How to Pick a Texas Battery Installer

Why this matters in 2026

The 30% federal tax credit on standalone battery storage is pulling a wave of new installers into the market. A guy who has been roofing for 20 years suddenly has a battery division. A solar company that has only ever installed grid-tied PV is now putting in 13.5 kWh Powerwalls.

Most are fine. Some are dangerous.

A bad battery install fails in three ways:

1. Code violations — doesn’t pass inspection, doesn’t qualify for the 30% credit, voids your insurance.
2. Wrong sizing — your battery doesn’t cover what you thought it would, or worse, trips on AC compressor inrush.
3. Bad commissioning — system doesn’t actually work in the way that justified the purchase. You realize 6 months in, after the installer has stopped returning calls.

All three are detectable BEFORE you sign. Here’s how.

The 5 red flags

Red flag #1: They can’t name their Master Electrician on the job

Battery installs require an electrical permit. The permit gets pulled by a licensed Master Electrician. If the company can’t name the specific person who’ll pull your permit, walk.

Some companies have a Master Electrician on retainer who never actually shows up to the job. The Journeymen and apprentices do all the work; the Master’s license number gets stamped on the permit. Technically legal — not what you want.

What to ask: “Who is the Master Electrician of record on my permit, and will they be on-site for the connection and the inspection?”

Good answer: a name, a license number, and yes.

Bad answer: deflection, “our Journeyman is qualified,” or “we don’t need to be there for the inspection.”

Red flag #2: They don’t want to itemize the quote

A real quote breaks out: hardware, labor (hours × rate), permit fees (paid to the city), inspection fees, balance-of-system materials, interconnect fees if applicable, and sales tax.

A bundled-into-one-number quote is hiding markup. Permit fees especially — I’ve seen installers charge \$1,200 for permit acquisition when the actual city permit was \$120. That’s a 10x markup on a transparent cost.

What to ask: “Can you itemize this quote into hardware, labor (hours and rate), permit fees you’ll pay to the city, and your overhead/margin?”

Any installer who refuses isn’t worth your business.

Red flag #3: They quote without seeing your panel

A quote based on “1,500 kWh a month” with no panel inspection is a guess. Battery installs depend on:

• Service capacity (200 A vs 100 A vs 400 A)
• Available breaker space
• Existing solar interconnect (back-fed breaker rules, NEC 705.12)
• Distance from panel to battery location
• Conduit run conditions (attic, exterior wall, trenching)

Anyone willing to commit to a price without seeing the panel is either burying contingency markup OR will hit you with change orders during the install.

What to expect: a real installer wants 30 minutes at your panel before quoting. They’ll photograph it, read the nameplates, count breakers. Anything else is a guess.

Red flag #4: Their warranty is shorter than the manufacturer’s

Tesla, EG4, Sigenergy, Sol-Ark all offer 10-year hardware warranties. The installer should match or exceed that on the workmanship side.

If your installer offers a 1-year workmanship warranty on a 10-year battery, what they’re telling you is: “I plan to be a different company by year 2.”

Minimum acceptable: 5-year workmanship + 10-year hardware (passed through from the manufacturer).

What good looks like: 10-year workmanship + 10-year hardware + 10-year service-call response commitment.

Red flag #5: They’re vague about who handles the 30% federal tax credit paperwork

Most installers don’t prepare your taxes — that’s your CPA. But a good installer:

• Itemizes the install in a way that matches what your CPA needs to fill out IRS Form 5695
• Provides documentation that the equipment is UL 9540 listed (required for the credit)
• Provides “placed in service” date documentation (the inspection sign-off date)
• Doesn’t get squirrelly when you say “my CPA needs these documents”

If the installer claims the 30% credit is “automatic” or “they handle it” — they don’t. They can’t. The credit is filed by you, on your taxes, with your CPA. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling fog.

Full breakdown of how the credit actually works: Your Texas Battery Will Pay Off Faster in 2026.

The 4 questions to ask in your first call

Direct, blunt, in this order. Their reactions tell you more than the answers.

1. “What’s your Texas Master Electrician license number, and what’s the name on it?”

   Cross-check at tdlr.texas.gov. License is per individual, not per company.

2. “How many battery installs have you completed in the last 12 months in this TDU area?”

   Specific number. Last 12 months. This TDU. Anything under 5 means you’re paying for their learning curve.

3. “Walk me through what happens if my battery fails in year 4.”

   Service response time, who pays for diagnostic visits, how warranty claims work, who fronts the cost if a manufacturer is slow.

4. “What’s a project that didn’t go well, and what did you learn?”

   Anyone who’s done 50+ installs has at least one war story. Anyone who claims they’ve never had a problem is lying.

The 2-minute verification (do this BEFORE you sign)

1. TX Master Electrician license: tdlr.texas.gov/LicenseSearch → search by license number or name. Status should be “Active.” Note the address — should match the company.
2. NABCEP certification (if claimed): nabcep.org → certificant directory. Filter by state. Verify cert type matches (PV Installation Professional / PV Storage Specialist / etc.).
3. Better Business Bureau: bbb.org → complaint history. Don’t weight this too heavily — bad clients leave bad reviews — but pattern of unresponsiveness is a real signal.
4. Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation complaint search: same TDLR site has a complaint history search. Disciplinary actions are public.

When to call me (or another Master Electrician)

If you’ve done the verification above and you’re still uncomfortable, you have two options:

1. Hire a separate Master Electrician for inspection ride-along — pay them \$200-\$400 to be present during the connection and the city inspection. They’re your eyes on the work. Cheap insurance.
2. Get a fourth quote — if all three of yours have red flags, the market is telling you something. Look outside the obvious solar companies. The best installs I see are from electrical contractors who happen to do batteries, not solar companies who pivoted.

Or post on the forum with your specifics — I’ll tell you which way I’d lean.