MASSIVE Problems with Solar in Arizona 

I signed up for solar. They made it sound its the future and not to fall behind after my neighbors. Once i signed up, the next step was the contractor to get a permit to work on my house. While that was going on, i sat on my elect bills and review what i was told vs what i have now. I concluded, solar is no go. My solar payment wouldve been $185 a month for 16 years. My electric bill is typically $-45 to $85 a month (yes thats a negative on the 45). I decided to cancel, so i quickly called the company and told them to cancel everything before they do the first step of the work. The area manager quickly called me to save the sale. I declined and told him its not worth it for me as my bill rarely hits above $50 because i live alone in my home. He was so mad on not taking the bait to keep the contract. With that attitude, im glad i canceled and will not buy any solar in my lifetime.

It's nice to see someone who has done their homework. I am an engineer and I have investigated the solar industry and whether it makes sense for my personal home. For me the only system that makes any sense for anyone is to have panels in your backyard on posts that follow the sun all year. It maxes output and puts the system in a place where you can easily maintain it. I have yet to find a solar dealer who will do it. They can't make the same income from you so they won't do it. The entire industry is about max profits.

Simple: The lease is a fleece. Pay cash and know how to calculate a ROI on your own. Otherwise skip it. Also, Don't go solar unless you've exhausted all energy efficiency investments first.

This panel can put out close to 100 watts ru-vid.comUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.

We bought a home with a lease in progress, and our realtor was clueless about it and we were not warned. The lease was still for 16+ years, and we still paid PG&E hundreds of $$ monthly for electricity. The terms of the lease were unclear, and getting responses from Solar City about questions we had was nearly impossible. Any extra power we generated was credited to Solar City. We were able to pay the lease off (price was same as installing a new system) after living for 4.5 years with it. Now that we own the system, we are still paying a couple hundred a month to PG&E because it is too small to cover the needs of the home. DO NOT LEASE. Pay a little more to make sure you generate enough to more than cover your needs (life brings changes) .

The only way I would go solar is off grid living.

Everything you said is true! One additional item is damage and fire risk due to squirrel nests and chewed through wiring in the nests! This is what was waiting under the panels removed from my son's house. Also, there was a large hole chewed thru the roof into the attic. He knew about the hole when he bought the house and got the seller to payoff the system. We removed the panels ourselves and he had the roof repaired and replaced. The panels will never go back on. Thanks for the video.

I was already in solar years ago when I had a quote for $30k in 2018. I asked for various features which were ignored (such as battery backup which was my primary concern). They also used 30x 100 watt panels when I was already using 300 watt panels. More panels is more labor and accessory charges. Their quote also ignored all permits by DTE (to charge back) and the cities required permits. Don't forget if you don't pay cash, then you're paying some finance charge which pushes back the breakeven date. Looking back, they've changed names 2 times and have been sued various times.

Had a large solar system on our last home. It happened that our roof, although fairly new, developed some issues. To do these repairs the solar panels had to be removed and reinstalled after the roof repairs were done. It was very expensive. When we did our solar install we were told that the panels had an 18 year life span and then had to be replaced. Inverter technology keeps changing/improving and this too will need upgrading sometime down the road. Also, in order for these panels to remain efficient they need to be cleaned and washed on a regular basis. We had these for about five years before selling the home. As far as energy savings go I know some people say they are very cost effective. We lived in central California and that was not our experience. I would hesitate to do it again. There are so many variables. Kinda like owning an electric car. They're great until you take on a drive across the country or a vacation to a cold location. These things are not always the panacea that they are made out to be.

Ive come to the conclusion that solar companies are just the “ vinyl siding, replacement windows, encyclopedia, kirby vacuum, scammers of the 2020’s.

You are spot on. The one thing you missed is the reliability of the inverters. My first inverter worked for a month before it died. The RMA process took two weeks and the inverter was dead-on-arrival. Another RMA two weeks wait and the second one also failed out of the box. Finally the manufacturer sent one of their technicians with the fourth unit and it has been running for 3 weeks now. We took pictures of the insides sas requested by the manufacturers support rep and uploaded and the RMA units had a repair that their service technicians on the phone recognized as " nope that one isn't going to work." There was a recent article about how much the manufacturers stock dropped last week. On reddit installers are quoting a 30 percent failure rate. They are selling stuff that doesn't work and that is why the stock is going down.

APS also charges a monthly fee for energy bought back to cover the maintenance of the lines and associated infrastructure system.

This should be a required video in order to sign up for a solar system! Very well done Ms Shackelton. In the end, there are 2 requirements to even consider solar: #1 that your going to have it for the entire life cycle of the system, so >10 years. And # 2 your roof is new. Now that you've met those, just be sure your clear on how the system works in those sticky situations: lightening, power outages, brown outs and the hardest to estimate over time, the utility company. For example, if the PUC decides to reduce the credits for over-generation, or charges you more on your base level usage, it erodes quickly the cost benefits. I had both happen to me in CA. But in the end, I did enjoy a more level pay on utility bills and I got to use a lot more electricity which is almost never talked about in this conversation. I turn my thermostat down like 5 degrees after I got the system and also bought a hot tub. Both of which were improvements to my life :)

The two benefits I see to putting the panels on the roof are 1) panels shade the roof, cutting down the heat load for the air conditioning, and 2) the labor you described is needed when the roof itself needs to be replaced. If I were going to replace the roof anyway, I'd choose long life, like standing seam metal roofing -- panels likely never need removal in my lifetime. I do understand that many home lots are too small for putting panels anywhere but the roof. But I choose to live in the country, so space is not a limitation, and I prefer to keep panels off my roof.

When we bought our Arizona house we told our real estate agent to not waste our time with any house that had solar. We have never regretted that decision yet.

This info is huge! In Albuquerque, getting truthful info is impossible! Thank you for this video. Make more!

Well done! If I were 10 years younger and in the same financial place I am now, I’d seriously consider it. I asked what it would cost for a 12KW panel set plus batteries to carry the load in case of an outage. $75K I won’t live long enough to amortize that!

I installed solar on my house seven years ago and it has been the best thing I have ever done. I did a purchase and with my savings the system is now paid for, I never considered a lease as I know of too many cases where a potential house sale was killed as the new buyers could not assume the lease.. I am with APS and I was never under the illusion that I would be free from a bill, it is typically a connection fee and only during two months in the summer does my credit run out and I have small but very affordable bill. The only way to get away from any bill would to have a battery system and that escalates the cost out of sight. My solar company was very up front and when going through the initial consultation they advised getting the roof done where the panels were placed and this is what I did and so I am now comfortable with the fact that I will be dead and buried before the roof needs to be redone. I also do not consider the roof a cost associated with the solar as it is something that was very close to being done anyway whether doing solar or not. I had a mesh system installed around the panels so pigeons could not get under them.

My received bid on solar was about $90,000 for our house. They can use any word salad they want, this is secured with a lien or equivalent convertible instrument to a lien. If you sell, you have to pay off the solar or get the new owner to pick up the contract. You don't use the solar. You sell it wholesale to your energy provider who then sells you back power at the retail price. This is a 20 year legal contract commitment. 100% of all state and federal and local incentives go to the solar provider, not the homeowner.

5:35 I think you misspoke. You said they will pay you "point-zero-nine" cents per KWH buy you displayed 0.09 cents which is 9-cents per KWH. Point-zero-nine cents would be 0.0009.

In Tucson we had solar and experienced a negative power bill during all but two months out of the year. The installation was just 12 panels, and there were two HVACS with no battery storage. I never questioned the installation and was totally happy with their performance. The panels were smaller, Schott panels made in Germany that performed better than the larger panels. The shade on the roof from the panels made a big difference in the performance of the upstairs HVAC.

That's funny, it used to be aluminum siding that was the big time grift going door to door. Cons never change do they.

I know a guy who got massive water damage done to his house because of shoddily-installed solar panels. That was a fun home-insurance claim. I just got a new roof, there's no way I'm going to let some solar panel guy go up on my roof and start punching holes in it. Another fun fact is that these solar companies do a lot of business and then "go under" within 3 years so that they don't have to honor their warranties. For the houses in my area, it costs about $20,000 for solar panels. OK, my utility bill goes away but I gain a car payment. Tell me again how this is such a great deal? All I'm doing is making somebody else rich and paying more to do it.

Great video! Everything she said is true. I have a grid-tied system in my Prescott home. But my reasoning for installing the system had nothing to do with the bill. It was only about being able to be independent of the grid when it goes down. APS is a scam! They say they pay you less than for your solar because they have to maintain their infrastructure. They completely ignore that YOU also have to maintain your system! My system was installed in 2012. I recently spent over $20k for a new inverter (my original one failed last winter) and new huge capacity batteries which included the labor. And yes, I did replace my roof (insurance covered much of it) with a metal roof. Do your research before jumping in to the solar game. Generally speaking leases are bad for the very reasons she mentions. Solar panels will never be the solution to your expensive bills or to global warming.

One thing she didn't mention is the fact that solar panels do not like heat.They like sunlight, but not heat. The hotter the daytime temps get, the more inefficient they become.

What about Insurance companies cancelling your policy or not covering you in case of a claim. How about re-financing problems. Cleaning solar panels need to be cleaned on a regular bases for performance, what is the cost. Thank you

Don't forget that the new roof warranty from the roofing contractor will be voided by the solar system contractor putting numerous penetrations through the new roof. In addition, talk to your insurance agent about the increased value and it's potential for your rates to increase.

Buy the entire system, inverter, battery, panels and go off-grid. Don't install them on the house (panels on a stanchion in the yard) so you can take them with you over the next 40 years. Learn to install and operate everything yourself. Save the environment. Yes you'll need $30K for most homes. Always spend a lot more of battery so you've got 7 days of energy on a full charge. This method leaves the existing electric when you sell the house.

Solar has many complex considerations to be made. Each installation is fairly unique and shortcuts are taken routinely when challenges arise. There is also roof loading considerations. I feel the choice for solar needs to come at new home builds, where additional loading capabilities can be designed in. This is a HUGE insurance question and insurance companies giving negative reactions are rightly doing so. The goal from the start should be energy reliance from government agencies, not selling the asshats power they don't want. Additions to pre-existing structures can be real rough and are often money losing propositions for the customer. This is an energy lifestyle change!

I moved off grid to a place that has no electric, but before I did I studied up on solar and all about batteries for a couple years through online. I bought some panels and put them in my garage till we moved, then I built my own system. It has been great not having any bill including for the solar equipment. I bought everything I would need in advance and either paid for it at the time or put it on a low interest card. I think I only spent about $3500 for my 1900 watt system, and that included an extra charge controller as a back up. Now I also have bought a few more panels, and also have an extra inverter. Of course I started with lead acid batteries, but their life time is up, and I now have lithium batteries. and the prices for Lithiums has come down over the last few years.

Our home is in the Phoenix suburban area. Our electric provider ( Salt River Project ) SRP was raising their charges almost annually when we decided to go Solar. We purchased 27 panels outright on a solar loan at 1.5%. We opted for a shorter term and a slightly higher payment to reduce the term from 25 years to 20 years. The warranty on the system is 25 years. We received a guaranteed output for the system, or the Solar Company pays for the power we’d purchase from SRP. The deal included upgrading the insulation in our home as the home was about 18 years old. We also negotiated a zero charge for panel removal and reinstall in case of roofing or panel issues. Our home owners insurance agreed not to raise our rates, with that provision. The deal also included blue toot and remote access thermostats. We kept our thermostat at the same settings as before installation, so we started receiving zero bills and occasionally a credit. The bill did go up about $100.00 when a family member bout an EV and was charging daily. The EV is gone now. I guess my point is, all issues related to price, warranty, upgrades, and output, can be negotiated. I opted to borrow the money needed to purchase and install rather than interrupt savings and investment.

Excellent video pointing out a number of issues that wouldn't necessarily occur to many of us. Thanks!

My electric gate runs on a deep cycle battery charged by a solar panel. I maintain it. That’s as much as I want.

I put a tesla solar system on my place in California - 10.8 KW. It zeroed out my electrical bill, including charging the car. $18000 after the tax break. It paid for itself in 3.5 years - and was a huge selling point (zero energy bill house) when I sold the house . so yeah - it was the smartest decision I ever made.

One advantage of solar panels that no one talks about is that it provides shade for your roof. I noticed a drop in temperature of my attic after having them installed.

The recoup cost is what people don't take into account. If you pay $30k up front, how many years of savings do you have to go through to make up the difference. Might as well just pay the electric company $30k up front. Also on resale, if you pay $30k up front for solar and maybe can ask $10k more for the house, that's not a savings. Solar is like buying a $60k Tesla to replace your $4k used toyota camry cause you want to save money on gas.

I live in a 3 bedroom 2 bath home outside of Incorporated towns and cities in Az. Summer aps bill is $74. Winter aps bill is $35. But natural gas go up from $19 to $34. Water is pumped 24-7 from a wel. Ever since I moved out of the city all my monthly bills have gone down including insurance by 80%.

Very informative video. Thank you. You're assumption to your viewers is that residential solar have ONLY roof mounted panels. Of course that is not accurate. I just completed a 24 kW Solar system for my home with two solar arrays ground mounted on my property. All paid in cash as I went along. Working with my utility company now to get a net metering agreement for electric credit from my excess production. Lastly, you missed that some state insurance companies will not cover your home if you have roof mounted panels. I believe Florida is dealing with that situation now. Thank you.

People need to pay attention to this wise lady. I've heard academic economists talk in circles about solar who can't even explain why solar is such a bad idea. For one, they're zealots and love confusing "social costs of climate crisis" with the pocketbook issue. Basically, unlike this lady who's telling the simple facts of the matter as your household budget is going to see it, most academics have bought into climate change (getting grants and promotions and tenure requires that they do) and feel the need to factor that BS into their instruction. This lady is telling the story honestly.

I have a friend who lives in North Carolina and he can sell his house, but they won't give him any money for the $30,000.00 invested in the Solar System on his house. So if he sells at the normal price for a house in his neighborhood, he'll loose %100 of his investment int the Solar System. In addition to that he was given a job offer in another state that would increase his income, but not enough to leave his home. So for him having a home with solar is not only hurting his home sell, he can't leave to take a job in another state he really wants. Thanks for sharing and the great information. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

Those companies are like cockroaches down here in Florida. Every week they’re knocking on the door. Some even pretend to be from the power company. One hidden danger that people get blindsided by is that their homeowner’s insurance won’t cover the roof if they have panels up there. Some companies will drop coverage completely. The solar company will only cover damage to the panels themselves. I’ve heard too many horror stories about solar here.

Don't have solar nor have I ever considered it. I thought about most of these problems and costs years ago without investigating the practicality of it. Just a few seconds of looking for a reason why not to solarize is the roof replacement costs, the constant cleaning maintenance and the electrical controls. I once replaced a gas water heater out of necessity. I figured I would go the high efficiency rout that uses the forced air exhaust through PVC pipe. My old heater cost me $7.00 in repairs over the 25 years. This new one had a temp sensor fail every year and a half or so. Had to replace the entire gas valve assembly because of a $20.00 sensor at the average cost of $450.00 each. Mind you I did my own work so no labor cost. $1350.00 in parts over 9 years compared to $7.00 in 25. That $1350 is about what the initial cost of the heater was. A conventional gas heater was about $800.00. That was about $1850 cost difference from a conventional heater. You say but what about the carbon footprint? Let me tell you, after the 3 repairs the carbon footprint for the manufacture of the new valves including the shipping from overseas I am positive was much greater than that high efficiency heater would have ever saved. Weather it is money savings or carbon savings all we do is shift where we spend them. It always ends up costing the same.

Dont forget the panels need replacing once in a while. People forget to add that cost.

I'm in west TX. I bought and installed 24 - 390 watt panels & 2 - 5,000 watt inverters. Set them up on my garage roof, 4 strings of 6 panels each. Turned the system on on 1 Jan 2020. All in cost was $12,588, less 30% tax break $3,776, net cost $8,812. Since that time I've paid $1.80 for electricity, and currently have about a $50 credit on my bill. $1.80, that's not a typo. This is one of the best things I ever did. I figure my payback point was 3.6 years, but with electricity having gone up a lot here, I'm sure I've already passed break-even. Panel manufacturer says expect panel life ~ 25 years and at year 20 expect the panels to be making 80% of what they were on day 1. Inverters have a 10 year warranty ( I paid for an extended warranty). You can put a system in yourself & that makes it extremely advantageous savings-wise.

The problem is the local government does not allow the home to be disconnected from the utility service, therefore the power company always has you by the... well, you get what I'm saying.

This is the kind of solar energy information that really needs to be out there. One can learn almost everything about how solar panels work, installation, maintenance and to some extent, cost. But it's hard to find anything this comprehensive, in considering the real cost of solar. It seems for many, the only practical reason to have rooftop solar is for environmental reasons, which ain't a bad reason. I'm going to watch this again. Thanks!

I just put them on by myself and didn't put them on my roof but built a structure in the backyard and use them for shade. I also find ways to use more efficient appliances. I use lithium-iron phosphate batteries and I'm not connected to the grid.

Need more information like this, very straight forward!

Best explanation about residential solar I've ever seen!

Only one thing you forgot,when you put a 25k-40k solar system on your house it's like putting a car on your roof what insurance company is NOT going to raise your homeowners insurance rate.

I live in southern Nevada and there is absolutely no way I would ever put solar on my home. All of your reasons and more.

I’m buying cash an off grid diy system from signature solar and I’m installing it on a new carport so it shades our cars. This is the best thing someone can do in my opinion

Interesting, you did not mention SRP. Which if you live in the Valley of the sun ( Phoenix). Most of the valley is SRP. What I Also found out, (I just had solar put on in June of 2023. ) is the half trues of the solar company tells you. One being , peak KWh .I was told I’ll being making 5.7 kWh. True it will be making 5.7 KWh of DC electricity. Will you home is AC not DC. So the inverter makes it from DC to AC, and you loss about 16%. Next half true. Tax refund from federal and state. We did a load on ours, 25 year, you can pay it off early. But they tell you your payments will be $120 a month. Will only if you give all your return to the load in the first two years. You will never see that loan payment. As probably everyone has seen or heard. If you in in Arizona solar is free. Yea right. They make is sound like it’s free, truth is the loan payment is less that what you would be paying the electric company. So is it free…… one other thing , SRP has it setup you can not go 100% off the grid.( at least that is what was told to me by the solar company). You can only go 80% off the grid. And SRP, puts you on a special plan. KW, rates are a little higher and their hit you with a peak demand rate. I’ve never heard of that before. But it makes up about 1/3 of the charge. The bottom line is if everyone knows your going to save some money, they still what a share. 😂

In Florida, my insurance rates skyrocketed after putting panels on my roof (bought outright). Also, the minimum connection fee to local electric company tripled (too many houses going solar).

San Diego County here - bought the solar, get credit for excess energy from SDGE, feed the grid with AC blasting, very happy with investment.

Know someone whose house had a big explosion near the solar junction box and her house burned down. She was told a big electrical surge hit her house. No other houses in her neighborhood were affected nor had solar panels.

Just a comment on the roof situation - if you have room in your yard , don't use the roof ! Panels work wherever they're sited .

Excellent coverage. I've received many in-person sales pitches. They are too vague on the subsidies, the stability/longevity/integrity of their company, and demonstrate zero understanding of basic economics. A deal breaker is roof maintenance...If a leak appears following installation, who covers it? It's certain they won't. This is of special concern because high wind gusts shake / yank at the panels and roof attachment points. If the roof was not designed from the outset for panels and/or is not optimally both oriented and sloped for solar, it's a 'no go' for me. In addition to wind loading, I worry about solar panels and framing compounding the weight of snow loads.

My 1500 sf home, all electric, has an average utility bill of $120/ month. No way in the world how solar is justifiable.

Interesting, as an accountant and financial/economic analyst, I am happy you are sharing your analysis.

Let's not forget the opportunity cost of the dollars expended on solar. That is: the return available in alternative investments vs. cash involved in solar purchase. Also does your home insurance cost increase due to solar install. Warranties go with the INSTALLING COMPANY. The companies (4) that have visited me to sell me solar had LLC's that we less than 1 year old. Color me skeptical at this point.

Great video and I agree completely with your points! I live in NM and a couple of years ago I bought 12KW of solar panels and 2 Tesla Walls (emergency backup when/if the grid fails) for $41.5K. About 30 percent was returned in State and Federal tax credits. We did replace our roof at a cost of $6K immediately prior to the install however, the old roof was over 15 years old and in need of replacement. Tesla sized the system perfectly and it produces an excess all year round, think less sun in the winter but no need to run an A/C and more sun in the summer but 24 hours a day A/C use . So, for the last two years we have had no electric bill. We sell enough electricity to the grid to cover all fee's and on average $22 a month in outright credit from the electric company. all in all we are looking at an 7 to 8 year complete return on investment and anything after that is profit. Your point about renting a system are right on target. I've seen several of my neighbors decide to pay off their contracts at a loss and have the company remove the panels. FYI: The leasing companies keep the tax discounts up front as profit and do not credit the homeowners bill in any way.

I live in Colorado with 300 plus days of near full sun. No a/c needed because of cool nights. I bought outright a 10,000 k system which is about 4 years old now professionally installed. It’s been operating flawlessly since installed. I get a credit at years end although the electric only pays a wholesale rate. Installed on a new metal roof. I’m a builder and the last house I built included a 10k system too and it works great.

I lived on a boat for a year and a half. I had 2x 200 watt panels and 3 fairly large batteries. From April to November I had no 120 power. You learn energy management pretty quick. That's the problem today. People leave things on all the time when not in use. Now you can save some by swapping out incandescent lights for LED, change your eating habits (cooking takes power) and a few other things. But what the lady says about home solar is indeed true. One of my neighbours was quoted some outrageous price to have his roof fixed. He saved some money by having some friends (one electrician and a couple of electronics techs) map out and then disassemble the system.

Our son had solar. When he had the roof replaced they came out and removed the panels for a fee. It seems the company was bought out and that free panel removal policy changed. The roof was replaced and the solar company was contacted to reinstall the panels. Six months later, while the panels had sat in their garage the panels were installed. They missed the whole summer of use. Not worth the hassles.

Your spot on .. I put a new roof on then bought a solar system outright and it’s fantastic zero electric bill . but I don’t see it paying off if you financed or leased your system . Fusion Power was a awesome company from my experience

we priced solar last year. About $40K in loans to buy a new system after incentives. We don't get near the sun in northern Utah, so more like a 20 year payback. Just didn't feel like buying a 20 year system with a 20 year payback and a 30 year loan. Be careful, it sounds great, but is it? Maybe, just not for me.

The best way to go is with a DIY off grid system. Do not connect to SRP or APS and do not lease or put a lean on your house. The biggest electrical cost is your air conditioning so run your AC from Solar. For $10,000 one can set up and off grid system. This system could pay for itself in 5 to 10 years. After that, your AC is running for free. Save up for when you need to replace the system because you may need to swap out inverters, batteries or panels as needed. Right now batteries are the most expensive part of the system. EG4 Electronics makes all of the parts you will need.

I just had a roofing estimate literally 10 minutes ago and she is absolutely right. Roofers will not touch the solar panels and in Phoenix the average cost is 185.00 dollars per panel just to take them off ( I think it was each time off and on) but that adds up quick. I would have assumed that the roofers would just deal with it but its some kind of insurance issue and more.

Great information. Many things to consider before going solar. Another problem I have seen is roof damage by the solar installers not discovered until several years later. Concrete/clay tile roofs are especially vulnerable to damage just from installers walking on them.

I've been a metro Phoenix area resident for 47 years (watched your pros & cons on moving to Phoenix) This vid is 2 years old but I just ran across it by accident recently (June 2024). Your take on solar validates my thinking in our case. Our home is a single story Shea tract home just shy of 2,100 sf, built in 2002. We're 2nd owners, purchased from original owners in 2009. I know enough about concrete tile roofs that their expected life span is +/-25 years. It's not the tiles that give out but the tar paper underlayment. Our 2 unit A/C system was also original builder installed R-22 'gas pack'. Well, you know what's going on with R-22, mainly it's obsolete, out of production, and getting scarcer and more expensive every year. So we opted to replace and upgrade A/C units to higher efficiency variable speed Bosch heat pumps, doing away with gas heat and claim the tax credits. Also upgraded 20 year old single speed pool pump motor to variable speed motor. We are in APS territory and I just checked my May & June 2024 bills, and the combined usage dollar amount compared to May-June 2023 was $175 less this year than last. The big reason for holding back on solar was age of the roof. Will likely need to re-do the roof within the next few years if not sooner. We're retirees in our 70s, so may not be around long enough to 'break even' on a purchased solar system nor do we want the have a lien on the home for leased solar. We plan to stay in the home as long as we're able, but that won't be much more than 10 or 15 years at best. By then, assuming we're still alive, we could sell the house (we own outright), take the money and go into independent/assisted living for our remaining years.

Excellent production. Spot on. But you didn’t mention the fact that many wear out before they are paid off.

Problems of premature adoption of unproven technologies. Solar, EVs, wind turbines, not yet ready for prime time.

I am 72 years old. As a kid I lived in Scottsdale Arizona. What we had for cooling indoor air was a roof cooled water system. Why not go back to using them.

Purchased mine in 2018, haven't paid an electric bill since and get a nice check to pay me back for the rest of the credit at the end of the year.

Not everything she says is true. I have a solar system on my Phoenix home and I love it. There is nothing wrong with buying an owned solar system if it is sized and priced right, the problem with the solar industry is all of the solar scammers and skeemers that are ripping off homeowners with inflated prices and here today and gone tomorrow. Regards to cost to remove panels to replace roof, the cost for my home to remove and install is only $1,800.00. I am also a Realtor and have lots of experience with solar homes. It is the lease that becomes the problem, not an OWNED system. I am hoping that this will be the year that most of the solar scammers get flushed out of the system. Thankfully when I shopped for a solar system, I bought from a reputable company with great local customer service.

I agree with Theo - Great points!! As I'm sure you know, the incentives are different this year (2023) than when you made the video. People interested in adding Solar should check out what they are at the time they are considering it. Also, you could make the point that what utility serves them makes a difference. I am in the SRP service area, and they still do net metering at the current retail price. Again 2023. Politics and Utility Boards all can make changes, so just check whenever considering. Thanks for the video share!

My friend bought a house with a solar lease. He couldn't sell the house. No one could qualify for the house and lease. Then the leasing company went out of business. He lives in Maricopa.

This has been the best and most thorough video of the pros and cons.

I went solar back when SRP had a better 20-year contract for RE customers. I saved for many, many years and paid cash up front so I owned it from day one and I got the full tax credit, not the seller. These days, I would never go solar. The payback is far too long. Buying a residential solar system with a 20-25 year lease or loan is pure non-sense. Most people move every 7-8 years and if you do you'll have to pay off the contract or hope the buyer is not very smart and will assume your bad decision before finding out what a bad deal it was.

Thanks for your honest opinion, even though it hurts the feelings of the companies that sell these solar panels

Great video, only thing Id mention is majority of companies will still maintain the system for 25 years if you decide to finance or pay cash out right for ownership So even if the homeowner decides to own opposed to lease their system they will still be under a 25 year warranty

Interesting take. Here’s mine. When I installed solar on my roof I also had a new roof installed, so I wouldn’t have to do it later. The bill for the roof and 24 panels was $34000.00. Ygrene financed the project. It was a 30 year loan. At the end of the 30 years I would have paid Ygrene $82000.00. Calculating my electric bill at an average of $250.00 per month (summer & winter combined) I would have paid FPL $122000.00 over the same 30 year period, assuming FPL never raised their rates. (In the time since I installed the solar panels FPL has raised their rates TWICE). So for me this was a no-brainer. Give FPL $122000.00 plus over 30 years, or give Ygrene $82000.00 over the same time frame. (In case you are wondering, I plug in my electric car and crank my a/c to the max but I have no electric bill)

just another reason to ground mount solar. With bifacial panels they can act as a pergola

There is an additional cost that wasn't mentioned, the monthly service fee from the utility company. The permits can be a major headache as well. There is always a back and forth between the county code and the installers. Also, the utility company will limit the amount of solar produced electric that you can put on your roof. Outside of soaring electric rates or no energy at all, solar isn't worth it. You will loose big time if rates start to decline for some reason. Another solution is to have the solar panels not on the roof if you have the property. Another thing that wasn't mentioned was batteries. Very expensive. Sooner or later the bank on producing power will go away. The times you most need power isn't when the sun is shining, at least where I live. I am off grid with regards to the power company. I have some solar and wind. I am still building out the system as money and time allows. I am installing it myself which saves substantially on instillation costs. If you don't know what you're doing, you could end up burning the house down. That could happen anyway with batteries. They do catch fire. And of course your insurance will go up. The cost of buying the parts separately is about the same as buying a complete system. There are varying amounts of energy and batteries. So do your homework if you do this.

Great review and aggregate fact review. Add the finance fees in that EVERYONE should be forced to read, tested and thoroughly understand what, IF ANY benefits there are to solar. 45 years involved in Real Estate and #1, something happens in owners lives every 7-10 years which makes significant decisions on there home. Finances, Divorce and market conditions are top 3 where This Solar would get in the way. Thank you

Would it make more financial sense to: - upgrades on your house roof with a new, better insulation factor? - Install double pane windows? - Install solar water heater? - Install heat pump? - install a battery storage system that charges off peak? Can you do a video on the order in which you should spend money? PS - I’ve heard that insurance companies are leery of insuring houses with solar on roof.

We live in Southeastern NY (well actually Queens). Our system was installed about 4 years ago. We have a power purchase agreement with SunRun. Installation was free and we're guaranteed a set amount of KW per year. We pay Con Edison ~$21/month for the connection to the grid, our system always produces a surplus over the course of the year, so there has never been a supply or delivery charge. Our rates can be raised by ~3-4%/year but that sure beats Con Eds 10-15% rate increases. We haven't encountred any problems with the system.

Slavery isn't dead in America. It's now called: leasing, credit card debt, auto loans, payday loans, mortgages. People are so willing to trade their freedom for shiny things. Go to thrift stores, buy used, fix stuff up, take a class on auto repair and maintenance. Live on half of your income and invest the rest. Money is the lubricant of life. When you have saving and problems come up you can buy a solution.

I bought a plug and play 5000W Solar Inverter Off Grid system $700 ebay, bought 10 used 250w Panels 2.5kw from Santan $45 each total $450, 48v lifepo4 25AH battery $200 and wiring $100 TOTAL $1450. My electric bill for the past 3 years has been no higher than $50 a month it used to be $120 to $300. DIY if you can and save yourself 15k I almost forgot get a permit I think it was $200 including inspection

Very few people come out ahead with solar, not unless your city/state allows you to sell excess power back to the grid at a decent price. A huge portion of the upkeep and cost of running solar is the battery back up. It's also important to note most people who talk about solar now, are people who did it at the height of solar trends. Back when the Government gave out tons of tax breaks and incentives to install solar. A lot of those incentives are being removed, and some power companies don't even want to buy back excess solar any more. They have no use for the power during the day as more and more houses have it in some area's like Hawaii.

Thinking on the Solar System for myself, I thought of some possible pitfalls but this lady was so super on pointing out the facts on her video and additionally all the great informative comments was so helpful. Wishing you all the best,

*Thank you! We almost got solar for our little house, but opted against it for those VERY reasons. Thank you for justifying our choices, because our utilities are not that costly anyway (for electricity).*

If you're building a new house then definitely scope out solar panels. The other thing to look at is just getting a battery system you can expand to shift power from when it's cheapest to when it's more expensive. Combine the two and you're getting the best of both worlds.

I am a general contractor who did my roof in 2010 and got money to do it last year. You can blow your nose on the 25 year shingle warranty. I put 50 year shingles on mine that I hope to be putting metal on this fall. Point is unless you fully cover your roof you will have to pay for the panels to come down and reinstalled. I'm surprised that she didn't address INSURANCE because roof replacement has to be a HUGE cost for homeowners insurance.

I live in Hawaii and have solar. I’ve been paying no more than $30 a month for eight years.

Don't kid yourself. SRP and APS aren't going to let us off the hook.

Most of what she says applies not just in Arizona, but anywhere in the US.

My husband built his own solar & it’s not hooked into the grid. He grounded his system, bought parts from the auto store, amazon & online stores. The panels are eye level in our backyard so we can clean them. He got info from videos on RU-vid. I use it year round for the washing machine & in the event of the electricity going down we can run our refrigerator, freezer, tv & a small window ac or small heater. You don’t need to go into debt to get solar just buy the parts as you can & eventually set up a decent system yourself. People live nicely off grid with solar.

I live in the Central Valley of California, with PG&E rates and the amount of sunshine this area gets it's a no brainer for getting a solar system.