Not All Solar Panel Systems Are Nightmares For Their Owners

CHEYENNE — While one Happy Valley family found that its solar system journey was a nightmare, not everyone has had such bad experiences. 

A number of readers wrote in to talk about their own systems, among them Wayne Walker, a University of Wyoming graduate now living in Arizona, who installed solar panels at his home four years ago.

So far, his power generation is on track to pay for his $19,000 system in about eight years, he told Cowboy State Daily, after taking into account a federal tax credit of $13,000 and a state tax credit from Arizona of $1,000. 

“Up there in Wyoming, it’s a little further north so the sun doesn’t shine as long,” he said. “But you’ve got great sunny days. It’s not like some other places where it clouds up a lot of the time.”

The key for him, Walker said, was a bit of old-fashioned shopping around. That included getting quotes from five different companies before settling on one to do the job, as well as talking to some of his neighbors about their experiences with the company. 

“When I started looking into how the panels got serviced, that’s how I ended up with the one that I chose,” he said. “And they have been really good to me.”

Buyer Beware

One thing to stay away from, according to Deb Handel, who is from New York but reads Cowboy State Daily, are companies that lease the system, rather than allowing customers to buy it outright. 

“Leasing companies get a lot of people because they’ll say no money down and that will reduce your payments,” she said. “But it’s a terrible deal. What they don’t tell people when you lease solar panels is that, no matter what company you use, they’ll put a lien on your house because you don’t own (the solar system.)”

That can cause problems down the line when a homeowner goes to sell a home. The panels alsotake many thousands of dollars to remove if the new owner doesn’t want the system, Handel said.

“When you lease it, it’s a total bad deal,” she said. “You never own it, so you never benefit.” 

Handel financed her solar panels by taking out a HELOC, or home equity loan, back in 2008, and has since converted all of her power needs to electric.

That includes her vehicle, which is now a Tesla. To support the Tesla, she has eight solar panels for her garage, so she can charge the vehicle entirely using solar power.

“I haven’t paid an electric bill, in truth, since 2008,” she said. “And I haven’t paid a gasoline bill since 2018.” 

For her, one key was adding to her bank of battery power so she can store all of the solar power she makes. Otherwise, like the Meadowcrofts discovered, she would have to sell hers for far less than the utility company charges.

Professional Installation or DIY?

Some of those writing in were “do-it-yourselfers” who have an electrical or mechanical background and can easily erect their own solar panel system without engaging an installation company.

That’s not most people, Creative Energies Co-owner Scott Kane said. 

“Every now and then there’s a person who’s like a mechanical engineer or an electrician themselves,” Kane said. “And we’ll help them do their own. But really 99% of people are getting professional support on something like this.”

It’s a safety consideration, Kane said. Some cities also have licensing considerations, and, for those customers who don’t want to be completely off the grid, utility companies typically require an inspection. They want to see such work done by a licensed electrician. 

Creative Energies is based out of Lander and has been in Wyoming since 2001. They have built solar systems across Wyoming, as well as in Utah, where they have a field office. The company was part of the planning process for a solar home University of Wyoming built in Lander as a demonstration project — a home that is so energy efficient, its builders say it costs nothing to power. The cost of that system was wrapped into the cost of the home’s construction, which is a more efficient generally than retrofitting an existing home, particularly since the home can then be designed with some passive solar mechanisms in mind.

Kane acknowledged that some solar panel companies are engaging in misleading tactics to sell their systems to homeowners.

“In fact, a big part of our work in Salt Lake has been servicing solar power systems that were built by contractors who aren’t answering their phones anymore,” he said. “If someone’s solar power system is up on their roof but not working, that’s like an affront to us. So, we’re happy to get hired to go in and replace some of the inverters or fix some wiring to get an existing system back up and running for that customer.”

Beware Of Too Good To Be True

Kane recommended looking for companies that have an established track record in a state. The big question he suggests asking is whether the same company that’s installing the solar panel system will be the same one that ultimately services them as well. 

“If they’re not, sometimes what you find out is that the solar company is not even in the United States,” Kane said. “They’re just sending people around in neighborhoods to knock on doors and using kind of high-pressure sales techniques. They’re pushing a product, to get people to agree to a contract, and if they are able to secure some contracts in that neighborhood, then they’ll go find a subcontractor to do the work.”

One resource he recommends is the Department of Energy’s guide to going solar, which includes shopping tips for panels as well as other information. 

The other thing Kane suggested is that anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is.

“We start our process by asking for their last year of utility bills,” Kane said. “And we’ll ask what the person’s budget is, as well as how much they’re open to investing . Often, they’ll come up with something like, hey, we’re going to target offsetting 50% of your utility bill, or maybe 80 to 90%.”

Rarely does the figure reach 100%, Kane added, because that’s just not a realistic figure for most people.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.