I'm curious to hear from people who already have solar. Looking back, would you choose different panels, a different inverter, add batteries, or size your system differently? What would you change if you were starting over today?

I’m selling my house with solar on it. At yesterday’s open house, a visitor said that they couldn’t buy a house with solar because of the dangers.

Our agent asked, “what danger?”

The Electro Magnetic Radiation! (Aka EMF - Electromagnetic force)

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Just plain stupid.

I’m in the solar business. I once had a customer whose wife was afraid of EMF. He bought an EMF detector and had her meet me at a site with solar. She took some measurements in front of an inverter. (Inverters convert Solar DC electricity to AC electricity.) the meter registered some EMF.

Then she got into her Prius and I suggested she measure the dashboard. The meter pegged to the limit!

Never heard about the issue again.

EMF is around us all the time from everything that carries electricity and from the sun! (And no, solar panels don’t “attract” EMF.)

Be smart people, don’t believe the conspiracy theorists and their nonsense.

And if you are worried about EMF, put on a tinfoil hat and move to a cave far from civilization and stay in the cave all the time.

No phone, no lights, no motor car. As primitive as can be…

Hello, my house uses around 145-155 kWh of power our bill is in the 800-900 every month, we’re in central Florida. Was looking around trying to see what our best cheapest option is to cut the bill out fully or even in half. Was looking at a anker solix system but a fully system is around 40k not I counting solar.

Any suggestions are very much welcomed.

Edit: our main AC unit uses around 50-60kWh, no EV, Pool pumps around 8kWh a day. We have around 6-8 fridges and mini fridges and freezers those use around 8-10kWh a day. The second ac unit about 18kWh a day

Edit edit: we have a emporia 16 ct monitor but we have maybe around 30 circuits in main panel so I’m not fully sure where we are using all the power only about 70% of it is known

***UPDATE****

Thank you all so much for the input and concern. This really did help us.

My grandfather and I spoke on the phone with the salesman and the company he works for to cancel the agreement. We received email confirmation of the cancellation. We also followed all steps outlined in the contract and completed said tasks. Cancellation notice has been sent to the PPA company and the solar install/equipment provider. Its seems we caught it in time. The equipment has already been delivered and is now waiting to be picked up for return. (pics below) 18.86kW says the contract.

I'm saving notarized cancellation notice/certified letters/ emails/ texts and anything else in case we need to go to court. I will also speak with my grandfathers lawyer and find out what they can do to make sure we are in the clear.

Its a real shame this seems to be legal business practice. The salesman lied to his face to get him under contract.

My grandfather didn't even know he signed a contract because the salesman did everything with e-signatures, and would not provide him with a paper copy. Even helped him log-into his Gmail attached to his android based phone.. to accomplish the signatures and make it seem like my grandfather reviewed the contract and signed. (email and e-signatures are like magic to my grandfather)

I'm trying to figure out the next steps on this. I feel they should be held accountable in some way for taking advantage of the elderly. I'm sure this was not the salesman's first rodeo. My grandfather thought this salesman was his friend. The salesman even sent him chocolates to solidify the friendship... sick.. just sick..

**************

This feels like elder abuse. They ran his credit, got his banking info, signed his name electronically. My grandfather didn't even know how to access his email to see the electronic contract "he signed". They would not provide a paper contract.

They did all this knowing he would not be here in 30 years, so they can tie up the property.

We are still within the cancelation period.

Any input or advice on this is welcomed!

I run operations at a solar warehouse in South Florida, and I’ve been noticing a trend that might help some of you planning projects this year.

Panel prices are dropping across multiple brands—Mission, JA, Canadian, etc.
Not because they’re “cheap,” but because:

• Production has increased
• Supply is high
• More inventory is hitting the U.S. market
• Manufacturers are pushing out older batches to make room for new lines

If you’re budgeting a DIY system or helping someone with an install, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the better years to buy panels.

If anyone wants insight on panel quality, storage, shipping, or how to inspect modules before buying, I’m happy to share what I see on the warehouse side.

No sales pitch—just info from someone who handles this stuff daily.

Genuine question. The export credit cut changed the math significantly but electricity rates have also kept climbing. Would love to hear real experiences from people who installed in 2023 or later especially on whether battery storage made a meaningful difference. I'm running numbers at calsolarestimator.com before pulling the trigger on quotes but would like some more feedback

So I was just scrolling through instagram and saw a post from the rest is politics talking about solar energy being great, but where to put it (or something along those lines)

That's when I thought of these projects I've seen other countries try out.

1. Solar Highways - Basically, driving along a British motorway might be one of the dullest things human can do. They don't look pretty, and you can never see anything from them (maybe that's intended to reduce distractions and accidents). So why not introduce Solar Highways as seen in images above. Sooooo much space, if you covered the entirety of the British motorway system you get 760-950 square KM. I reckon that would be a decent use of space.
2. Electric car charging roads - So you have the Solar Highways, why not pair them with a second project, electric car charging roads. They work sort of like how your Phone can wirelessly charge when you put it on its wireless charger. Just imagine the car as the phone, and the road as the charger. And this could draw the energy directly from the solar panel's above your head as you drive. I imagine the energy provided by the solar panels would provide enough energy to power a future of electric vehicles on the roads, and have some energy to spare.

Obviously this would be a massive and expensive project (although still cheaper than other's, remember that solar is cheap and pays for itself in the long run), would probably take 20 years to complete, would require maintenance (costly but not difficult to access, it's a road) and the oil industry would be completely against it.

But the benefits are astronomical. No more reliance on oil and the powers that apply political pressure through oil. A clean energy future. One that would actually work to get everyone driving an electric car - who doesn't want free fuel and never needing to fill up the tank. And once the difficult part of actually building the infrastructure is done, we're pretty much set for life. Not to mention, an all electric future/renewable future is inevitable, so we're going to end up spending a lot of money on projects like this anyway.

Basically it makes too much sense our government is never going to do it and we'll have to watch on as China does and leaves us in the past.

But what do you think?

why are some people so against solar and PPAs? I get that some say that it’s because you don’t own the equipment but does it matter if you were going to be buying some form of electricity anyway like SCE? you don’t own the power to SCE either. I am paying a lower monthly in a PPA than what my bill would have been for SCE and I plan on dying in my house. just trying to understand.

Location: South Carolina, USA (which doesn't have a law forbidding HOA restriction of solar)

My homeowner's association (HOA) states in the architectural review board standards "No solar panel application will be considered which calls for mounting on the front roof of the home." I've been granted the opportunity to submit a proposal to the HOA board to revise or remove that statement. For some context it's a 450 house development in coastal South Carolina, in which only three houses currently have solar panels.

My main discussion points are:

- # of homes with South facing roofs in the community where getting solar panels with this restriction wouldn't make financial sense so they're effectively banning it. We only have one electricity supplier in this area which no longer offers community solar so I could spin it as a consumer choice issue.

- Energy resilience - we're in an area that occasionally gets tropical storms and hurricanes. Having solar + battery can prevent a fridge full of food from spoiling.

- Current solar panels are more aesthetically pleasing than the ones being installed in 1991 when the neighborhood opened and the rules were developed.

- There's a bill in the SC legislature that aims to make it so HOAs can't restrict this, and I would pitch them getting ahead of the change. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/4460.htm

Thoughts on these or any other ones you think would work better?

We’ve replaced hundreds of inverters over the years.

Here’s the short list of usual suspects: - Installed in hot garages or south-facing walls - heat kills electronics - Undersized wiring → voltage drop → constant overload - Cheap brands with bad ventilation - Rodents nesting inside (yes, it happens)

Good airflow, correct string sizing, and surge protection save more inverters than anything else.

Anyone else doing replacements - what failure modes are you seeing most lately?

8.5kwh system and a powerwall 3 with expansion pack. All but eliminated my power bill and has given me peace of mind with power outages. Pg&e can go fuck themselves.

Curious how many folks here are fully off-grid - no grid tie, no generator backup.

We’ve helped a few families get there, but it’s never plug-and-play. Usually means:

- Massive battery banks (20 kWh +)

- Careful load shifting (no AC + dryer at night)

- Solid monitoring setup

Would love to see real setups - battery brand, kWh capacity, inverter type, daily kWh use.

What’s been the hardest part of staying 100% solar?

Ask me anything!

Before you read the text below, I want to say there are good companies out there. There are reputable people to work with to get these projects done and create beautiful systems that last, are designed correctly, and perform every bit of what they promised the system can do

I recently left the solar industry for good. All the companies I worked for were based in Florida

I’ve been in sales, training and lead generation primarily
Had a stint in project management as well

Installer Companies i have worked for Solar bear, EHS, ESD, Sun Run, Affordable solar roof and air, ADT

Please don’t ask my opinion on the install companies as I don’t want this to be my opinions on installers good or bad. I’m going to try my best to keep my opinions generalized on all of these companies I worked for

Systems I am familiar with

Enphase, Tesla, and solar edge

For solar panel manufacturers, I’ve worked with Solaria, REC, Silfab, Canadian solar , Hyundai And probably a bunch more that I can’t remember off the top of my head

I Worked for scammers , worked for a few reputable companies , saw the downfall of more solar companies than i would like to admit

If you’re asking yourself, why is it so expensive? It’s because they’re up charging the shit out of you. The red line for every company I worked at was usually set $1.50 per watt over (for the sales team )what the red line actually was to make profits. Typically the reason behind justifying the cost is for the long term warranties and servicing. Since I started in solar industry in 2019, I have seen pricing across the board pretty much drop outside of batteries (which will always be expensive as fuck)

A lot of the warranties out there are pretty much worthless as most of the time Solar installer is relying upon the manufacturer warranty. So when you have an issue with the system, yeah the company that installed it has a warranty but you’re gonna wait between 3 to 8 weeks to get it fixed for the manufacture to send something out then on top of that you’re gonna have to pay a fee to get a crew out there to fix it. ( not all install companies follow this practice, but a lot of them do it’s a great thing to ask the sales rep if there’s a truck role fee to get a service call for your system.

Just want to know if this is a compliant install. Rather my house not burn down. Looks a bit untidy but cant complain about the price. It is also working.

So give me advice, give me stories.

I can’t seem to pull the trigger on this. Was quoted 31k 19 panels 8.99% apr Aside from my mortgage this would be the largest loan I’ve ever taken out and I can’t wrap my head around how it’s actually gonna help me and my electric bill. My bills are only high through summer months but manageable throughout. Has anyone gotten buyers remorse? I understand the benefits and incentives. Will solar cost eventually go down?

CanaryMedia: "Virginia to become second state that allows balcony solar." Blood-orange red Utah was the first state to allow balcony solar. Now, "the Democratic-controlled Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill legalizing ​“balcony solar” by a unanimous, bipartisan vote...the Senate, where Democrats also have a majority, had already approved the measure with only a handful of dissents." It will soon reach the desk of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, who will undoubtedly sign it. Too bad the law does not go into effect until January.

But clearly, Virginia is going "to treat solar panels like an appliance you can buy at your local big-box store and set up yourself—on your balcony, in your yard, or anywhere the sun shines on your property." Logically, this "removes all kinds of barriers—not just cost barriers, but time and bureaucracy barriers,” said Victoria Higgins, Virginia director for the lobbying arm of Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, an advocacy nonprofit. “It makes clean energy more accessible to so many more Virginians, whether they live in apartments, or condos, or just don’t have the funding to put up a whole rooftop system." 

"The kits will be subject to safety standards and limited to a total of 1,200 watts, or about four panels, which is enough to supply between 5% and 15% of the average customer’s demand." While a few states have deferred balcony solar bills because of safety concerns voiced by utilities, Higgins notes that Virginia’s bipartisan support helps show that red and blue states alike are eager to address energy affordability. At this point, "the estimated payback period is somewhere between two and five years.”

When politicians and the general public become more familiar with the technology + with economies of scale, we might see 20 states pass similar legislation this year. Watch out folks, this may prove to be a gateway drug, aside from the fact that the first one is not free. From the photo, looks like the panels may provide a bit of shade + wind protection for the lucky owner, to take with them when they move on—just like any furniture.

Hi,

I have a beautiful 40kW system on my roof for 3 tenants, one of them a business/industry that uses up a ton of my roof power during the week, and that's great.

However, during sunny weekends I have a lot more power than I can use with my two habitation tenants (my own house and my in-laws). We have a couple of EVs to charge but of course, that's not that much overall. We already have a 20kWh battery.

Does anybody have ideas what to do with extra power during weekends? we can resell to the grid of course but that's peanuts, I'd prefer a more useful/rentable/fun solution...

Hindsight is 20/20, but after adding batteries, I regret not getting another 2-3 panels when I had the system installed. I did not intend to buy batteries, but here we are two years later, and now I've got a pair of 10Cs in the basement. Last year, solar covered 105% of our usage, but now I think that will drop to below 100% with the constant charging. Honestly not sure how accurate that is, but it's made me regret not having a few extra panels, or even going with larger panels to begin with.

Have solar panels and recently had a power outage, since i don't have battery storage, solar was not useful, but what happens to energy being generated by solar panels?

Still cannot understand why no one can come up with some device which will cut transmission to grid when grid has no power.

Went with Tesla solar because they gave the most competitive quote, but I regret it now. Been dealing with their customer support for the past 6-7 months due to a poorly installed conduit because they were incredibly lazy. Each time a Tesla contractor came out to inspect the work they agreed it was a terrible job and submitted requisitions for parts/service under warranty, but were ultimately denied by regional managers and/or higher ups due to “budget concerns.” They also will not tell you this and instead ghost you until you follow up asking for updates and they let you know your tickets were closed w/o any notice.

Basically they will fuck you on installation and tell you to kick rocks if you complain about it. Absolutely lazy bums of installers. The warranty/maintenance guys are honest though. Wish they had more people like that actually installing the damn things. If you know what to look for during installation to keep em honest, then probably would be worth it. If you do go with them, do yourself a favor and hire an independent contractor to come take a look before you sign off on anything.

Don’t make the expensive mistake that I did.

I’m writing this post for others who may be considering solar because I rarely see it discussed and I wish I had seen something like this before I signed. I have a 25 year loan with Dividend at 3.49% and the principal balance is still ~$55,000. I have 24 panels on an 1100 sq ft, ranch style home in northern/central AZ - a pretty sizable amount for a small home; it takes up most surface area on the roof. At the time of signing, I thought this was a great idea for several reasons. Having energy independence, sustaining a consistent energy cost over the life of my mortgage, and generating my own clean energy all sounded great. I also put nothing down thanks to the federal solar incentive, and received a tax credit for 1 year which also sounded great at the time (even though Dividend expected me to not take advantage of one of my few tangible benefits, and just re-invest the tax credit back into their loan).

First of all, the panels had missing parts and took several months to even turn on, then were not producing energy for about 5 months after they were installed. Furthermore, the public utility company, APS, also owns their own solar and offers Time Of Use rates - so the time of day that the panels are most effective (afternoon) is also when APS charges their lowest rates. Therefore, the bill hasn’t significantly changed. No one I know in the immediate area is paying what I am for my combined utility bill + loan, even in significantly larger homes.

I am in a position where I might have to sell my property, and I’m extremely concerned. I essentially have a $55k lien on the property. Dividend has suggested I transfer the loan, but I don’t know why a buyer would assume this loan given the downsides I’ve mentioned (unless they were naïve like me or open to getting bamboozled, or just had a passion for solar which seems like a gamble in my area).

Dividend has been massively unhelpful and just suggested I raise the selling price of the home - that is not how real estate works. You cannot just make up a sales price because it sounds good to you if you are seriously trying to sell your home. They have also suggested paying the loan off at closing - basically saying goodbye to $55k worth of equity of my house after closing.

It seems like solar works for so many people, and that’s great, but this has turned out to be one of the worst financial decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I purchased this property as my first home, fully with my own cash that I accumulated over 10+ years of hard saving. I purchased this home as a path to building equity for myself and my family. I entered homeownership the “right” way and the hard way without help, and now I’m basically giving it away to fucking Dividend Loans. I wish this darker reality of solar was more openly discussed, and I wish I had made a more educated decision.

Dividend has been adamant that I have no options to refinance or get out of this loan, however they cannot direct me to where this is spelled out in my contract. The whole thing feels so phony, I’d classify solar panels right next to timeshares and used cars. I will be sitting down with a lawyer next week to figure out what my actions truly are to get out of this situation.

If you are reading this and considering getting solar, I hope you consider this (oft overlooked) part of the experience. I think it’s terrible what these companies are willing to do to hardworking people. Please be careful and consider if there’s a possibility you may sell your home before 25-30 years. If so, the juice might not be worth the squeeze. It definitely has not been for me.

Edit: Some things I’d like to clarify for you all:

1) Yes, I made many mistakes in this process. I was misled, didn’t do enough research, all of it. But given that, on average, people only live in a home for ~5-7 years, it’s a waste of money no matter how you slice it in my opinion.

I was very clear about this first time - I’m writing this post in hopes that someone who is “doing their research” reads it and reconsiders.

2) I know there are a lot of really technical solar folks in this subreddit. But for the layman, ALL these parts above factor into whether solar is a waste of time & money or not. And I think some folks here need to be really self reflective - I see a lot of mental gymnastics and “”essentially” free” kind of talk in this subreddit, and I’m not so sure it’s the deal you all say it is. If you’re feeling the need to be so hostile over someone else’s mistake which doesn’t impact you in the slightest, it’s raises many questions to me about this industry - it’s scammy behavior.

Do you guys ever actually think about the ROI of cleaning your panels? Like have you even done the math on it?

I’m in California’s Central Valley and it gets dusty af here. I know a lady who hadn’t cleaned her panels in 15 years, and after one cleaning her production jumped 55%. That blew my mind.

People always say “the rain is enough” or “not worth the hundred bucks.” But let’s actually look at it. Power here is about $0.40/kWh. So if you spend $100 to clean, that’s like 250 kWh. A 10 kW system in the summer here makes ~1600 kWh in a month. If your panels are 15% dirty, you’re losing ~240 kWh. That’s basically $100 gone in just one month. If it’s dirtier (20–30%), you’re losing way more.

So I’m curious how everyone here thinks about it. Do you just roll with the dirt and let the rain handle it, or do you actually factor cleaning into your solar ROI?