My Neighbor Got Burned by Solar. How Do I Avoid the Same Thing?
Most bad solar experiences trace back to a few culprits: an aggressive escalator, an oversized system, and savings built on unrealistic rate increases.
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Short answer: Most solar regret traces back to a few specific culprits, not the technology itself: an aggressive payment escalator, a system sized bigger than the home needs, and projected savings built on unrealistic utility rate increases. The good news is you can spot every one of them by reading the proposal carefully before you sign.
When a neighbor says solar burned them, the panels usually aren't the problem. The paperwork is. Almost every bad experience comes down to terms that looked fine on a glossy summary and turned sour once the real math showed up. Here's what to check so you don't repeat it.
Culprit one: the escalator clause
Many solar leases and financing deals include an annual escalator, meaning your payment goes up a set percentage every year, often 2.9 or 3.5 percent. A salesperson may pitch it as keeping pace with rising utility rates. The trouble is that a fixed escalator climbs no matter what the utility does. Over 20 years, a payment that starts comfortable can grow into something you didn't budget for. Read the escalator rate, and run the payment out to the final year before you agree.
Culprit two: an oversized system
A bigger system means a bigger sale. Some proposals quietly size the array well above what the home actually uses. In Southwest Florida that matters twice over, because how the utility credits excess production varies, and overbuilding to send power back can leave you paying for panels producing electricity you're barely compensated for. The system should be sized to your own annual usage, read straight off your bills, not to an optimistic future.
There is no such thing as guaranteed savings. A proposal that promises you'll never pay a bill again, or that everyone qualifies, is selling a feeling, not a number. Ask for the assumptions behind every figure.
Culprit three: savings built on unrealistic rate hikes
This is the quiet one. Savings projections almost always assume the utility raises rates every year. Assume a high enough increase, say 4 or 5 percent compounding, and any solar deal looks like a winner on paper. Assume a more grounded number and the same deal can look mediocre. Ask what annual utility rate increase the projection uses, then decide for yourself whether that number is realistic.
How to check a proposal in ten minutes
- Find the escalator rate and calculate the final-year payment, not just year one.
- Compare the system size in kW to your actual annual kWh usage from your bills.
- Ask what utility rate increase the savings assume, and whether it compounds.
- Separate the cash price from the financed price so you can see the real cost of the money.
- Confirm how your specific utility credits excess solar, since that changes the right system size.
None of this means solar is a bad idea. Plenty of Southwest Florida homes come out ahead. It means the difference between a good outcome and a neighbor's cautionary tale is usually right there in the numbers, if someone slows down and reads them with you.
Questions worth asking
- What is the escalator rate, and what will my payment be in the final year?
- How does the system size compare to my actual annual kWh usage?
- What annual utility rate increase do the savings projections assume?
- How does my specific utility credit the excess power this system would produce?
- What's the cash price versus the financed price, and what's the interest cost?
• When this might not make sense
We'd rather lose a sale than put you in the wrong solution. Reasons we might tell you to wait or pass:
- —Your electric bill is already low, so there's little cost to offset and the payback stretches out.
- —You plan to move within a few years and don't want a lease or loan complicating the sale.
- —A proposal only works if you accept an aggressive escalator or a rate-hike assumption you don't believe.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Energy consumer guide to going solar — U.S. Department of EnergySecondary
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory solar research — National Renewable Energy LaboratorySecondary
Have a proposal you want a second opinion on?
We'll read it line by line with you, stress-test the assumptions, and tell you honestly whether the numbers hold up before you sign anything.