Author: /u/AbbreviationsNo2590

Hello guys, this is my first post on Solar matter here in Houston area. I went through multiple companies and signed a contract with one , I end up canceled within the 3 business days, so everything was good. Solar was definitely a great investment if it fit your situation and I will go into detail why it wasn’t such a great deal for me. This is not a rant or discredit any company, I just want to keep the awareness out there for people alike especially my Texan folk…

My home use is 7500Kwh a year, solar rep wanted to sell 35k system 8160kwh a year with over 100% offset for future use. $3.50/watt is his estimate. the system is Microinverter IQ8+ with 400W panel, 16 panel total from Qcell (its look great btw).

anyhow, They knocked on my door with the above quote. $100 a month for 25 years promise, warranty and everything. I thought it was a good deal, since I pay $100-120 hot month and $45-60 cold month anyway on a 14 cent kwh plan with my electric company. I immediately signed the contract because they said it won’t be there forever and the tax rebate incentive will apply toward the system immediately for me.

Little did they know I have no tax liability that is exceeding $2000, withholding is $3000 so Instead of $1000 refund check, i will get $3000 each year up to the course of 5 years to pay toward the system (30% credit max). You guys need to understand that it is not “immediately” like the rep would explain to you during the signing. you still need to pay that out of pocket after 18months to keep the cost low, if not, the system would cost you additional $6900 over 25 years on interest payment.

After the signing, there was a significant delay in response to my question (compare to when he starts trying to sell me solar), so by the 3rd days I decided to pull the plug. The company was not answering their phone, the customer service email was not helping canceling the agreement and technically ghosted me. once I mentioned cancelation, the rep then called me immediately to convince me to stay on the contract.

Read your contract closely because some company have an underwriting that you are obligate to pay for consultation fee and loan agreement cancel fee if you cancel after 3 business days.

Compare different quote before you actually going to go Solar because you want the best bang for you buck with the technology you need. Also, you need reliable company that actually will warranty your solar for 25 years. It is as simple as they change the name to something else and you are stuck with that contract without repair help. It took me 2 days to get an answer from the rep on simple question, I can only imagine it would take days for the actual repair to take place if I would have problem :(. In a sense, I was kinda glad that he tickles my curiosity to research the company and look into different negativity that come from going solar.

• roof – Solar claimed my insurance only go up about $10-20 . after consulting with all insurance company I had, it went up by $60 minimum annually. when you change your roof, solar installer gotta be there to take it down and bring it back up.
• The buy back solar program – alot of company is getting away from 1:1 ratio and the future look very murky for Solar if they start making up minimum fees for going green. I hope it is not the case, but dealing with these company can be very devastating. essentially you are not eliminating your electric bill like they claimed it to be, you are getting bill credit toward your usage.
• Nothing was free, rather it was just 0% down payment on the solar panels.
• Tax credit was not explained fully and if you have a lot of tax deduction or low-> low-middle income like me, you wouldn’t benefit immediately on your system.
• They said they would cover my cancelation fee for switching from my provider- it did not happen, the rep said I can ask money from the boy that knocked on my door if he was promising me that , but the company doesn’t do that.

I was shocked and quite relief that I canceled the contract before being charge consultation fee, So I just want to raise the awareness a little bit for anyone that was or might had been in the same boat with me. putting your name on a contract with so little information will be quite a hassle down the road.

If you guys have any bad experience with Solar pls do share! 🙂