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Custom Residential & Commercial Solar
Your building isn’t cookie-cutter, so your solar shouldn’t be. We engineer and install custom systems for San Diego homes and businesses — entirely in-house.
The short answer
San Diego Solar designs, engineers, and installs custom solar energy systems for both homes and businesses across San Diego County. Every system is engineered in-house — no subcontractors — around your exact roof, energy use, and goals. With roughly 30 years of local experience and full electrical, solar, and roofing licensing (CSLB #970079), we build residential and commercial systems that fit your property, not a template.
Our own engineers design every system and our own crews install it, so no subcontractor ever touches your roof or your wiring.
We design to your specific roof geometry, shading, and energy loads instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all layout onto your building.
From a single-family rooftop to a commercial warehouse, the same licensed in-house team handles residential and commercial projects end to end.
Our C-10 electrical, C-46 solar, and C-39 roofing licenses mean the panels, the wiring, and the roof are all handled by one accountable company.
For Homeowners
A system engineered for your roof and your usage — not pulled from a catalog.
For Businesses
Custom solar and storage for warehouses, offices, retail, agriculture, nonprofits, and multifamily.
A custom system means we engineer these six things to your building — a “standard” install skips most of them.

We assess roof geometry, orientation, tilt, age, and membrane type — pitched shingle for homes, flat or low-slope TPO for most commercial buildings — so the mounting is right for your structure.
We map peak sun hours and every shade obstruction across the year, which determines panel placement and whether string inverters or module-level optimizers produce more on your roof.
We study your actual consumption — ideally 12+ months of bills, including time-of-use and, for businesses, demand patterns — as the baseline for sizing everything correctly.
We match the array to an inverter that fits your electrical service — single-phase for homes, three-phase for most businesses — rather than defaulting to one stock kit.
If storage is included, we size it to your goals: backup autonomy for a home, or peak-shaving against demand charges and NEM 3.0 export economics for a business.
We engineer the plan set for City/AHJ permitting and SDG&E interconnection so approval and activation go smoothly.
Tell us about your property and energy use — we’ll design a custom residential or commercial system and show you the honest numbers.
We start by understanding your goals and reviewing your energy use, then assess your roof, electrical service, and site conditions. For businesses this includes your demand profile and interconnection requirements.
Our in-house engineers design a system specifically for your property — array layout, equipment selection, and battery sizing — modeled around your shading, loads, and roof type.
We present a clear proposal with production and savings estimates and walk you through options, including our prepaid-lease financing. We flag any incentives that may apply and point you to your tax advisor to confirm them.
We handle the permit plan sets and the SDG&E interconnection paperwork so the project clears the City and the utility without you chasing agencies.
Our own crews install the system — no subcontractors — and we see it through inspection, utility approval, and activation, then confirm it is producing as designed.
“These guys are awesome! If you need solar I highly recommend them. You will definitely get your money's worth.”
Evan Pantano
Google review · 2019
“We love our solar electricity! Dirk and Brad explained all of our options. They took the time to examine several options and help us design a system that was perfect for us.”
Ione Stiegler
Google review · 2016
“San Diego Solar installed solar panels on my residence. The service was fantastic. The owner Dirk first determined how many panels I needed by reviewing my past electric bills. He then provided a simple, straightforward quote.”
Dan Navigato
Google review · 2016
Yes. We design and install custom solar and battery systems for commercial and business properties across San Diego County — warehouses, offices, retail, manufacturing, agriculture, nonprofits, and multifamily buildings — all engineered and installed by our own in-house team.
Yes. Commercial buildings usually mean flat or low-slope roofs (often TPO membrane), three-phase electrical service, and larger loads — all of which we engineer for in-house. For warehouses and offices we also model demand charges and size battery storage to shave peak demand, which is where much of the commercial savings comes from.
A custom system is engineered to your specific roof geometry, shading, energy loads, and (for businesses) demand profile, then built with equipment matched to that design. A cookie-cutter install applies a generic layout and stock kit, which often under-produces or over-sizes because it ignores how your particular property and usage actually behave.
Because of demand charges and time-of-use pricing. SDG&E bills larger commercial accounts for their single highest demand spike each month, and both energy and demand charges peak from 4–9 p.m. A battery discharges during those windows to shave the peak the utility sees, which can meaningfully lower a commercial bill in a way that solar panels alone cannot.
Businesses may qualify for federal solar tax incentives — such as the commercial Investment Tax Credit and depreciation — that homeowners no longer do. These are time-sensitive and depend on your project timing, equipment sourcing, and tax situation, so we walk you through what may apply and always recommend confirming the specifics with your own licensed tax advisor before relying on any figure.
The federal residential solar tax credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, so it is no longer available to homeowners in 2026. For homes, the savings now come mainly from offsetting SDG&E’s very high electricity rates and using battery storage to avoid peak pricing. A tax advisor can confirm whether any state or local incentives apply to your situation.
Yes. We offer prepaid-lease financing designed to reduce your overall cost versus traditional financing. The right structure depends partly on whether you want to own the system or finance it — with ownership, any business tax benefits typically flow to the owner. We explain the trade-offs, and your tax advisor can confirm what is best for your business.
No subcontractors — our own engineers design and our own crews install every system, residential and commercial. Because we hold electrical, solar, and roofing licenses (CSLB #970079), we handle the roof work involved in a solar project as well. We focus on solar and roofing specifically; we do not do HVAC or plumbing.
Get Your Free Custom Quote.
Save 30–40% with our prepaid lease program. These programs won't last forever.