Watch this: New Solar Shingles You May Not Even Notice
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If a salesperson says your electricity bill will disappear after installing solar and that you can kick your utility company to the curb, that could also be an exaggeration. Your bill will vary depending on your net metering agreement with your utility, your electricity usage and the base rate utility customers pay to keep up grid infrastructure. Solar panels installed and operating correctly will reduce the electricity you use and can save you a bunch of money, but the effect on your bill will vary.
Before going solar, be sure you understand how your utility compensates you for the electricity you produce. These rates aren't necessarily set in stone. In California, regulators recently changed net metering in the state. Typically, there will be a hard deadline for any big change to net metering, and if you have your system installed before that date, you'll receive the older (and often richer) terms.
If you see ads that claim you can put solar panels on your house for free, make sure you understand what "free" means. Likely, it means the product advertised is either a power purchase agreement (PPA) or a solar lease. Though this means you don't pay a large up-front cost for the panels, you will pay monthly to the company that owns them. These are legitimate services and part of the reason residential solar has exploded in the last decade. You're likely to save more money overall with a purchase than a solar lease or PPA. Still, the low up-front cost of these two options may make solar more available and still save you money in the long run, even if the solar electricity isn't exactly free.
With leases and PPAs, you save money if the amount you pay doesn't rise faster than the cost of electricity from your utility.
Solar panels can be worth the cost for some, but not every rooftop is suitable for solar panels. In the northern hemisphere, panels produce the most electricity facing south, although east- and west-facing panels work, too. Panels facing west might be useful in areas with time-of-use rates, where afternoon and evening solar production can offset more costly electricity.
"That's one of the biggest things when anybody wants to consider solar: Is this something that is good for your house?" said McGovern, who added that a solar company had reached out to her to install solar panels on her completely shaded roof.
If your roof is shaded, make sure an installer has a plan for addressing that. For solar to work well, you may need to cut back trees or install panels somewhere other than your roof. Your roof should be in good shape, too. Taking panels off to fix the roof likely carries additional costs. It's important to address these issues before a contract is signed and panels are installed on your roof.
For all of these issues, any installer should give you clear answers. An installer pushing you to sign before you've read a contract or had all your questions answered is a red flag. If you do sign something you later regret, by law, you have three days to cancel most door-to-door sales, according to the US Federal Trade Commission.
There are plenty of organizations, including industry groups and governments, aiming to help people go solar with the best possible experience.
Because many people haven't had an experience with solar energy, selecting an installer can feel like a daunting task. It's possible to go solar and start saving money on your energy costs. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that there will be 10 million residential solar systems by the year 2030 in the US. If you plan on adding to that number, with a bit of work you can make sure it's a positive experience.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated how companies get grades from the Better Business Bureau. They receive grades regardless of whether they've paid to go through the bureau's accreditation process.
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Reviews ethics statementAndrew Blok Editor I
Andrew Blok is a former editor for CNET who covered home energy, with a focus on solar. As an environmental journalist, he navigates the changing energy landscape to help people make smart energy decisions. He's a graduate of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State and has written for several publications in the Great Lakes region, including Great Lakes Now and Environmental Health News, since 2019. You can find him in western Michigan watching birds.
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