Juan Montoya runs his own corporate consulting company, so he’s more savvy than the average homeowner when it comes to making smart investments. When he started looking into adding rooftop solar panels to his family’s home in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago, he said he noticed “red flags” immediately about some of the companies pitching him.
But even with this skeptical approach, he still ran into trouble.
After a visit from a door-to-door solar salesperson, Montoya signed paperwork to buy solar panels and to take out a loan to pay for them, he said. Then he waited for months.
By the time he finally heard from the installers, Montoya said, they told him his roof was actually too old to handle the panels — the opposite of what he was told before he agreed to buy them. He had already been struggling to get straight answers about the specifics of his loan.
“The whole process just gave me the creeps,” Montoya, 45, said. “At that point, I said, ‘Screw it, I’m not going to deal with you guys.’ I cancelled everything.”
Montoya’s not alone. It’s not uncommon for Floridians who are interested in rooftop solar to feel intimidated by pushy salespeople or the unfamiliar world of kilowatt-hours and tax credits. But clean energy advocates say there are ways to simplify — and make sure you’re signing an agreement that works for you.
At a time when residents have been spending more on electricity because of volatile fossil fuel prices and record-breaking summer heat, adding solar through reputable companies can grant homeowners peace of mind knowing their energy costs will remain largely stable.
Here are some answers to common questions about rooftop solar energy.
Why does rooftop solar energy sometimes seem scammy?
Many Floridians’ only interaction with the industry is through door-to-door salespeople, some of whom are hired as third-party contractors and may not be highly informed about the products they are selling.
There are big-picture reasons for this, explained Brendan Pierpont, director of electricity modeling for the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation Policy & Technology, which is based in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
Despite rooftop solar gaining popularity, there can still be hassles, he said. Cumbersome local permits, for instance, or delays from utility companies connecting projects to the grid drive up costs of rooftop solar and dissuade many homeowners from completing the process. That means solar companies need to start with a large number of potential customers to make money.
“The solar companies need an enormous sales funnel to get through all the hoops and have a viable product at the end,” Pierpont said, acknowledging that some companies’ marketing tactics are “really aggressive.”
It would help ease the pressure if politicians and utilities made it easier for residents to go solar, he said. A major element of this: making sure homeowners are fairly paid for the energy they add to the grid.
A common complaint among Tampa Bay residents with solar arrays is how utilities pay them a smaller amount per kilowatt-hour than what the utilities charge their neighbors to consume that same unit of energy. While utilities need to ensure they still recoup the costs of distributing energy, Pierpont said, there are ways to also make sure residents aren’t shortchanged. One solution could be paying a higher rate to solar homeowners at the hottest times of the day, which is when the demand for energy is highest.
“If we address these barriers and make it easier for customers ... it would really change the way the industry actually approaches the marketing side of the equation,” he said.
What are some red flags I should avoid?
Julia Herbst, the Gulf Coast program associate with Solar United Neighbors, a national nonprofit working to make solar energy more accessible, said that discerning homeowners should look out for these signs of a company that may be less reputable:
- A salesperson can’t provide a license number. All solar contractors in Florida are required to be licensed by the state. That means that any salesperson who approaches you should be able to produce a license number for the company they work for, and you should be able to verify that number by searching it at checkingmyfloridalicense.com.
- A salesperson says they can grant you a “very special rate” but you must act right now to get it. “A good solar investment takes a long time to consider,” Herbst said. “They should be very comfortable with you asking for more time and saying you are going to get competing bids.”
- Asking for your Social Security number or credit information right away, or not putting all the information in writing so you can review it.
- Not making clear how the financing will work. Is the price you’re getting the cash price or the financed price? Does it include the federal tax credit, and has the company verified you’re eligible? Are you renting or purchasing the equipment? If they’re offering a loan through a partnering bank, they should clearly explain the interest rate and term of the loan.
- Saying you have to buy battery storage or specific products, like new insulation, in order for the solar panels to work properly. Of course increasing your energy efficiency will help you save money, Herbst said, but homeowners can often take those steps on their own or by working with their utility company. “It’s very straightforward technology,” she said. ”You do not need to buy battery storage to have a perfectly functioning and really cost-saving system.”
What resources are available to help me?
Solar United Neighbors has compiled information on its website to help homeowners educate themselves. The group also operates a help desk where people can ask questions. Because the organization is vendor-neutral, its representatives will even review competing proposals for a specific property to help homeowners compare them, including checking whether any companies made inflated claims about how much power the panels could produce.
The nonprofit also provides a free roof review, using satellite imagery from places like Google Maps to help homeowners evaluate whether their roof has the right sun exposure to make solar energy worthwhile.
“This is a really safe, highly regulated technology and it is an investment that will work out for most people,” Herbst said. “But we’re here to take the discomfort and fear out of it and replace it with education so you can really feel good about your decision.”
Montoya, the Fort Lauderdale homeowner, did eventually get solar panels earlier this year after buying a new roof. Solar United Neighbors helped set up a larger group in his area to purchase them in bulk, and he said the experience was completely different.
The new company “answered every single question, was super honest about the problems in the industry and gave me references (of past customers) I could call,” Montoya said. “That’s when I said, ‘OK, I’m going to try this.’”
This story was produced in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.
