Solar Panels
Are They Worth It?
Ask Lots Of Questions
There are tons of solar panel companies out there, and many more that will be hitting the market. Solar panels have become the new fad and companies are trying to take advantage of it. Not all of these companies, or panels are created equal though. Cold calling and door knocking, from these companies, is getting more and more frequent.
Ask lots of questions. Most of the door knocking sales people don't entirely know the product and the cold callers are typically third party overseas hires that don't actually work for the company.
Pros
Saves You Money
If you're looking to save some money monthly then they can certainly do that. This obviously depends on how much you're paying for them. You can actually set it up to where the electric company will buy the access electric and you can make money each month from them.
Increases Value Of Your Home
This depends, which is why you need to ask lots of questions. I've seen people get solar panels for free, after tax credits, and i've seen people pay $100,000 for them. Solar panels could help increase the value of your home, but it's not going to be by that much. If you're looking to purchase them based on that, you're probably better off not doing it.
ESG Score
A lot of people don't know what this is or how it effects you, but a lot of major businesses are dealing with this right now, and soon we all will be. This is basically a credit score, but for how green you are. The more environmentally friendly you are the better your score will be. Once this becomes more main stream, having solar panels i'm sure will increase your score.
Cons
Cost You Money
Again, this is going to depend on what panels and what kind of deal you get. I've seen home owners pay $100,000 for solar panels. The value of your home is never going to increase that much and you'll never save enough money from the solar panels to recoup $100,000.
Can't Sell Your Home
If you take out a loan or finance solar panels you now have a lien on your house. So now you can never sell your home unless you pay them off. I've also seen it to where when you buy solar panels you are also agreeing to a servicing contract with that company. This can also put a lien on your home. One of the more popular solar panel companies, Tesla, actually requires a lifetime service contract. Now you have a lifetime lien on your home and a never ending payment. Nothing against Tesla, i'm sure a lot of them are doing this.
Who Owns Your Roof
Again, nothing against Tesla, but when you buy solar panels with them you are actually giving them your roof. Their lease states they own the roof. This goes back to "Can't Sell Your Home". No lender is going to let a buyer purchase your home when there's a lease that states you don't even own the roof.
The same complications will come about when the new buyer's would go to get insurance. Who owns the roof? Is there a lien on the house because of the panels? Also, fires. Solar panels have been known to cause fires from faulty installation, design flaws and component defects. This could cause your insurance to be higher or just cause your insurance company to decline any insurance for the roof.
Conclusion