About the author
Taylor Crouse
Founder, Helios Energy Global — the reviewer of record on every system design and every guide published on this site.
Taylor founded Helios Energy Global in 2018 in Santa Monica with a simple position: solar quotes in Southern California should read like engineering documents, not sales scripts. A mechanical engineer by training, he has overseen 500+ installations across 64+ SoCal cities — on every roof type from beach-city composition shingle to hillside clay tile — and still personally signs off on every design before equipment is ordered.
That same review standard applies to what we publish. Every guide, answer page, and data table on this site — including the SoCal Solar Index — carries Taylor's byline because he is accountable for its accuracy: the utility rules by city, the honest post-2025 incentive picture, and price ranges that match what quotes actually say. If something on this site is out of date, tell us and it gets fixed.
Mechanical engineer
Design-first approach: load calcs, mounting detail, and watertight flashing over sales volume.
500+ SoCal installs
Across 64+ cities and five utility territories — SCE, LADWP, PWP, RPU, and APU.
Owner-reviewed, always
Every design and every published guide is personally reviewed before it ships.