Let’s talk about the bad of Solar Energy
If you have read any of our posts, you know we like to be transparent. We have professed to tell the “good, bad, and the ugly” of solar so many times, we cringe a little when we say it now. We think it is important that potential solar buyers have all the information before they sign on the line which is dotted, and so, we spew it all and hope for the best. Admittedly, being lovers of solar, we do focus more on the good than the bad and ugly. This one is devoted to those in order to make up for our lopsided approach in the past. We’ll try to end each topic positively so as not to dash all of your solar hopes and dreams.
The following are reasons “solar is bad” according to Google. We will address each one, and then add a couple of our own.
#1 – Bad prices.
The number one barrier to entry, for most people, is the high upfront cost. Solar costs money, usually it’s a major purchase for homeowners. An average solar sale runs $20K to $50K depending on many variables. Many prospects don’t have that much lying about.
The good thing about that is that unlike a new car, fancy appliances, or fresh paint … solar will pay you back every penny and then some. Done properly, solar will generate as much, or more, power than you consume, thus eradicating the usage part of your power bill. It will pay, every month, for decades. The average payback time on solar is between six and twelve years. After that … free energy!
Another thing to consider is deferring that upfront cost by financing your solar system. A $50K loan for solar can be had for about a $300 to $500 per month payment. Before solar finance companies lost their minds and started charging massive fees, a solar payment could usually be matched up pretty close to what a prospect was already spending on their electric bill every month. So, if your payment was $250/month, that was to buy a solar system that would compensate for a $250 a month bill. It was a wash.
There are some good solar lending institutions left. We like: https://solarenergyloanfund.org/ and https://www.climatefirstbank.com/ for Florida customers. In our experience the customers who make out the best arrange their own funding through their own banks with a personal loan or HELOC.
#2 – It is sunlight dependent.
If the sun is not up, or blocked by weather, solar panels produce little to no power. Then, there’s what is called “usable sunlight”, and that is only four to five hours a day. It sounds grim for solar, but it is not really a factor.
Some people think that if they get solar, they will have no electricity at night. I don’t have the words or time to overcome that in this post, but please rest assured, this is not the case with a properly designed, engineered, and installed solar system. Properly sized, the solar array will generate enough electricity in those four to five hours of usable sunlight per day and offset it in the grid or store it in batteries to run the home for twenty-four hours.
#3 – Space Constraints.
Solar panels take up space on your roof or in your yard on a ground mount. If not enough sunlight hits your roof or yard to generate enough electricity to fully compensate for your energy consumption, your property is what is called “not solar feasible” and we will recommend you not buy solar.
Many times, the reason is tree shade. We do not recommend cutting down trees to go solar because the absence of shade will make your energy consumption go up. Unfortunately, solar will not work on some properties.
If solar is not a good idea for you, we’ll tell you. We didn’t think this made us a unicorn, and it shouldn’t, but many solar sales organizations will sell a shaded customer solar anyway. Even worse, many solar installation contractors will install a solar system that will never work.
#4 – Environmental impact.
There is some irony here. The mining of the materials and the manufacturing of panels can have a negative impact on the environment in the process of creating a product that will have a positive impact on the environment for decades. Additional considerations include fossil fuels consumed in their transport and the working conditions of the third-world residents who do the mining.
These debates are old and passionately argued by both sides. The “latest data” is constantly updating and heavily influenced by political agendas. Solar has become a propaganda buzzword.
The environmental impact arguments against solar can be applied to most of the products we consume. We have no idea who to believe. If it costs less to have it than it does to go without … we recommend it.
#5 – Energy loss.
A solar panel produces Direct Current (DC) electricity and must go through an inverter to be converted to Alternating Current (AC) which is what your home needs. There is some power loss in the conversion. Google points this out as a reason “solar is bad” but the loss is negligible and, in the industry, widely considered a non-issue. Google should be embarrassed to have listed it.
These were Google’s reasons “Solar is bad” and the next ones are things we’ve noticed.
#6 – Sales practices.
Because solar is heavily propagandized, the technology has advanced, and the price has dropped significantly … solar went through a bit of a boom. This attracted some of the worst sales elements and practices. Many customers were lied to, many systems were incompetently installed, and people lost thousands of dollars to unscrupulous salespeople, sales organizations, and contractors. It is still happening.
The good news is the market is correcting. You may have noticed, some very big names in solar are being shut down, have pivoted to other industries, and/or are going bankrupt, and this is well-deserved. Unfortunately, they left many orphaned customers with little to no recourse, but at least these companies are out of the industry. Some linger, so be very selective when choosing a solar contractor. See other posts for tips. (Or just call us.)
#7 – Tax credit deceptions.
Most of us in the solar industry are not tax experts, bookkeepers, accountants, or are in any way qualified to give tax advice. Some solar salespeople go into great detail about how the solar tax credit works, call it a rebate, imply it is free money, imply the government is basically paying Americans to go solar, base monthly payment predictions on tax credit amount reduced solar totals, and some even hand customers the IRS form to fill out.
Here is what they should say: Your solar will pay for itself, you won. The Federal Government, and possibly your local municipality and power company, may offer additional incentives for going solar. Consider those bonuses on top of already winning by going solar. Please consult with a tax professional to see if and what incentives you may be eligible for.
Many solar customers who thought the IRS was going to cut them a check for going solar were very disappointed come April. Not all solar customers qualify to take advantage of the credit. Less than 80% of those that do, apply it to their solar loan.
#8 – Leases.
To us, the biggest benefit to going solar is avoiding the power company rate increases. Power companies typically raise rates and/or fees a minimum of 5% per year. The next biggest benefit is that solar customers have energy independence and own their own power source. Leasing negates both those benefits.
All leasing options, that we know of, have a payment escalator. Where power companies raise their rates 5%/year, the lease payment will escalate 3.5%/year, saving the customer 1.5% (Whoop-de-freaking-doooo!) instead of the full 5%. Because it is a lease, the customer will never own their equipment. There is no energy independence, the customer is merely paying a different power company, and that power company has their power generator on the customer’s roof. (And the leasing company got the tax credit!)
When finance companies went crazy with their fees is when solar leasing for residential properties seemed to get popular. Today, it is still the very best chance a customer has of matching their solar payment to what their current energy consumption charge is. As far as we’re concerned, if the lease payment is going to go up every year, just like the electric rate, then what’s the point?
#9 – Payments.
It used to be, like three years ago, that we could match a customer’s solar payment pretty close to what they were paying per month to their power company for electricity. Due to inflation, rising interest rates and payment factors, and the lunacy of some solar lenders, those days are gone, at least temporarily. As I mentioned, the market is correcting.
Here’s the positive spin on this. The average Floridian saves about $80,000 on electricity costs by going solar. It’s a bold claim but we have the math to back it up. So, while your initial payments might be slightly higher than your current power bills, the power companies will raise their rates and soon surpass your solar payment. We can compensate for the average Floridians’s power bill for so much less that $80K that solar remains a “no-brainer”, just call us, we’ll explain.
#10 – Unscrupulous marketing tactics.
There are prospective solar customers who will not buy from us because we refuse to lie to them. Sounds crazy, right? Let us explain …
They saw an ad on TikTok, Facebook, X, or otherwise online that said solar was free, the government was paying them to go solar, or some such other nonsense. This clickbait seems to work well. Many people responded, are responding, and some of those people were wise enough to shop around. Those shopper arounders were the few we got to speak to.
We explained that the company that told them those lies were lying and they want it to be true so badly that they prefer to think we are just not part of the free solar program, don’t understand the government incentives, or are otherwise uninformed.
Two quotes apply here.
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” – All of our moms.
So, there’re ten solar bads with positive spins to lessen the sting. We welcome your criticism. If you think we are off the mark on any of these, need clarification, or need anything solar, batteries, and/or energy efficiency related; please reach out.