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If the pitch starts at your door and ends with "sign tonight for the special," sleep on it. The sun will still be there tomorrow; so will we.
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AfterSolar Services in Davis, CA
If you’re a Davis homeowner looking at solar, you’re likely in one of two situations: either you’re installing for the first time on a 1960s ranch house with a roof that needs attention, or you’ve got a 15-to-20-year-old system that’s underperforming and you’re not sure who to call. Both are common here, and both are work we handle regularly. Gus’s Solar serves all of Davis, including 95616, 95617, and 95618, with crews that know the local housing stock and the local utility landscape. Call (877) 550-6892 and a live person answers, day or night.
Davis isn’t like other solar markets. This city went solar early, back when the California Solar Initiative was writing checks and UC Davis was running energy research programs that put panels on faculty roofs decades before the rest of the state caught up. That means the work here skews toward repair, replacement, and retrofitting older systems, not just fresh installs. If your inverter is dead or your panels are producing half of what they did in 2008, we can tell you why after a single look at your bill.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Why Davis Homeowners Choose Gus’s Solar
Gus Petrakis puts his name on the truck and his phone number on the estimate. That’s the whole pitch. We’re locally owned and have been since 2011, with a published address, a license number, and an owner who answers his own phone. No call center, no out-of-state office, no subcontractor showing up at your door. Gus’s own crew does every install, and every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings Gus back.
We work throughout Davis, from the tree-shaded streets of Central Davis to the newer two-story homes in Mace Ranch and Wildhorse. Homeowners in North Davis and West Davis see us regularly for panel cleaning and maintenance, since tule fog and Valley dust settle on glass and quietly chip away at production. Our response time across Davis is typically same-day or next-day for repairs, and free estimates are standard on installations. We also give you two weeks to think about any quote. If a salesman needs an answer tonight, the answer is no; the price will be the same in fourteen days.
Key Takeaways
- Davis has one of the oldest solar fleets in the region; much of our work here is repair and replacement of aging first-generation systems.
- Winter tule fog measurably affects production here, which matters when you’re sizing a system or evaluating underperformance.
- All work is done by Gus’s crew, never subcontracted, and every job is backed by a written 90-day guarantee.
- Live person answers 24/7 at (877) 550-6892, including weekends.
Solar Services We Offer in Davis
Solar Panel Installation
We handle Solar Panel Installation - Davis homes of every era, from single-story 1960s ranches in East Davis to 1990s two-story homes in Mace Ranch. Our quotes are built off your actual PG&E bill and your real year-25 output projection, not a brochure. We carry Panasonic, Qcells, REC, and Canadian Solar panels, among others.
Learn more about our Solar Panel Installation in Davis.
Solar Battery Storage & Backup
Davis Solar Battery Storage & Backup is a growing retrofit here, particularly for homeowners who remember the rolling outages and want to keep refrigerators and medical equipment running. We install FranklinWH and Enphase battery systems sized to your actual consumption. This is not a one-size-fits-all add-on.
Learn more about our Solar Battery Storage & Backup in Davis.
Solar Panel Cleaning
Davis sits in a flat valley that collects dust, pollen, and tule-fog residue from November through February. A layer of grime on your panels can suppress output by 5 to 15 percent, and we see it constantly on older Davis systems that went years without a wash. Our Davis Solar Panel Cleaning service uses soft brushes and deionized water, no harsh chemicals.
Learn more about our Solar Panel Cleaning in Davis.
EV Charger Installation
Davis has more EVs per capita than almost any city its size in the Central Valley, and many older homes here lack the dedicated circuits to support Level 2 charging. Our EV Charger Installation - Davis service covers hardwired and plug-in chargers with proper permitting, and we’ll tell you honestly if your panel can handle the load or needs an upgrade first.
Solar Panel Maintenance & Monitoring
Gus monitors systems proactively. When production dips, he calls you; you don’t have to call him. For Davis’s aging solar fleet, this matters more than most people realize. An inverter that fails silently costs you money every month until someone notices.
Solar Panel Repair
The most common repair call in Davis is a dead or dying inverter on a mid-2000s system. We also replace cracked panels, repair damaged racking, and address wiring problems that older installations develop over time. We offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve received from another company, and $40 off any repair over $200.
Commercial Solar Installation
We install commercial arrays for Davis businesses, from small retail storefronts downtown to agricultural operations on the city’s edge. Every commercial project gets the same owner-level attention as a residential job, because Gus is on-site for all of them.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Davis
We work in every Davis neighborhood, but here are a few where we’re out regularly:
- Central Davis – older homes, mature trees, and a lot of retrofits on original 2000s-era systems
- Mace Ranch – 1990s two-story construction with more complex rooflines needing careful shading analysis
- West Davis – village-style planned streets with a high concentration of solar adopters from the early incentive era
- Wildhorse – newer builds and a steady stream of first-time installations
- North Davis – tree-lined older tracts where panel cleaning makes a visible difference in production
Typical response time across Davis for repair calls and estimates is same-day or next-day.
Why Davis’s Climate & Housing Affect Solar
Davis has operated as a sustainability laboratory since the 1970s energy crisis. UC Davis’s energy programs and the city’s early municipal incentives created one of California’s first high-adoption solar communities, and that history shapes today’s market in a specific way: a large share of Davis homes are running on first-generation systems installed under the original California Solar Initiative. Those systems are now 15 to 20 years old. Many pre-date NEC 2017 rapid-shutdown requirements, which means a routine permit pull often triggers a code-compliance conversation about module-level power electronics on equipment the homeowner assumed was fine. Contractors here spend as much time on panel replacements, inverter swaps, and battery retrofits as on first-time installs. That’s a different profile from neighboring Sacramento or Woodland, where first-install volume still dominates.
The housing stock adds another wrinkle. Davis is heavily composed of single-story ranch-style tract homes built in the 1960s and 1970s, with wide, low-pitched roof planes that offer excellent south-facing surface area. But those same homes often have aging asphalt shingles that need replacement before or alongside a solar project. The 1990s-era subdivisions in Mace Ranch introduced two-story homes with more complex rooflines, which require more careful shading and tilt analysis to quote accurately. We do both kinds of work every week.
One more thing about Davis: winter tule fog is real, and it suppresses production from November through February. When we quote annual yield to a UC Davis researcher or a retired engineer who tracks every kilowatt-hour, we use real weather-adjusted numbers. We quote the year-25 output, not the day-one brochure figure, and we show our math.
Pricing for Solar in Davis
Davis pricing depends heavily on whether you’re installing new or repairing old. Here’s what we typically see:
- Full solar panel installation on a 3-bedroom Davis ranch: roughly $14,000 to $22,000 before tax credits, depending on system size and panel choice
- Inverter replacement on an older Davis system: $1,800 to $3,400, depending on inverter type and whether we need to add module-level electronics for code compliance
- Battery storage retrofit with FranklinWH or Enphase: $9,000 to $16,000, sized to your actual usage
- Panel cleaning for a typical Davis home: $150 to $350, depending on array size and roof accessibility
- EV charger installation: $600 to $2,200, depending on panel capacity and circuit run length
Every estimate comes from your actual utility bill. Bring us a bill, we’ll bring you the math. No signature wanted tonight.
Service Area - Cities Near Davis
We also serve homeowners in Dixon, Woodland, West Sacramento, and Winters. If you’re just outside Davis and wondering whether we cover your street, call (877) 550-6892. If we’re in our own county, there’s no trip charge.
Serving Davis, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Davis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Solar in Davis
A new residential solar install in Davis typically runs $14,000 to $22,000 before the federal tax credit, depending on roof size, panel selection, and whether the roof needs work first. We build every Davis quote from your actual PG&E bill, so the number reflects your home’s real usage and production potential, not a generic brochure figure. Call (877) 550-6892 for a free estimate; then take two weeks to think about it.
Most mid-2000s Davis systems are safe to operate, but many do not meet NEC 2017 rapid-shutdown requirements, which means any new permit work on that array may trigger a code-compliance upgrade. We’ve done dozens of these upgrades throughout Davis, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s required before any work begins. The typical addition of module-level power electronics runs $1,500 to $3,000 on an average system.
Tule fog is the main culprit. From November through February, Davis sits under persistent valley fog that can cut daily production by 30 to 50 percent compared to summer. This is normal for our microclimate. If your winter dip is steeper than that, the problem is more likely a dirty array, an aging inverter, or shading from a neighbor’s tree; we can diagnose it in one visit.
Many Davis ranches built in the 1960s and 1970s are approaching or have passed the lifespan of their original asphalt shingles. If your roof has five years or less of life left, we recommend replacing it before the solar goes on. We’ll inspect the roof as part of the free estimate and give you a straight answer, even if that answer is to wait.
In most cases, yes. Same-day and next-day visits are standard for Davis repair calls and estimates, and a live person answers the phone 24/7 at (877) 550-6892. If it’s an emergency like a leaking roof penetration or a downed panel after a storm, call now and we’ll get Gus’s crew to your house as fast as traffic on Covell allows.
If you’re in Davis and you want solar work done by someone whose name is on the truck and whose phone number rings to a real person, call Gus’s Solar at (877) 550-6892. No pressure, no overnight deadline, no fine print. Just honest numbers built from your bill, and a written guarantee that says if it’s not done right, we’ll make it right.
Written by Gus Petrakis, Owner at Gus’s Solar, serving Davis and surrounding communities since our founding in 2011.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local solar pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, typically within 1-hour.
- 4You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
What Davis Customers Say
"He flashed every roof penetration properly and showed me the flashing before it went down. Three roof seasons on and not a drop anywhere."
- Philomena Achara"Panel level monitoring so I can see each one, proper stainless clips under the array rather than zip ties, and he walked me under it with a torch to show me before he signed off."
- Cassius Delacroix"Gus's own crew did the install. Not a subcontractor who had never met him, which is what the big outfit quoted me and could not tell me who would actually be on my roof."
- Aurelia Santibanez