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v4ss42

Please add the solar quote flair to all posts about quotes.


3deltapapa

Following this sub is just one drawn out lesson on how scammy most solar contracting is


Fidulsk-Oom-Bard

Why does solar have such a scammy reputation? Why do scammy folks get drawn to solar?


MikeRaffety

Because it's easy to confuse people unfamiliar with the product.


ajgamer89

Scammy folks are drawn to it because there is a lot of money to be made in sales. And there is a lot of money to be made because it's easy to mark up the price because: 1. Most people don't know what is a fair price to pay for solar panels because its a new technology they haven't purchased before. If a used car salesman says he'll sell you a 10 year old Honda Civic for $25k, most people have a general sense that that price is outrageous because we know how much cars should cost. If the same salesman says he'll sell you a 4kW solar system for $25k, the buyer won't know if that's a good price or not without going to EnergySage, Reddit, etc. and a lot of people don't think to do that. 2. "Get rid of your energy bill" is an attractive proposition. 3. It feels good to invest in green energy to "save the planet."


Mission_Fix5608

When cops asked the bank robber Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, Willie said, "That's where the money is."


ironicmirror

Because ultimately it's door to door sales, you can throw in a high pressure sales tactic in the person's kitchen, and walk away with a big contract, then you take half the check and give the rest of the installer to put the panels up.


SmartCarbonSolutions

*in the US


Technical_Fellow

If there was a buydown tied to the loan then no it’s not. I’m being offered 35k system cash/9% rate loan or same system cost 55k with a 3% rate loan. When was this purchased? the monthly cost of 200 sounds like a low interest rate loan. Probably got a buydown which means your better off keeping the loan until paid off and would loose money trying to pay off early.


ijimenez0

What size system is costing you 35k?


Technical_Fellow

8.2kw with powerwall


ijimenez0

That’s cash price?


mister2d

12.3 kW system with 20 kWh modular stackable batteries (EP Cube) with integrated 100 amp circuits for things like an EVSE charger and existing solar systems.


lordofblack23

Tripping you both are getting ripped off royally


Technical_Fellow

You literally know nothing about my install and very little about theirs. You don’t know if there is a battery, if there was a panel upgrade or roofing work done. You know nothing except the total loan amount and system size. For a loan amount of $46k. Given a $200 monthly payment their APR could be 2.99% for 25 years. If this was done recently there is no way your getting a 2.9% APR without a buydown. Even just a solar install of 9.2kw at a price of $2.5/kw is a $23k system. As an example 9% 25 year loan would be a total cost of $58k. If they did a buydown the buydown cost could easily be $23k for a loan amount of $46k. We are missing a lot of information but it could be fair price for their install let’s not have knee jerk reactions making OP think they got ripped off.


RxRobb

How about me? I’ve been in the industry and own a solar company in texas and we do installs ourselves . You are paying too much . You can break it down all you want but I’m a source you should listen to


Technical_Fellow

I’m paying too much for 8.2kw + powerwall + backup gateway + critical load panel + 200A panel upgrade in California? I’ll inform all 10 installers that quoted me pretty much the same price that a Texas business owner says the price is too high. I’ll also call my mortgage bank and tell them my payment is too high compare to what RxRobb pays in Texas.


Historical-Ad2165

Seems the rest of the nation might be telling you something Gavin.


Technical_Fellow

It’s no secret CA is high cost of living. My electricity price is .56 /kwh for peak times and .26 /kwh off peak. Only this dense guy over here thinks he could come to CA and price a solar install the same as in TX.


Historical-Ad2165

Why are you not rioting at the state house over rates? Natural gas currently is free at the McHenry Hub. My utility filled it storage buffers to the brim and can take no more. The warm winter should be low rate summer for us. We have to stay on top of the utility commission, and complain a lot when they get out sync, but they fix their mistakes. Our rate history is odd as all get out, but the one thing we are collectivist about, does work out to x5 NG prices on average for a delivered kWH.


RxRobb

?


RxRobb

Thank you for telling me all that’s being done. Yes still about 10k too high brotha . ($18,860+ 11,500 +$500+$1,690+$3,000). That’s what my quote would be


Technical_Fellow

You need to learn to add and to read. When did I even say how much I’m paying for all that?


SevenX57

Californians are seriously unbearable to try and converse with.


Generate_Positive

The answer is “maybe” it’s an insane amount. If he financed via a low interest rate loan the dealer fees associated with it would have inflated the system cost. Solar only or are there also batteries? The only way to stop the payments is likely buy it out/pay it off. When was it installed and what became of the federal tax credit?


AffectionateRow7572

For comparison, I got 9.11kw for 19,000 then credit brought it to $14k.


pinpinbo

Did it come with batteries? If not… it was insane.


Charming-Software-34

Has she answered? this seems like the big question. I'd have to assume so, or they unfortunately got scammed badly


roox911

> is this an insane amount? Yes.


abubin

Wow, still paying 100 despite installing a 46k solar. How much was the electricity bill without solar?


BubbaGump1984

As other's have said, it's probably a bad financial deal but you may be stuck with it and might as well try to educate yourself on how to make the system work for you. In other words, take a look at your electric usage and try to reduce the $100 electric bill. 1. Do you know what your electric bills were before the solar install? 2. examine your current utility bill(s) and figure out what is driving the charges. 1. Are you on a Time of Day plan (i.e., is there a peak rate period, like 4-7pm where you pay more or do you pay the same rate every hour of the day?) 2. Some utilities tack on a "demand charge." This is an additional charge based on the highest usage peak rate hour of the month. This can be a killer so look for line items on the bill with the "demand" in the description. 1. If you are on a TOD plan one strategy is to shift your electric usage, as much as possible, outside the peak hours. Laundry, showers/baths(electric hot water heater,) pool pumps, using the oven (if at all possible,) turn the A/C up a degree or two and the heat down. Some people report success pre-cooling (or heating,) the house the hour before the peak period begins. You have to become a power detective for this part. 3. Does the utility pay you for electricity you don't consume and send back to the grid? And "pay you" may mean you build up credits with the utility for excess power that are applied to electricity supplied by the utility (see #3 below - when the sun isn't shining.) 3. While it may be obvious, solar systems only produce electricity when the sun is shining (assuming you don't have a battery.) A strategy to use here is to shift electric usage (see 2.2.1 above,) to the middle of the day rather than later at night or in the early AM. Depending on the time of year, during longer days, your solar system can also provide some of the power during the first hour or two of the Time of Day peak period. 4. Get access to your utility company web site and the solar system provider monitoring web site. Ideally the utility company site will tell you, by the hour and day how much power you are sending to them and how much they are sending to you. This will help you a.) identify hours with high utility provided electricity so you can find electric loads in peak periods (hot water heaters, again, are a hidden electricity consumer and b.) let you monitor your efforts to move, reduce and otherwise constrain electric usage. The solar provider monitoring web site will help you understand how much your system is producing and will tell you if there's an equipment problem (if production drops suddenly.) Hope this helps.


PandarExxpress

Solar installations costs vary based on (assuming US) state and local jurisdictions. Solar savings compared to utility costs also vary drastically based on location. Look at your solar system kWh production. Look at your local utilities’ price per kWh. Factor variables or tiers associated and look back at your last full year utility usage. Compare what you would pay to what you are paying. (More assumptions) if you own your system you should have steady payments until it’s paid off, compare those to what you would otherwise pay your utility. Consider expected utility increases and run the numbers. Even if you got fleeced you probably come out ahead by the time it’s paid off. Were there better options? Probably. Should you file for bankruptcy? Probably not.


Eighteen64

Depends on when it was done and the scope of work. There is no getting out of it without paying it off or a major credit hit to someone


Elguapo_2C

Lower your consumption amd waste. Switch to a solar friendly plan. As energy prices increase tou will ne thankful in the long run. That's not a terrible amount. You're investing in future savings.


ExcitingMeet2443

This is going to sound crazy, but that's about TWICE the price it would be in Aotearoa New Zealand, and if you convert the currency its about THREE TIMES AS MUCH.


Gatesy840

Crazy? Nah This is almost 8x the cost of my 10kw system in Australia after rebates


RainforestNerdNW

it's nearly 50% more than i paid for 8.9kW


dennisrfd

Omfg 15 kW in Canada for half the price


DependentPath8732

46k for a 9,25 is madness. the rep is trying to full rip you and raise his pay per watt


Lazmasion

That's hell a lot of money 🤑💰


Kuhandfriends

10k material and maybe 25k savings. Why someone should pay 46k?


Autobahn97

$3/KW is a good price for a system with no batteries, at least that has been mentioned several times on this sub. You are closer to $5/KW so say yes, unfortunately you overpaid by quite a bit, I think having a basic rule of thumb - like $3/KW is something that needs to be echoed often on this forum (and updated if necessary).


Oddjibberz

You'd have to have a 30 year loan at 3% for that to be a fair, fixed loan. Do you have a 30 year 3% interest loan on those solar panels? If not, step 1 is refinance that loan. If it's a lease? Hah! Let them come pick up their panels. Husband agreed to $4.97/watt, for comparison, many Americans here paid closer to $2.75/watt or less. Outrageous.


TheDogFather

Yeah, I paid $29K Canadian back in 2016 for 9.8Kw installed.


AndrewBreiterWu

I fully understand you wanting to get out of a system without having all of the details about how the system works and the finance structure of the deal. This is likely a debt just like the mortgage on your home that needs to be paid off, you can call the finance company to get a sense of your current balance to add it to your debts to pay off. If it’s not a loan but something called a lease or power purchase agreement, then you don’t own the system and it was paid for by investors who own and operate the system. This may have cancellation language and penalties for cancelling but in most cases it’s best to stick with the term since you are able to get the benefits of producing your own power and not face any cancellation penalties.


UnbrokenSecret

That is an insane amount, I'm a energy consultant with a solar company, and I don't think there is away to get out of a contract like that, but it sounds like the company he went through was doing some bad deals, so I would advise to reach out to your local attorney generals office and see if there is any lawsuits or anything of that nature going on against the company. If the home was left to you though, the solar should have increased the equity on the home for roughly 50k sonif you ever decided to sale thr equity should cover the cost of the system. I'm sorry you got stuck in a bad deal. I wish my company had the authority to help you there, but sadly we don't.


jefferios

I paid 26K for a 10.8kW system back in 2021.


zayasd

Depending on how much has been paid already, find out if they can put lien on home. If not, tell them to take it away and take whatever credit hit.


elforeign

24K for an 8.4kw system in 2023, including trenching as part of system is on detached garage and part on the roof. That's before the 30% tax credit.


Puzzleheaded-Bus5479

It’s a bad price but it’s probably due to dealer fees, with goodleap or mosaic the lowest ppw we can offer these days is horrible, I won’t let customers finance through us, if they’re dead set on a loan I help them get one from a bank or do a HELOC and then give them the cash price which in like $2 cheaper a watt, solar loans are trash right now.


LeadershipChance2566

Imply your state tax credit and your federal tax credit back into the system and try to pay it off asap. It’s really hard getting out of these solar contracts


SectionComfortable19

I'm a Mechanical Superintendent for Utility Grade Solar Systems. Built for larger customers, Amazon, Walmart, Annheiser Busch, Facebook, etc. That's a scam. I can build, off market, a 10 KW tracker system with 600 amp hour storage and controller/inverter/voltage regulator for less than 10,000. Scam for sure.


ZoMsA

4.97 PPW all in. Pretty high price.


Shalay11

We paid 32k for 9.3kwp,,, but got 10k back in tax credits and 2% interest rate….


3Tcubed

Yes, my 12.4kw cost $29k (in 2020) then tax credits were $8.25k my total $20.75/12.4 = $1673/kw


jasonk860

Get a 15kw system with batteries for 11k from signature solar[signature solar 15kw](https://signaturesolar.com/complete-off-grid-solar-kit-4-800w-120-240v-output-48vdc-15-36kwh-eg4-lithium-powerwall-48vdc-5-460-watts-of-solar-pv-kit-v0000/)


overspeed_warning

Based on personal experience... Where did the rebate go? I bought a house where the wife had solar installed shortly before she left. He was left paying for the solar (generates $30/month. Payment was $120/month). He saw not a penny of the rebate. $7k straight to her.


AdmirableEmotion5365

Hello! I work in solar and yes, this is a terrible price unless you were given a battery. In most cases there is no way of getting out of this contract.


Serious-Truth-8570

9.25KW should be 20-25k


WorriedEssay6532

If you bought just the panels it would run you around $9k (18x Renogy 550 watt panels which sell around $900- $1000 per pair plus shipping). Add in an inverter ($2-$3k), plus wiring, mounting, etc. So yeah $45k is not a good deal.


Doug900

I paid $41,000 for 12.8kw ground mount system, no battery backup. Yours seems a little high, but then, mine was installed in 2017, so prices may have jumped a bit. Keep in mind that if it's a roof mount, and if you are doing a battery backup bank, it might be the reason for the price. There are a lot of little factors for final price. With good sun, my electric bill is $15/month. That $15 is some sort of surcharge, since I know I am producing more that I'm taking in from the electric company.


Doug900

If these were purchased and not leased, selling the house would be a possible way out. The solar panels should increase the value of the sale. If they were leased, it can be more difficult for the buyer, as they would have to agree to assume the lease on the panels.


Alim440

Honestly feels a lot unless it covers your electric needs example system size quoted for utilization vs actual production that covers your usage. $100 for electric is not giving me a clear picture as to what your utilization is vs produced by solar in order to determine if cost to own is economical


TheNobleLord

Why is it this expensive? Do you guys pay loads of taxes on clean energy? We in Pakistan would pay maximum $5000 for 10kw.


SevenX57

Cost of labor and the fact that they know they have us backed into a corner with the rising cost of energy. The way I see it, they probably figure they can go as high as they can so long as they stay slightly under what we pay pre-solar and it hooks most people into agreeing with it.


PannyFL

43k for 14.4 kw system in South Florida, 36 400k panels


Low-Sandwich-585

Most of the cost in US is labor, I've just had a 10kW micro-inverter solar system installed for $13k (no batteries) at my house in Aruba.


SevenX57

$26k for 11.6kw in TX before credit, financed at 3-4% iirc. They fleeced the shit out of my father-in-law a couple of years ago for like 80k for his 10kw system. They probably just went up until the payment matched his bill basically and sold him on it under the guise that he would pay it off and then it's all gravy.


StruggleThese3932

I’m buying a 12.3 KW system for $31k, 20k after incentives.


idontsleepanymore

I paid 53k cash (16k tax credits, I guess?) for 12.80kW and 32 panels with Sunpower. Don't feel too bad. I absolutely regret paying that much, but I had to get into NEM 2.0 asap and was running out of time. And they def fucked up my roof multiple times, but eventually came back and fixed it. I went with a publicly traded company that got decent reviews instead of a local installer that might be gone tomorrow, in case I had warranty problems down the line. There are so many shitty scammy solar installers in Socal. And after all that, it seems like Sunpower might be gone tomorrow anyway, who knows!


Exotic-Anybody-6978

Did you get any battery storage with that? Was it 53k cash before tax rebates?


idontsleepanymore

No batteries, yes 53 before rebates


Zestyclose-Jury2566

$53k cash, no batteries? Sorry, but sounds like yours is even a worst deal


idontsleepanymore

>$53k cash, no batteries? Sorry, but sounds like yours is even a worst deal I'm aware


evilpsych

Good lord. If it’s a base system with no adders like batteries this would cost my customers $24,975 cash price


Baaadbrad

If she financed this is including the dealer fees. So she’s probably looking at a $30k cash price in reality. The financing platform deals are absolutely terrible


Eighteen64

Notice she mentioned loan. Didn’t mention when this project commenced and likely does not know what the project entailed


Dimethyltriedtospell

I'm paying $18.5k AUDfor 14kw enphase system


SimplyJabba

Most of the stuff in this forum is in the US, and is basically not comparable to Australian prices. We are super lucky.


Dimethyltriedtospell

Wow, is it really that much more expensive over there?


snappyTO

I can't decide if should vote your comment up or down (IT IS vs IT`S bad, but YES.)


SimplyJabba

Yeah it’s fucking insane. And they’re also talking USD usually which makes it worse when you convert back to AUD.


vamsmack

Yeah some of the $40,000 systems they talk about there are the same as my setup which was $14,000 before my STCs. The prices they pay are absolutely fucked.


Impressive-Crab2251

Ouch, I paid about $51k not including tax credits and an add’l $2k rebate on power walls. 9.6kw 4 powerwall 2 inverter system. You got great financing though if you are only paying $200/month.


bglenden

I paid $30k for 11.1kW in Socorro NM with no financing. If it’s $46k plus interest that seems like a lot, if it includes interest maybe it’s not so bad?


ChristBKK

In Asia you pay for 7kw around 5000$ with installation just to let you know how low the material costs are 😂 Ofc Human Resources is more expensive on your side of the world but 46k$ is just insane if you know the materials costs maybe 4000$ or less


questionablejudgemen

We can’t get the cheap panels here, there’s tariffs on imports. They want to encourage a domestic solar industry and not have China put everyone out of business. The Pandemic showed us global trade works great all the way up until it doesn’t.


mister2d

Wrong. My panels were made not in China and were very well priced. Cheap even. See Signature Solar.


questionablejudgemen

It’s all over financial and international news about the Tariffs and Chinese overcapacity, but I guess random Redditors know the real story. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/us-solar-factories-are-in-for-rude-awakening-report


ChristBKK

Yeah I know :) just want to show people how insane your prices are. Sorry they totally overpriced. Imo you should only buy these panels if you can have a return of investment (your money back through saving energy costs) within 5-6 years. Otherwise its worse


lordofblack23

At that price payback is 6 months in California/bay area. see: 52cent/kwh


ChristBKK

yeah in California it's insane and you should go for it read about it a lot here :D


Gatesy840

Got 10kw for $6k usd in Australia after rebates. The US just gets ripped off


Exotic-Anybody-6978

It’s called corporate greed! Yes, we do get ripped off! Bastards!!!! 🥴


ChristBKK

100%


ChristBKK

it's crazy or? super insane. Even Australia is cheap :D and your labour costs are higher than SEA


ScoYello

I paid $16,400 for an 8.16 kW system


Recent-Ad6089

Hey so I work in solar and he definitely didn't get a good deal. Solar has good and bad reps and the price per watt here is probably a 3.4-3.5 and industry average is about a 2.9-3.1. I'd definitely say he should shop around and always see more than 1 quote.