Top Hat Energy
Recently activeSolar installer based in California · installer record #13088 resolved from 658 public installation records.
Data through: California through Aug 2026 (monthly state program data).
At a glance
Top Hat Energy is a solar installer with 658 recorded installations totalling 9.3 MW, dated 2007 to 2026. All of its records are in California, where it ranks 367th of 6,163 profiled installers by volume and 605th of 10,840 nationally. Its median installed price for solar-only systems in 2025 is $3.95/W before incentives, across 12 priced systems.
Track record
Install volume by year
Recorded installs per year; prices by year are in the table below.
Pricing
Price by year (solar only)
| Year | Priced systems | Top Hat Energy | California median | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | $3.95/W | $3.29/W | +20% |
| 2024 | 23 | $4.35/W | $3.80/W | +14% |
| 2023 | 39 | $3.93/W | $4.06/W | −3% |
| 2022 | 54 | $3.14/W | $4.11/W | −24% |
| 2021 | 49 | $2.94/W | $3.98/W | −26% |
| 2020 | 43 | $2.89/W | $3.97/W | −27% |
| 2019 | 56 | $2.90/W | $3.95/W | −27% |
| 2018 | 53 | $2.56/W | $4.01/W | −36% |
| 2017 | 40 | $2.57/W | $4.05/W | −37% |
| 2016 | 51 | $2.88/W | $4.37/W | −34% |
| 2015 | 21 | $2.83/W | $4.58/W | −38% |
Median installed price per DC watt before incentives, systems without a battery, by the year in the public record. Years with fewer than five priced systems are left out.
Why a company's own figure can differ from this one
- Timing. These prices come from state incentive filings, published about once a year, so the latest full year here is 2025. Prices moved down in many states after 2023; a company's current quotes can be lower (or higher) than its last full year on record.
- Dates. A filing is dated when the program processed it, not when the job was sold, so jobs can land in a different month or year than in the company's own books.
- What the price includes. The filed price is the whole project as reported to the program, which can include loan dealer fees, electrical panel upgrades or roof work. A company's internal figure often leaves those out.
- Batteries. Systems flagged with a battery are excluded here; a battery the filing didn't flag can still raise a year's median.
Equipment
Module, inverter and battery brands
| Equipment | Year | Main brands (share of systems that reported one) | Year before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modules | 2026*9 reported | REC 78% · BP Solar 11% · EG4 11% | REC 86%2025, 21 reported |
| Inverters | 2026*9 reported | Sol-Ark 78% · EG4 11% · Enphase 11% | Sol-Ark 45%2025, 22 reported |
| Batteries | 20259 reported | EG4 100% | EG4 100%2024, 7 reported |
Manufacturer on each recorded installation, as filed with the state program (Tracking the Sun for earlier years). Brand names are grouped by manufacturer family (e.g. Hanwha Q CELLS and Qcells North America count as Qcells). Not every state reports equipment, and battery brands come mainly from California and New Jersey. *2026 to date, from California records only.
Latest records
Most recent recorded installs
| Date | Location | Size | Price | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2026 | Anderson, CA | 7.2 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Redding, CA | 27 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Anderson, CA | 6.2 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Jun 17, 2026 | Redding, CA | 8.8 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Jun 15, 2026 | CA | — | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Palo Cedro, CA | 5.9 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Sonoma, CA | 6.1 kW | — | Host-owned |
| Jan 20, 2026 | Redding, CA | 10.3 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Jan 16, 2026 | Redding, CA | 14.7 kW | — | Host-owned · battery |
| Dec 22, 2025 | Redding, CA | 7.7 kW | $25,921 | Host-owned |
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Service geography
- California
- 658
Busiest cities
Record
- Installer ID
- PC-13088
- First recorded install
- Dec 20, 2007
- Last recorded install
- Aug 7, 2026
- Priced records
- 536
Is this your company?
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How does Top Hat Energy compare with other installers in California?
By recorded installations Top Hat Energy ranks 367th among the 6,163 installers based in California with five or more records. Its 2025 solar-only median of $3.95/W is about 20% above the California median of $3.29/W on the same basis. Its median system, 11.2 kW, is about 90% above the state median of 5.9 kW. under 1% of its recorded installations are third-party owned (lease or power-purchase agreement), against 29% across California. 11% include battery storage, compared with 16% of California records. Installers of similar recorded volume in California include Nationwide Sun (664), Sungenia Solar Solutions (664) and Highlands Energy Services (662).
How has Top Hat Energy's installation volume changed?
Top Hat Energy's earliest dated installation on record is from 2007. It has recorded installations in 19 calendar years. The busiest year was 2021, with 77 installations. 2025, its latest year with records, has 22. Its median price per watt moved from $11.71/W in 2007 to $4.74/W in 2025. The most recent recorded installation is dated Aug 7, 2026.
Where does Top Hat Energy install solar?
All recorded installations are in California. The cities with the most of its installations are Redding, CA (195), Palo Cedro, CA (105), Anderson, CA (47), Cottonwood, CA (47) and Millville, CA (33).
Frequently asked questions
How many solar installations has Top Hat Energy completed?
PanelCensus records 658 installations by Top Hat Energy, from Dec 20, 2007 to Aug 7, 2026, totalling 9.3 MW of capacity. Public reporting varies by state, so the company's true total may be higher.
What does Top Hat Energy charge for solar?
For solar-only systems installed in 2025, the median reported price is $3.95/W before incentives, across 12 priced systems. The California median on the same basis is $3.29/W. Across all 536 priced systems since 2007, including battery systems, the median is $3.08/W. Prices are the total project cost reported to state incentive programs, divided by the system's DC watts, so they can include electrical upgrades or other work billed with the solar.
Where does Top Hat Energy install solar?
All 658 recorded installations are in California, the most of them in Redding.
Is Top Hat Energy still installing solar?
The most recent installation attributed to Top Hat Energy in the public records is dated Aug 7, 2026; 2025 has 22 recorded installations. Records here run California through Aug 2026 (monthly state program data), so the newest installations may not appear yet.
Does Top Hat Energy install leased or PPA solar systems?
1 recorded installation by Top Hat Energy (under 1%) is third-party owned — a lease or power-purchase agreement; across California the share is 29%.
Does Top Hat Energy install battery storage?
74 recorded installations by Top Hat Energy (11%) include a battery.
Related installers and places
- All solar installers in California· 6,163 profiles
- Solar installations in California· 2,408,542 records
- Nationwide Sun· 664 installations
- Sungenia Solar Solutions· 664 installations
- Highlands Energy Services· 662 installations
- All Seasons Solarca· 655 installations
- Green Air Heating And Air Conditioning· 654 installations
- Sun Pacific Solar Electric· 651 installations
Dataset updated . Sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun (through 2025), monthly state program records (California DGStats, NYSERDA, NJ Clean Energy, Illinois Shines) and permit records; installer resolved by exact-normalized name matching and, for state program records, by the systems both sources share.
About this data
Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Tracking the Sun, merged with city permit records, state incentive programs and the USGS U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database / EIA-860 plant registers, as published September 21, 2026 — PanelCensus refreshes it as each source publishes new records. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: PanelCensus, “Top Hat Energy, solar installer (California)”, https://panelcensus.com/installers/california/top-hat-energy-13088 (data as of September 21, 2026).