Sun First Solar is a Marin solar company located in San Rafael, at 136 Mitchell Blvd, and we design residential solar and battery storage for homes in Novato and all across the county. Each system is drawn up for the house it goes on, sized around your roof, your electrical panel and the way your family actually uses power. Our approach is consultative, which simply means we ask what you want out of solar before we suggest anything at all. That's the kind of conversation you can expect from us while you're comparing solar companies in Novato. A free quote is the easy way to start, whenever you're ready, and it shows you what solar could look like at your own address.
Residential Solar and Battery Storage for Novato and Marin Homes
Most of what we do in Marin is residential solar with battery storage, planned as one system from the first sketch. We size the panels and the battery side by side, so the battery holds what your roof makes during the day and hands it back in the evening or when the power goes out. Every solar panel installation in Novato starts with your home and a custom design drawn just for it.
We're a certified Tesla Powerwall installer, and we also install the Enphase IQ Battery and the Sonnen Eco. We've been working with batteries for a long time, too. We installed our first off-grid PV and battery system back in 2004, and we've kept installing them ever since. The Tesla Powerwall 3 scales from 13.5 to 67.5 kWh and offers whole-home backup, which gives a bigger household room to grow.
Once your system is up and running, our online monitoring system gives you a detailed, up-to-date look at how it's doing: what it's producing, how it's performing and what you could be saving. You can check in whenever you like and see your panels at work.
We also design commercial solar for Marin businesses and install solar pool heating that stretches out the swim season, so one local team can take care of more than one project for you.
Serving Novato and Communities Across Marin County
Our crews work all over Novato, from Hamilton and Bel Marin Keys to San Marin, Ignacio Valley, Indian Valley, Black Point and the homes around downtown. Each neighborhood has its own mix of roofs, trees and lot shapes, and we design for whichever one your house happens to have.
We serve the rest of the county as well: San Rafael, where our office is, along with Mill Valley, Larkspur, Corte Madera, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Sausalito, Tiburon and the towns in between. Anyone comparing solar installers in Marin County will want to know how close a company really is, and for us the answer is just down Highway 101.
That short drive makes a real, practical difference. A site visit is easy to schedule, and the people who designed and installed your system are close by when a question comes up later on. One of our customers wrote that Braden had been incredibly responsive with many questions after the install about how the system works, and that kind of follow-up is simple when you're local.
What Shapes a Solar Project in Marin
Marin's homes have some years on them. About half the homes in Novato were built before 1975, and across Marin County the halfway mark is 1967. A house from those years often has an electrical panel that went in long before anyone was thinking about solar, a battery or an EV charger. So before we design anything, we take a close look at your roof and your electrical panel, and we tell you what we find.
The land here has its own say, too. Hillside lots, tall trees and all kinds of roofs show up across the county, and our install team can put a system on nearly every type of roof. The design works around the shade and the angles your house really has.
Wildfire is part of life in Marin. The county has more than 106,000 homes, and about 69,000 of them sit where neighborhoods meet open land and brush. Parts of Marin fall in the state's elevated and extreme fire-threat areas, where power is more likely to be shut off during fire weather, and those shutoffs can come with 24 to 48 hours' notice and last from a few hours to several days. That's why we plan solar battery backup in Marin County from the very start. You choose which circuits stay on, such as the fridge, the lights or a medical device, and we size the battery around them.
Then there's the bill. We'll walk you through how your solar credits will show up on your statement.
Permits, Incentives and Financing in Marin County
We take care of a project from start to finish: design, installation, permits, approvals, rebates and financing. Here's how the permit side works in Novato, so you know what's happening along the way. A Novato permit goes through either the city's SolarAPP+ portal, which can issue it right away, or the standard permit path, and the Novato Fire Protection District does its final inspection before the city's building inspection. After that, PG&E reviews the interconnection so your system can be turned on.
Incentives look a little different in 2026. The federal residential solar tax credit ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and Marin County solar incentives now include PG&E battery rebates and the Bay Area SunShares group-buy that runs each fall. Which ones fit your home depends on your address, your system and your timing, and the simplest way to see your own numbers is to request a free quote from our team.
You can pay for your system outright or choose a loan with manageable monthly payments. Many Sun First clients make back the cost of their solar system within the first 5 to 7 years.
Why Marin Homeowners Choose Sun First Solar
We've been in the solar industry since 1984, and we're locally owned and operated. Choosing the best solar company in Novato for your home starts with a simple question: who will actually be on the roof? With us, every installation is done by Sun First employees, so the crew at your house is our own team, the same people who stand behind the work later on.
We hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Each system is custom-designed for the home it goes on, and our panels come with a solid 25-year manufacturer warranty.
Our customers tell it better than we can. One wrote that we came out, took care of the permits and put everything in the right place. Another told us their monthly power bill has been $0 since we installed their panels four and a half years earlier, and that whenever they had questions, we had answers. Another said Braden "wasn't trying to sell us, but rather inform us." There's plenty more on our page of reviews and testimonials from Sun First customers.
Get a Free Solar Quote in Novato and Marin
A free quote is the easiest next step, and you can request one through our FREE QUOTE form whenever you're ready. We'll look at your roof, your electrical panel and your backup goals before we suggest a system. Our office is at 136 Mitchell Blvd in San Rafael, and we're open Monday through Thursday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Take your time looking over our residential solar systems for your home and the home battery storage options we install in the meantime.
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