Overview
Solar Tech is a private company that specialises in solar-powered equipment. It is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and has been operating for over 30 years. They have 6 employee profiles on their website but employ over 100 people across all sites, and their projected yearly revenue is around $24 million. They are famed for being the first company to use solar technology to power electric road signs.
Solar Tech is unique in that it caters to a specific niche over residential or commercial clients. They focus on providing equipment suitable for road and highway construction such as message boards. They appear to have a high success rate judging by their profits, but it is hard to gauge how satisfied their customers are due to lack of reviews.
Solar Tech Services and Specifics
Solar Equipment and Services Offered by Solar Tech
Solar Tech differs from other solar companies because it develops and manufactures its own equipment. This means that they take care of every single aspect themselves, from producing products to customer service and installing the equipment.
Solar Products: The company don’t manufacture solar panels, but they use the technology to develop and produce solar-powered products specifically for traffic safety. There are several products on offer:
Arrow Boards:
There are two types of arrow boards available:
Trailer Mounted:
- Four models available – 15 lamp or 25 lamp
- LED lights in polycarbonate casing
- Output between 50W-110W
- Easy use control panel installed on the side
- Upgrades available
- For use on road-based construction sites only
- 5-year manufacturer warranty
Vehicle Mounted:
- Six models available – 15 lamp or 25 lamp
- Four different methods of mounting to a vehicle
- Output between 50W-110W
- Controlled by Gel-Cell battery power packs
- Upgrades available
- Road-based construction use only
- 5-year manufacturer warranty
Message Boards:
There are six different types of message boards manufactured by the company. Below is an overview of their features:
- Six sizes available
- 160W output, more if upgraded (between 220W-490W)
- Upgrades available for all models, including additional batteries and cameras.
- Can be trailer mounted or vehicle mounted depending on size
- Construction use only
- 5-year warranty
Incident Response Trailers:
There are two types of incident response trailers, the Standard IRT, and the IRT-C. Both trailers:
- Are powered by a single solar panel
- Have a 160W output (or upgraded to 220W-330W)
- Have four Gel-Cell batteries
- Can be upgraded
- Come equipped with cones and barrels:
- Standard IRT, 10 barrels, 25 traffic cones
- IRT-C, 81 traffic cones
- Have a 5-year warranty
Radar Speed Trailers:
There are three types of radar speed trailers: the RST-1000, RST-2000, and RST-V-2000. All three have the following characteristics:
- Solar panel powered
- LED display
- 10-year life expectancy
- Speed detection up to 199mph
- 5-year warranty
- Upgrades available
Tower Trailers:
There are three types of tower trailer available: SPTT, SPTT-2000, SPTT-3000.
- Three sizes available, 8-foot, 20-foot, 30-foot
- All customizable to the clients specifications
- Solar powered
- Between 50W-660W power output depending on the model
- Upgrades available including anti-theft technology
- Adaptable to fit lights, cameras, or other similar devices
Extra Services:
The extra services provided by Solar Tech are largely the optional upgrades that include remote-control technology, anti-theft technology, and provide additional lifetime maintenance services for an added fee.
They also have a sister website called Solar Trak where clients can keep track of all the equipment they are using without effort. Solar Trak has a $10 per month per unit charge but can be useful if a client has a lot of equipment in various locations.
Installation Costs and Process
Solar Tech Costs
Solar Tech don’t advertise the cost of equipment purchase on their website. They redirect their clients to an online form, where they take the information and match them with the appropriate representative to get in touch about pricing. The majority of their clients appear to be construction businesses or businesses looking to be vendors of their products.
There is no information on whether a payment plan is available, and the few reviews there are don’t mention anything about the price.
Solar Tech Legitimacy
Solar Tech is a registered company in Pennsylvania and shows a fair amount of legitimacy, as shown by the following credentials:
They have an ISO Certification allowing them to develop products through an internal quality management system and got the next level ISO 2015:9001 Certification in 2016.
They pride themselves on their 30-year experience and worldwide customer base.
They have reliability listed as one of their strongest attributes on their website.
They have some transparency as they are open about what they offer and their business attitude, but they don’t list any financial information on their website.
The few client reviews found on the review database appear as testimonials on their own website.
As of June 2022, they are not BBB accredited.
Solar Tech Maintenance
Solar Tech ensure that clients can easily contact them by putting their contact details in a prominent position on their website. This is good, as there are very few customer reviews so any potential client would need to contact them directly to find out about scheduling, flexibility, and finance options. Client opinion on whether they received value for money is unknown. They have a 5-year warranty on all solar products.
Conclusion
In summary, Solar Tech are a fairly legitimate company that is ideal for clients who wish to buy quality solar-powered equipment to use during road construction. They are unique in the market with their ability to manufacture their own products. It is easy for clients to contact them, and they provide information about the products and company on their website.
