that this could be a real benefit to the environment and financially,” he said. Read his story.

Inexpensive Solar is Not Always Best

Solar Electric

On February 10th, 2020, John Paterno’s solar system went live in Wilbraham, MA. Filled with excitement, John truly wanted solar to be the first step in reducing his household’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources.  Read his story.

Great Solar Installer Makes Happy Customers

Solar Electric

John and Mary Fletcher decided to take the plunge and use New England Clean Energy as their solar installer in 2018. Although they initially made this decision in order to lower their monthly electric bill, the benefits to the environment were definitely a plus for them as well. Read their story.

Making Solar Affordable

Solar Electric

Kathy Bellisle and her family started looking into solar back in 2008. It just made sense to her and in particular, she liked how it would have such a positive impact on the environment. But financially, it was still a very rough go. That is until in 2015, some seven years later, when it all started to look doable and she and her family took the plunge into solar for their Foxboro home. Read her story. 

In Bolton, Solar Panels Help Resident Go Green

Solar Electric

In an effort to amplify the diverse voices of our past customers, we decided to conduct interviews in hopes of helping those who are considering solar panels for home. We asked our customer Chris Siano, a resident of Bolton MA,  seven questions regarding his installation experience, solar journey, and insight on choosing New England Clean Energy as his solar installer. Read his story.

Save The Planet, Install Panels

Solar Electric

Susanna Szeto and her husband from Lincoln, MA have been passionate environmentalists for decades. They decided to install solar panels for home after being inspired by a neighbor who had just installed a beautiful system nearby. Despite the financial perks, Susanna was motivated by her drive to be good to the environment. Read their story.

To Be Part of The Solution, Not The Problem

Solar Electric

Flavio Fernandes considers himself a bit of a tree hugger. He initially decided to install solar on his Westford property in October 2013 for two main reasons: he felt like he was using a lot of electricity and bigger than that he wanted to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. So, for Flavio installing solar was all about the environment. His overall goal was to essentially make more power than he needed so he could help with the environment. Read his story.

Two is Better Than One: Installing Two Homes With Solar

Solar Electric

Tom and Heidi Sikina haven’t just installed one solar panel system, but two since New England Clean Energy opened. The first system was installed in Acton in 2007 and then again after a move to Harvard in 2011. Read their story.

Selling Your Home With Solar

Solar Electric

Selling a home is intimidating enough, but selling a home with solar? Fortunately, home buyers show increasing interest in homes with green features…New England Clean Energy customer Mike sold his Shirley, Mass., home in 2017, three years after installing solar. We asked Mike about his experience. Read his story.

Impressive Calculations

Solar Electric

A Q&A with Mike from Hudson, MA, whose 10,695-watt system went live in July 2014. Mike answers questions including “Why did you go solar?”, “How has solar impacted your electric bill?”, and “Why did you choose New England Clean Energy?” Read his story.

Early Adopter Hits Pay Dirt

Solar Electric & Attic Fan

When Joel, an attorney in Bolton, MA, first researched solar energy, a PV system cost around $80,000. Many an early adopter understands this tale of woe. “With no tax breaks or SREC credits, the cost was prohibitively high,” he says. Several years later, federal and state incentives changed the equation considerably. Read his story.

It’s Not About the Environment

Solar Electric

Dave from Berlin, MA, makes purchasing decisions based on quality and aesthetics, not environmental benefit, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. Consider it progress, then, that he owns an electric car and a solar electric system, which now come in high-performance, aesthetically pleasing packages. Read his story.

Satisfied by Solarize

Solar Electric & Battery Backup Systems

George and Margaret have always been environmentally conscious. They are diligent about recycling and water use, and switched to energy-efficient light bulbs and programmable thermostats years ago. But solar power, which was on their radar since the 1980s, was just a dream until the town of Harvard joined the Solarize Massachusetts pilot program in 2011. Finally, solar became affordable. Read their story.

Solar Zealots

Solar Electric & Solar Attic Fan

If you called Liz and Robert solar zealots, they wouldn’t be offended. Between 2007 and 2009, they installed in their Maynard home a two-panel solar hot water system, a solar attic fan, and a 4,000-watt, 20-panel solar electric system. They did all of this a few years before the payback period for solar electric dropped to 4-8 years, but they don’t regret being “early adopters”. Read their story.

Family Commitment

Solar Electric

As a self-proclaimed “Baby Buster”—the post Baby Boom generation—Ellen of Northborough, MA remembers learning about environmental responsibility in elementary school. Even then, she loved the idea of creating power from nature. So by the time she was an adult with the financial resources, installing a solar electric system was a no-brainer. Read her story.

Making Sun Money

Solar Electric

Like many retirees, Jerry and Christine of Weston, MA were concerned about rising energy costs. Their NStar bills kept going up, and they knew it would only get worse. When they first looked into solar as a possible alternative, they knew very little about how it all worked. So they were very pleased to learn about the programs offered at the time to support solar installations. Read their story.

Solar by the Numbers

Solar Electric

Kilowatt-hours, utility rates, SREC prices, rebate amounts, tax credits, net costs…the variety of numbers associated with installing solar energy systems can be mind-boggling. But for those with an appetite for data, like Eric of Marlborough, MA, solar-related numbers deliver a lot of satisfaction. Read his story.

Retirement Planning

Solar Electric & Backup Generator

Solar energy may not be on the traditional retirement planning checklist, but it sure worked out for Gary and Lynda of West Brookfield, MA. A few years before retiring, Gary – whose jobs included U.S. Army captain and police officer, and Lynda – a lab technician, started looking for ways to stabilize expenses in anticipation of living on a fixed income. Read their story.

Being Paid to Go Solar

Solar Electric

Sure, the hype on solar sounds good. But does it really deliver? Ask New England Clean Energy customer Ben, who had us install a 5,886-watt solar electric system on his Chelmsford, MA home in January 2014. Two years later, he shares his solar results. Read his story.