Solar installation question

[gcode]

A co worker had solar panels installed on her house 6 years ago.
She purchased the installation and paid for it with a 15 year loan.

She recently noticed that her power bills are triple what they used to be
and called the power company who told her the solar panels are not working.
The company that installed the panels is no longer in business.

What are her options?
She's called a couple of companies to get them to check her system
but they are not interested.

I had a similar experience, but it worked out really well for me.
I leased from Solar City, a division of Tesla.
Solar City went bankrupt and Tesla assumed my lease and responsibility for maintenance.
I had two Solar City inverters fail and Tesla replaced them with one more modern Tesla
inverter. My system produces twice the power it used to.
My total cost for power this year will be under $2K

I don't think my co-worker has many options.
About all she can do is try and find a solar company that would be willing
to come out and do a service call... and that could cost thousands.

Does anyone have any ideas or advice



 

[RobertELee]

I don't think much can be done. I knew a guy who had a couple wind turbines installed and the same thing happened, 20 years later the turbines are likely still 50 feet in the air and hasn't spun a single revolution because the bearings are toast. My in-laws neighbor are likely in the same boat with three turbines on his roof that don't spin.

Unless these companies have been in business for more than a few years they are all fly-by-night and should be considered questionable. They swoop in, gobble up the customers, install cheap shit, then once warranty issues start popping up they close down, and start another company under a different name. I'm sure if you researched hard enough you could find the owners new business.

[gcode]

They screwed solar up here in Cali
I got my system in 2015 and I'm grandfathered into the old laws and rates.

A couple of years ago the power companies got the rules changed.
They said they weren't getting enough $$$ from solar installations to pay for infrastructure maintenance.
Under the new laws and rates, getting solar installed does not make economic sense and the solar business
has fallen off a cliff.
The small solar companies are all gone cause there is no work. Nobody is buying solar anymore.
Even the crooks can't close up and reopen under a new name because there is no work.
They still do solar installs on new construction, cause that's the law.
Those installs are built into the price of the home and I suspect the new owners are walking with a limp
after they discover how hard they got fucked over their shiny new solar panels.

[riverhunter]

same here.  grandfathered in to nema II.  a lot of people are in the same boat as there was a boom for solar 10+ years ago and many of them have since folded. Some of the companies in my area that went under came back as service companies only.  check craigslist and you will probably find someone like that.  they don't have a store front or fancy business name anymore, but there are still really good people out there that can help.

[CNCAppsJames]

A co worker had solar panels installed on her house 6 years ago.
She purchased the installation and paid for it with a 15 year loan.

She recently noticed that her power bills are triple what they used to be
and called the power company who told her the solar panels are not working.
The company that installed the panels is no longer in business.

What are her options?
She's called a couple of companies to get them to check her system
but they are not interested.

Who makes the inverters? I'd look into it from that angle. She probably will not be able to get away from paying for labor, but the warranty on the components themselves should be covered under the factory warranty.

I would contact the loan provider too. See if they have any suggestions. They probably will not, but it never hurts to ask.

When we got our system we went with Semper Solaris. We probably paid more than if we would have went with a fly-by-night but these guys were one of two company out of 8 that we had quote us systems that was 100% truthful about exactly how the rebate worked. I knew before-hand... it was a test. 6 out of 8 companies failed. In legal matters never ask a question you don't already know the answer to.

The panels were SunPower as were the inverters. Semper Solaris and SunPower parted ways and Semper went with Tesla. SunPower was terrible to deal with. However, once they got their stuff together, Semper Solaris came out and replaced the inverters. Took 9 months to get them replaced. 100% SunPower's fault. To their credit, they did send me a check for ~$1,500 because of diminished power generation.

Solar is a racket. In The People's Republik of Kommieforniastan it's a necessary racket for many because power has just become absurdly expensive.

[Newbeeee™]

What are her options?
She's called a couple of companies to get them to check her system
but they are not interested.

Look out for anyone locally working doing an installation or repair, and ask them to take a look on a Saturday morning for cash?
 

[gcode]

Solar is a racket. In The People's Republik of Kommieforniastan it's a necessary racket for many because power has just become absurdly expensive.

Yes it is a racket.
I saw it coming and got solar installed in 2015 and it has worked out very well for me.
It is partly luck though.

I didn't have $25K cash when I got it installed and didn't what to take on a $25K loan.
One paper, buying was a better way to go that leasing, but I went with the lease.
That turned out to be a really good decision.

Solar City went bankrupt a few years ago.... and Tesla took over my lease.
My converters failed in 2022. It took about 6 months but Tesla installed a new one at no charge.
My power output is now double what it used to be.


The Tesla service guy told me Solar City converters had a life expectancy of 5 years
and I was lucky to get 7.
Had I owned my system, I'd have been left high and dry, looking at a massive repair bill
if I could find someone to do the work.

My 2022 summer power bill was brutal, but now I'm paying about $2K/year for power.
I know people who own big 2 story McMansions with 2 AC units paying $2K+ a month for power.

They changed the rules in 2023 and solar no longer makes sense here in Cali.
The rule change has decimated the solar business here.
 
Most of the small operators are gone. I think something similar has happened in Nevada.

 

[Jeff]

You couldn't pay me to live in Cali.

[Newbeeee™]

You couldn't pay me to live in Cali.

10 mill a month wage with unlimited spending budget?

[CNCAppsJames]

You couldn't pay me to live in Cali.

Me either. 

[Elmer Fudd]

You can take He/Him/It out if Cali but.................BYU! 

[mkd]

talking with a 1500 sq ft shop owner in the Bay Area, if he ran his Multus 24/5 his electric bill would be ~5K/mo.
 He's working on a $70,000 solar install