The Hidden Downsides of Solar Panels

Let’s face it, you’re not going to live in that new home forever..or even for another 10 years. When you’re ready to pack up and start a new journey, your solar panel loan must be paid in full at closing (by YOU) if the buyer isn’t taking over the monthly payments, which isn’t often the case. 

The loan can only be transferred to the new owner if the upfront credit was applied to the panel loan. If you decide to use that credit for anything other than the solar panels, the contract states that the loan must then be paid off by the original owner and cannot  be transferred to the new owner of the home. I’ve seen far too many people shocked that renovating their kitchen with that money wasn’t the right move. Ultimately, they end up unexpectedly stuck paying back a huge loan in order to sell their home. 

In fact, you actually end up spending so much more. While the cost of each individual solar panel is only around $200, it takes decades to pay off this enormous loan because of the installation costs and hidden fees…but I’ll dig deeper into that in reason #3.

I myself know how smart and well-trained solar panel salesmen are. Just like a car salesman, they have endless tricks up their sleeves to combat your purchasing reservations. They’ll tell you that your power company will pay you to use solar power and that you’ll save tons of money by not having to pay an electric bill every month. 

Sure, your current $100-$200 electric bill will now be about $60, but your monthly payment on your panels will be anywhere from $200 and up. So instead of just paying your usual power bill, you’ve added a large lien on your home (in addition to that reduced power bill).

If you’ve been told solar panels only cost a few thousand dollars to power an entire home, you've been told wrong. Tier 3 solar panels start around $12,000 but are likely to be poor quality, defective, and need to be replaced frequently—costing you more money over time. Tier 1 solar panels will cost you between $40,000-$60,000 including the panels, installment costs, and monthly fees. 

Maybe the tax break from solar panels will make it worth it? Let me stop you there. 

This is only true if you own the panels, meaning you paid in full for them up front, which is not realistic for most people. Also, you have to be approved to use the solar tax credit, and the law changes every year. Some other considerations: 

-Your system must be installed on specific dates of the year.

-The percentage you’re able to write off fluctuates.

-The law could be eradicated in just a few months.

Now you’re stuck with thousands of dollars in debt—only benefiting the solar panel company that you purchased from, not you at all. 

It’s great to be green, but not at the expense of your green. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret… solar panels are NOT earth friendly. The media continually tries to convince us that solar plays a huge role in fighting climate change, but  they  leave out important details about what happens behind the scenes (and it ain’t pretty).

From child labor, to material scarcity, to chemical leaching, solar panels are nothing but bad news for the environment. There’s no way to dispose of these colossal sheets of electronic waste when you're done with them, so they pile up at landfills. Solar panels contain some of the most toxic materials, like lead, that leach out as they break down causing extreme environmental hazards. If you truly care about the planet, there’s great ways to protect it, but installing solar isn’t one of them.