{"id":2400,"date":"2021-01-18T07:30:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T07:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2021-01-08T16:42:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:42:35","slug":"are-solar-panels-really-free-things-to-look-out-for-during-solar-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/are-solar-panels-really-free-things-to-look-out-for-during-solar-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Solar Panels Really Free? Things To Look Out For During Solar Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"There may be a knock on your door by a friendly solar panel sales representative. You may be informed of the benefits of solar power and that by choosing to get panels for your home they would be ‘free’.<\/p>\n

Remember the old adage<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018There\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch.\u2019<\/p>\n

Free Doesn\u2019t Mean Free or \u2018No-Cost\u2019 <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"A solar company sales representative may inform you that by signing up for solar power, you won\u2019t have to pay for the panels themselves — they will be given to you for free.<\/p>\n

The trouble is that you will still end up paying each month toward a lengthy contract<\/a> which could last up to a quarter century. Basically, a solar lease, or solar power purchase agreement (PPA), closely resembles a home mortgage in contract duration than it would an automotive loan. (Think long-term versus short-term).<\/p>\n

Solar Leases or PPAs: What Is The Difference?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Solar Lease. <\/strong>If you opt to enter into a solar panel lease, you contractually agree to pay a monthly fee for the ability to essentially rent the solar system from a third-party vendor.<\/a>\u00a0 So, while the sales representative may tell you that by signing up you are getting the solar panels for \u2018free,\u2019 you are still locked into a contract for a system that you will have to pay toward for several years.<\/p>\n

Power Purchase Agreement. <\/strong>The other model is a PPA, which is where the homeowner chooses to purchase power directly from the solar power company at a certain rate. In this type of arrangement, the solar companies typically make out better financially than the individual consumer, since the company can take advantage of certain tax credits and monetary benefits, being that they are technically the \u2018owner\u2019 of the system, while the individual customer still has to pay for a system that isn\u2019t actually theirs.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Free\u2019 Panels Aren\u2019t Yours<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"Because both of these types of arrangements \u2013 a lease and a PPA \u2013 involve paying for electricity-generating equipment over a lengthy contract period, those \u2018free\u2019 panels that you were promised may be anything but. Once installed on your home\u2019s roof, you will still end up paying toward an entire system that is leased or rented, for a number of years. In the end, the savings you may reap from the solar generated electricity itself may not be enough to make up for those \u2018free\u2019 panels.<\/p>\n

Be Cautious…Be Patient…No need to act today.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"Many door-to-door solar sales representatives often ask the consumer to make quick, on-the-spot decisions about obtaining solar power for the home. It is not unusual for the homeowner to feel pressured and the need to act immediately.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before signing anything consider the following<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Insist that the salesperson provide paper copies of contracts and documents
\n2.\u00a0 Read every document that requires your signature or initials.
\n3.\u00a0 Get all of your questions answered.
\n4.\u00a0 Get all of the salesperson’s promises in writing.
\n5.\u00a0 Seek advice from a trusted advisor.<\/p>\n

Seek Legal Help<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm experienced in evaluating fraudulent sales tactics, such as forgery, identity theft and unauthorized credit pulls by solar panel salesmen. If you feel as though you may have been scammed<\/a> into leasing a home solar system, Contact Flitter Milz<\/a><\/strong> today for a no-cost consultation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There may be a knock on your door by a friendly solar panel sales representative. You may be informed of the benefits of solar power and that by choosing to get panels for your home they would be ‘free’. Remember the old adage \u2013 \u2018There\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch.\u2019 Free Doesn\u2019t Mean … <\/p>\n

Continue reading Are Solar Panels Really Free? Things To Look Out For During Solar Sales<\/span> →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[47,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions\/2510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.consumerslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}