Solar for Redlands, including the historic homes.

Your utility: Southern California Edison

Redlands is Edison territory, on NEM 3.0 and time-of-use rates peaking 4 to 9 p.m. Stored power for the evening is worth far more than exported power, which is why every Redlands system we place pairs panels with a Powerwall 3.

Worth reading before you take a quote from anyone: when Edison’s peak hours fall and what each one actually costs, and what changed on Edison bills in 2026 — including the part of the bill solar cannot remove.

The heat, and what it does to the size of the system

Redlands runs a few degrees cooler than Fontana on summer afternoons thanks to elevation, but July and August still run past 100°F and the evening peak hits with the AC still on. Larger older homes with original ductwork often have surprisingly high usage, and we size from the bill, not the square footage.

Roofs in Redlands

Downtown and the Smiley Heights area have historic homes with steep composition shingle or wood shake roofs, and some have preservation considerations for where equipment goes. The 1960s to 1980s neighborhoods south of the 10 are mostly shingle, and a number of them need a roof before solar. Newer tracts on the north side and up toward the hills are concrete tile.

Permits and turning it on

Permits go through the City of Redlands Development Services, Building and Safety. Homes in the city’s historic districts may need a review of roof-visible equipment, and low-profile arrays are designed for them. The installation partner handles the drawings, the inspection, and the Edison interconnection.

Associations. Hillside and gated tracts have architectural review. The installing partner prepares the submission, and California’s Solar Rights Act limits what they can refuse.

Solar battery backup in Redlands: Tesla Powerwall 3

A Powerwall 3 runs a Redlands home through the 4 to 9 p.m. peak and through the fall wind outages that come off the pass. Most Redlands installs put it on a garage wall or a side yard. Ask us what it can carry for your house before you sign. How the battery works.

Roofing and solar in Redlands

Redlands is where a roof check matters most. A wood shake roof should not get panels, and a 1980s shingle roof will not last 25 years under them. The roof gets replaced first, coordinated through a C-39 licensed partner on one permit, and leak coverage runs the full 25 years. Roof and solar together.

Where in Redlands we work

Downtown and Smiley Heights, South Redlands, North Redlands, Mentone, The hillside tracts off Sunset, Loma Linda border. Nearby: Loma Linda, Highland, Yucaipa, Mentone, San Bernardino. All service areas.

What solar costs in Redlands

Homeowners in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who bought a solar-and-battery system outright over the past year paid a median of $33,829, according to the CPUC’s interconnection records: what solar panels cost in California, and how to compare quotes.

On the $0-down plan you pay nothing to have the panels and Powerwall installed. You pay for the electricity the system makes at the rate written into the agreement, and your utility bill drops to the connection charge plus whatever the system doesn’t cover. Or buy the system outright. Both numbers come from one recent bill. The contract, line by line.

Choosing a solar company in Redlands

Most of the solar companies in Redlands will quote you. Before you sign with any of them, including us, check five things:

1. The licence. Whoever does the installation must hold a California contractor’s licence. Look the number up on the CSLB licence check. A company that isn’t licensed has to say so in its advertising; we say it in our footer, because Divine Gifts Solar is a broker and the licensed partner does the work.
2. Who owns the system. On a $0-down agreement, it isn’t you. Get the owner’s name in writing.
3. Year one and year twenty on the same page. If the price per kilowatt-hour rises each year, you should see what it is at the end, not just the start.
4. The warranty, in writing, from the company that gives it. Parts, workmanship, roof penetrations, and production, with the term for each.
5. Anyone who says “free solar,” walk away. You still pay for power, and you still have an Edison bill.

Every line of a solar contract, explained, and the solar companies that install the most in the Inland Empire, from the state’s own records.

Get a solar quote in Redlands

Send one recent Edison bill through the form on this page or call (909) 320-2309. You get two numbers back, the $0-down agreement and the purchase price, side by side, with what each one covers. If solar doesn’t pencil out for your Redlands home, we tell you that instead.

The work itself — system design, the permit, and what happens on install day — is on the home solar installation page. Anything we haven’t covered here, from liens to warranties to what happens when you sell the house, is answered on the questions page.

Where the utility and HOA details come from

What this page says about Southern California Edison’s rules, and about what an HOA can and can’t require, comes from these published sources, not from us. Check them yourself:

• Southern California Edison — Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0 export rules)
• Southern California Edison — Time-of-use rate plans (4 to 9 p.m. peak)
• California Civil Code §714 — Solar Rights Act

Questions from Redlands