Lumio Solar Review: What You Get From This Solar Installer

Solar panels on your roof can reduce your energy bills and, paired with a battery, can keep your power on during an outage. If you're thinking of adding solar panels to your home, the most important decision you have to make is choosing the right solar installer.

What sets solar companies apart? Most people will be able to claim the federal solar tax credit and local incentives regardless of their installer. Other factors -- like customer service, equipment offerings, warranties, additional services like roofing, your personal interactions with the company and what happens if it goes out of business -- will vary more. You'll want to understand these variables and more before choosing an installer.

Lumio, an installer operating across 13 (mostly) western states, emphasizes customer care and a personalized approach that can include extra services like putting down a new roof before covering it in panels meant to stay there for a quarter century or longer. 

The company didn't make a representative available to answer questions for this review, so we couldn't gather all the information necessary to score it against other companies, but here's what we found from our own research. 

What do I get from Lumio?

Lumio offers residential solar installations for purchase and lease as well as power purchase agreements, according to its website. It also works with customers to secure one of multiple financing options.

Lumio also offers an optional reroofing service for homeowners with older roofs that may need to be redone during the lifespan of a solar system. 

What solar equipment does Lumio install?

Lumio only installs all-black, 60-cell, 5-foot by 3-foot panels. The panels look sleeker than traditional blue silicon crystal panels but there is some debate in the industry over which technology is more efficient. The monocrystalline structure of black panels has been found to produce electricity more efficiently than the polycrystalline structure of blue cells, but black panels also absorb more heat, which can reduce efficiency.

Lumio says it sources panels from companies that "operate ethically" without offering any specific names. 

In February, Lumio announced a partnership with Enphase to offer its EV chargers, batteries and microinverters in residential solar installations.

What warranties does Lumio offer?

Lumio relies on manufacturers' warranties of 25 years for panels and inverters and 10 years for batteries. In most cases, this means that panels are guaranteed to produce at least 80% of their original production levels for a quarter century, though leading warranties peg production at 92% after that time.

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Batteries offered by Lumio come with a manufacturer's warranty of at least 10 years. These warranties are essentially the industry standard. Lumio guarantees its workmanship on the installation for 10 years, meaning if your roof leaks from where the panels were installed at any point in the first decade, the company should be compelled to fix that.

Does Lumio offer monitoring services?

The Lumio HX app is available on Apple and Google app stores. It primarily monitors progress through the permitting and installation process but is also meant to monitor the energy production of the system once installed. 

The Android version of the app does not yet have any reviews, while the Apple app has a five-star rating based on just two reviews.

Does Lumio use subcontractors?

Lumio uses all in-house, certified employee installers. Technicians should show up in Lumio-branded trucks and uniforms to finish a full installation in a single day in most cases. 

We consider the use of W-2 employees a bonus because it reduces the potential for headaches in coordinating between your solar company and subcontractors.

How much do Lumio panels cost?

Like most companies, Lumio does not make details available about pricing or whether or not it may offer a price match. 

What we can say is that data from consulting firm Wood Mackenzie for the first quarter of 2023 put the average price-per-watt of a solar installation in the US at $3.28 per watt, which is roughly in the middle of other reputable estimates. 

This number can vary quite a bit, depending on the local market and a homeowner's specific needs. The black panels that Lumio installs may also cost a bit more than more traditional blue panels, although that difference becomes more negligible all the time.

What financing options does Lumio offer?

Lumio works with a number of financing options, including home equity lines of credit or loans, solar loans, leases, mortgages, refinances and power purchase agreements.

The company may not offer all these options itself but can help point customers in the right direction to secure the financing they need. 

Does Lumio operate in my state? How do I order?

Lumio operates in 13 states, with five more coming soon.

Lumio offers a 3D modeling tool on its website that will ask you a few basic questions and pull up a satellite photo of your home. The app then provides a model and price estimate for a solar system. It's helpful to begin to establish a baseline for what to expect. When I put in my own address, the image that came up was clearly several years out of date, and the system was unable to generate a model or estimate for me. This isn't entirely surprising as I live in a relatively remote area. 

The process starts with a brief phone call or face-to-face conversation with a solar consultant to go over a quote, energy production estimate and customized design. Once the plan is finalized and a contract is signed, the next step is to complete the financing process, if applicable. Once this is approved, the company moves on to permitting the system with local governments, homeowners associations and other required entities, which Lumio will handle on its own. 

Once every office is satisfied and the installation is fully authorized, the company will reach out to schedule a date to actually put panels on your roof. In most cases, installation is done in a single day and can be turned on after an inspection and permission to operate is granted from the local utility or other authorities, a process that can take up to four weeks.

Lumio reviews: What are customers saying?

Lumio has an A-plus rating and is accredited with the Better Business Bureau, where it has a score of 3.12 out of a possible five stars. We don't place a whole lot of weight on online reviews, but it's worth noting that the company takes its online reputation seriously and has a decent track record of addressing issues. Lumio has responded to all reviews on the Better Business Bureau's website.

Five-star Lumio reviews

"After listening to several presentations from other solar companies, Lumio's presentation and explanations were clear and understandable. At this point we are totally satisfied with the installation and operating results." - Steven P, 8/10/2023

One-star Lumio reviews

"I absolutely regret this. As excited and motivated I was to get solar, the customer service and the overall install process was a nightmare. " - Johnny M, 8/14/2023

Is Lumio the best choice?

We're unable to score Lumio because the company was unable to make a representative available to answer the questions required for scoring. Keep in mind that CNET does not directly test any of the equipment mentioned in this review and has not gone through the ordering or installation process with any solar companies.

That said, Lumio is worth consideration and further due diligence given their status and reputation in the market. Be sure to always get multiple quotes from installers working in your local market before signing any agreements. 

Pros

• Reputation for efficient installation
• Uses employee installers
• The website has a wealth of information

Cons

• Transparency about pricing could be improved
• Basic warranties

How we evaluate solar companies

Reviewing solar companies in a hands-on way is difficult. Accounting for all the differences from project to project is impossible. To provide a helpful review, we focused on what we can measure and meaningfully compare among companies.

We focus on three buckets of criteria: equipment, warranties and service. 

Within the equipment category, companies receive scores for the panels, inverters and batteries they install. Warranties include guarantees on the panels, workmanship and weatherization against leaks. Companies earn points for service if they offer a price match, a meaningful level of price transparency and a well-rated app for monitoring solar production. They lose points if there are major issues pertaining to customer service (lawsuits, investigations or clear reputations for shoddy service). These issues will always be detailed in the review.

You can read a detailed look at how the scoring breaks down.

We don't consider the average price of a solar company's installations in their score. This information is difficult to find and hard to compare across service areas (and even roof-to-roof). Companies are often slow to disclose it, too. We also leave out easily found but not useful information like how many states a company operates in.

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