Salesman trying to sell me a solar panel system

[WVH1977]

I was approached this week by a solar company. I live in Virginia and our electric bill is rising due to Virginia doing away with coal and nuclear. There are solar farms popping up everywhere. Salesmen said I would save money over the long haul with solar. They own the panels and I would pay a 2.99 percent rate increase every year. Solar panels warrantied for 25 years. Showed me how much cheaper it would be for me over time vs increases by the electric company. I would pay nothing upfront and they would provide all maintenance on the system.

Anyone done anything like this? I am very skeptical about this.

 

[bmaverick]

I was approached this week by a solar company. I live in Virginia and our electric bill is rising due to Virginia doing away with coal and nuclear. There are solar farms popping up everywhere. Salesmen said I would save money over the long haul with solar. They own the panels and I would pay a 2.99 percent rate increase every year. Solar panels warrantied for 25 years. Showed me how much cheaper it would be for me over time vs increases by the electric company. I would pay nothing upfront and they would provide all maintenance on the system.

Anyone done anything like this? I am very skeptical about this.

First ask yourself, how long has this company been in business. And if they folded or were bought out, how much more would it cost you then as you maintain them.

Will the solar be only for your use or tapped into the grid where they will make money on return and you will not.

In the past 5 years so many of these solar companies have flopped and gone under with plenty of people holding the bag.

You didn't say the current rate and then $3 more each year either.

Average panels have a 20 year life. Some more some less. I've bee in solar since 1998. It's not all that it's cracked up to be either.

Is your area prone to damaging winds, hail, severe lightening strikes, then solar is not for you.

If you live on a farm, look into propane. It stores better, gives better energy density over solar during peak demands and it is fully off-grid. Most natural gas appliances can easily convert to propane too. Propane has a life of 50 years in storage too.

 

[ultrarunner]

My panels are 2008 and still cranking out more than I use and newer panels are more efficient.

I own mine and several neighbors have lease agreements entered into when incentives were generous and they are ahead with all the California rate hikes.

The devil is in the details and leased panels or provider agreements add another step should you want to sell.

That said a home up the street with a huge provider agreement went foreclosure and the new owner was told by the solar company he has to sign up… new owner is lawyer and said to solar you missed your opportunity at the foreclosure sale so you no longer own them…

The short of the story is new owner negotiated a contract where he pays 28% of the current rate and is pleased… the system was software locked so it would not have been simple to salvage what’s there by a third party.

 

[IXLR8]

I know several people who went this route, bragged about the deal they were getting. Five years later, they are not happy with what it is costing them. As "ultrarunner" said, the devil is in the details. I would own my solar system and not lease it.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I've owned panels on three houses. I've always had a good experience. But the key is "owned." As far as I can tell, the key to leasing is the solar company gets all the benefits.

Also, as a general rule I never buy from someone who knocks on my door or cold-calls me. Talk to neighbors, find someone who has panels and has been happy with them and get a recommendation.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

I was approached this week by a solar company. I live in Virginia and our electric bill is rising due to Virginia doing away with coal and nuclear. There are solar farms popping up everywhere. Salesmen said I would save money over the long haul with solar. They own the panels and I would pay a 2.99 percent rate increase every year. Solar panels warrantied for 25 years. Showed me how much cheaper it would be for me over time vs increases by the electric company. I would pay nothing upfront and they would provide all maintenance on the system.

Anyone done anything like this? I am very skeptical about this.

This is the one of the biggest scams in solar. Run as fast as you can from anyone telling you not to own your own solar panels.

 

[FullMetalBucket]

The house I’m currently in has leased panels. My wife’s father ( now deceased) was the previous owner and made the deal. The lease is for a set amount of years. I think there’s like 4 or 5 left. When we took over we could have bought the lease but what was the point. They have to support and maintain the system while the lease is active.

The way it works is they sell all the extra electric back to the power company and get any gubment subsidies or rebates. We still have a small electric bill that’s fixed. We have a huge credit so have not been getting a bill.

Key is to do research and get references. Lots of shady companies out there. When he asked me what I thought about it originally, I said I wouldn’t lease them and look at other ways to save on the bill. He did it anyway so we sort of inherited it. That being said the company is in the area and have panels on other houses in the neighborhood and haven’t been too bad to deal with.

The big issue is if you sell your house, you have to pay off the lease or have buyer agree to transfer to them the remainder of the term. I assume at the end of the lease they wash their hands of it and you now have to pay to have them removed if you don’t want them anymore.

 

[NorTracNY]

This is like any other financial decision. You need to do the numbers and recognize any risks.

We were contemplating buying solar about 13years ago. It was going to cost us $12-13K and the system would cover 100% of our need. In our state, the power company has to buy any extra energy at retail cost. We still need to pay for the connection at about $20/month. We decided to hold off as the payback was about 20 years. We were told that the expensive part of the system is the inverter. So if the inverter went, we wouldn't break even. We decided to hold off. A few weeks later, one of the companies we were dealing with called out of the blue. He said our state now allows leasing and it didn't work for everyone, but it did for us.

Our buy at 12-13K, was now a one time payment of $5200 to lease the system for 20years! So payback was cut in half, production of power was guaranteed, and IF we wanted at year 7 to own the panels, we could pay $700. It was a no brainer for us! The system has sometimes produced under the guaranteed minimum. It has often produced more than we used, so there have been years when we got a check from the solar company and had a $0 bill from the electric company. Every 12 months, the electric company "trues up" with us.

I also factored in the risk. For me the production was guaranteed. I decided that at year 7, I didn't want to own the system, because the guarantee would disappear and if the inverter went, I had to pay for it. I read the contract carefully. At the end of 20 years, the company would ask me to buy the system for whatever it was worth, or I could tell them to come and get it. They had to right to then say, "sorry, we don't want it. The system is yours." I was confident the last scenario was likely. Well, the company went bankrupt. We received a letter a few weeks ago. The system is officially ours. It still works and I have been making money off my investment since about year 8. Thank you fellow taxpayers for funding my system. It really was a no-brainer for me and an example of poor government use of taxpayer funds.

 

[5030]

First ask yourself, how long has this company been in business. And if they folded or were bought out, how much more would it cost you then as you maintain them.

Will the solar be only for your use or tapped into the grid where they will make money on return and you will not.

In the past 5 years so many of these solar companies have flopped and gone under with plenty of people holding the bag.

You didn't say the current rate and then $3 more each year either.

Average panels have a 20 year life. Some more some less. I've bee in solar since 1998. It's not all that it's cracked up to be either.

Is your area prone to damaging winds, hail, severe lightening strikes, then solar is not for you.

If you live on a farm, look into propane. It stores better, gives better energy density over solar during peak demands and it is fully off-grid. Most natural gas appliances can easily convert to propane too. Propane has a life of 50 years in storage too.

You said a mouthfull there. Besides, under the new administration I suspect you'll see the winds of change (solar and renewable energy giving way to fossil fuels like coal and nat gas again. The going green is nothing but a scam anyway and remember, solar panels, once they reach their useful life span, become hazardous waste and when the sun don't shine or they are covered with snow, they don't produce electricity.

Only place I have them is on the RV for supplemental power to keep the house batteries charged and I purchased them outright. I would never get into any agreement with any so called solar installer and then have to pay an ever increasing rate every year.

 

[RjCorazza]

I have considered solar over the years, and when solar companies began leasing systems I read of a whole lot of horror stories. Complaints like ruining roofs, failing to maintain, low $$ return, difficulties in selling with leased solar installed to name a few.

Take that with a grain of salt, as I have no direct experience. If I were to do solar it would not be leased, and would not be grid tied. I would do a battery storage system to reduce my use of grid power.