Four tips to survive solar contractors sales tactics

With the cost for electric service continuing to climb, we recently decided it was time to switch to solar energy. The process to find a contractor seemed like it should be simple enough—find reputable contractors, get quotes, dive in. Easy peasy, right? Not really. Going solar can involve dealing with fly-by-night contractors, overblown sales promises, and high-pressure sales tactics. All of this means surviving solar contractors sales tactics can be challenging.

Tip #1: The meter spins backwards!

One of the favorite claims from solar contractors is that you’ll produce more kilowatt-hours than you use and will sell the excess back to the utility. A properly designed system will do exactly this, but that’s only part of the story. The bad news is utilities sell electricity at retail, but buy at wholesale. In our case, we currently buy electricity for between thirty to forty cents per kilowatt-hour. When it comes time to buy back, our utility only pays about two to three cents per kilowatt-hour. It’s easy to see that even if our meter runs backwards all year long, we won’t make a killing selling back to the electric company.

Tip #2: Impressive first year results

All solar panels are not created equal. Each manufacturer is different. Each model is different. And all of this creates a confusing fruit basket that makes it very difficult to compare apples to apples. I learned this while talking with our second place contractor, who explained that solar panels have two different warranties: a product warranty and a performance warranty. A product warranty protects against material or workmanship defects. The performance warranty protects against a degradation in output over a period of time. The best solar panels will only lose about 7% of their power output over twenty-five years. Watch for cheaper panels that will lose significantly more output over this same time period. Whether you choose to ‘get in cheap’ or ‘buy quality’ is up to you, just know what you’re getting so there are no surprises years down the road.

Tip #3: The cost is not necessarily the total cost

So what about that apples-to-apples comparison? It can be tough. But once I had all three bids, I started looking at the differences. Our first choice included everything we wanted. From the meter adapter we would need because our house has an older electrical panel to the EV charger to the size of the system, it was all there. Number two left off the meter adapter and the EV charger, but had about the same size system. And number three was basically providing us with a cookie-cutter system designed to be the low-cost alternative.

Tip #4: Surviving solar contractors sales tactics means making a list and checking it twice

I’d worked for electric utilities for much of my career and was in the business when solar panels were in their infancy. Even with that knowledge, when I started this project, there were so many things I hadn’t considered. Here’s a checklist of questions and issues to get you started. Please customize the list to fit your own situation.

• Will the energy produced meet my needs in ten or twenty years?
• Do I need to upgrade my electrical panel?
• Do I expect to buy an EV in the future? (Remember, many manufacturers are announcing that they will produce only electric vehicles in the future).
• Check the Better Business Bureau for ratings and accreditation for all three contractors.
• Check with the state licensing board to ensure the contractor’s business license is active.
• Talk to your utility about switching to solar. Will there be a change in my rate schedule? How much do they pay when buying back excess electricity? Is there a ‘true up’ month (when the utility sends you a bill or a check for the kilowatt-hours you’ve used or produced)? 
• Will you need to do any roofing repairs? 

By the way, if you want an inside at solar contractors sales tactics, check out this blog post from RGR Marketing, a company that helps marketers maximize leads. While you’re here, why not check out last month’s tip—Scams against seniors soar in 2020 with four states leading the way.