ANAMOSA, Iowa (KCRG) – For those in the market for solar to power their homes, scams and offers that seem too good to be true might cause issues for their pocketbooks.
Solar customer Luke Salmon has seen this firsthand. He got a system set up at his home just across the Mississippi in western Illinois and checked the tracking app to see how much he was saving.
When the power bill was high one month, he learned that his system hadn’t been working. He then found out the company had closed its doors.
“I had water getting into one of the electrical boxes and that shorted out some things because they installed it wrong,” said Salmon. “Basically, out of my 50 or 60 panels, only four were reporting.“
Salmon then began working with ECG Solar, which has been installing solar energy systems for nearly 20 years.
President Jason Gideon said as other companies pop up and then close, people have been turning to ECG.
“Right now, we’re dealing with hundreds of abandoned customers,” said Gideon.
This year marked the end of the 30% residential solar tax credit.
He said one of his now customers recently worked with another company which said they could still receive that credit – by paying a fee to set up an LLC at the home address.
“That is a big farce. That’s a big scam,” he said. “They’re glad to take $3,000 of your money. That’s their fee to set this up for you to supposedly get these tax credits.“
Aside from scam-like behavior, Gideon said he has seen businesses which don’t disclose all aspects of their deals or share misinformation. He noted deals with low interest rates – but high “dealer fees.”
“Those dealer fees, depending on the terms and some other conditions, can range anywhere between 12% to all the way up to 38%. So that is added onto the cost of the loan,” said Gideon.
He said there are also customers choosing the lease route who don’t know that the solar company won’t pay for removal when they re-do their roof – which will cost thousands extra.
Salmon said it’s a good idea to chat with neighbors who’ve installed solar before at their homes or businesses.
“The more and more we get into it, it just seems like this is pretty common practice where a fly-by-night company comes in, installs them and then just closes up shop and then there’s nobody to help with support when something fails,” said Salmon.
Gideon also recommended researching North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners certification, different system sizes and battery options. Prospective solar customers can also check out resources like Alliant Energy or ECG’s educational and calculator pages.
“I just always want to tell people just to slow down, take their time,” said Gideon. “Don’t get trapped with this door-to-door scenario and high-pressure sales techniques trying to close right there at the dining room table.“
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