Beware Fraud in Rooftop Solar
Be careful to check out the contractors, the financing companies, and the economics
“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” 1 Thessalonians 5:21
NPR has published a report that solar rooftop installation fraud is rising much faster than the rise on number of installations. I’ve excerpted parts of their article below.
Be sure to carefully check references and if at all possible, talk to some customers that have dealt with the same contractor and finance company. Since there have been cases of forged electronic signatures on contracts, it would also be a good idea to use your cell phone to record your session with the salesman representing the company. Before signing anything, read every word of the contract including the fine print.
As solar panels get cheaper, residential rooftop solar might be a good thing if you have a good southern exposure and if it will pay for itself in 10 years. That would be equivalent to a 10% return on your investment. Don’t rely on payments from the utility company for excess power fed back to the grid, because such payments are likely to be soon discontinued or greatly reduced. Ideally, you would have an independent system that isn’t connected to the grid, but that kind of installation is very expensive and will take longer to pay for itself. And be aware that even if you have battery backup, you will still need a gas generator for times when the grid is down for more than a day or two because of bad weather.
One other thing to remember is that in 25 years or sooner, you will have the expense of removing the panels and figuring out how to dispose of them. For all practical purposes, they are not recyclable.
NPR writes “There's not really one place for consumers to complain to,” says Jenifer Bosco, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “If they do have a problem with solar companies, they can complain to the Federal Trade Commission. They might complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, they might complain to their state AG's office.” That makes it difficult to identify the exact number of complaints against residential solar companies.” emphasis mine
“Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov that contain the word “solar” increased four-fold over as many years. One-star ratings on Solar Reviews increased more than 11-fold. That is much higher than the two-and-half-fold increase in residential solar installations.
Since it’s hard to keep track of how many complaints are filed, the actual percentage of annual complaints is probably higher than shown in the graph. The ‘one star’ reviews are as bad as a complaint, indicating some very unhappy customers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently warned solar customers about hidden fees, and misleading statements about the financial benefits of solar.”
I am thankful I now live under my youngest son's roof and won't have that as a personal worry.
Here in Oregon power is $0.11 per KWh. Our democrat single party government has plans to get it up to $0.45, to match their idols in California. Unfortunately the sun doesn’t shine much and the winter days are very short., so solar will always be a bad deal here. Good article though, a lot of those solar salesmen are pure slime. Purchase your system, don’t lease it. The only reason for a lease is to milk you whether the system works or not.