• 866-787-6527

  • If you’re a San Diegan you've likely heard the radio ads for the San Diego Solar Experience, a series of educational seminars sponsored by a local solar company designed to educate homeowners on solar. While we are firm believers in the educational and informal approach towards solar as that is always how we have done business and our approach has been copied by many. We also believe that gimmicks like this one, designed to reel you in and pressure you into a sit-down with a sales rep are completely unnecessary. The truth is that you don’t need to waste your time in a seminar in order to get educated on your solar options, you just need to speak to someone who really knows what they are talking about, from a company that’s been doing it for 20 years in San Diego.

    The real deception when it comes to these seminars is that they are going to try to convince you that upcoming changes in the industry are going to cause a catastrophic rise in panel prices, and that solar will not be a good deal unless you install immediately. This installing of a false sense of urgency to go solar is the true intention behind these seminars, as at the end of it, they're going to want you to think that if you walk out the door before talking to rep, you are going to be missing out an amazing investment opportunity. These are likely the reasons they will cite for the urgency to go solar:

  • 1. The upcoming "Trump Solar Tariff" is going to make panel prices skyrocket

    They're likely going to tell you that the Suniva and Solar World solar panel tarriff is going to make panel prices go way up, which will make the solar deal not as sweet. The reality is that while the proposed 30% tariff will affect commercial and utility-scale installations, residential installation prices will go largely unaffected or will only see a slight increase. Companies like SunPower have promised to hold prices at current levels for the foreseeable future.

    2. Time of Use Rates will decrease solar payback

    Due to the increase in solar energy in San Diego over the years, the “peak time” for residential energy use has switched from during the day to later in the afternoon when solar panels are creating less energy. Coming soon, the time when buying electricity from SDGE is most expensive will be from 4pm-9pm. Likely, using this point, they will try to convince you that buying a battery for energy storage will increase your ROI, which isn’t necessarily true. Let one of our energy consultants talk you through this.

    3. Tax Credits are expiring

    Luckily, the ITC Solar Tax Credit was preserved in it's former state in the latest version of the GOP Tax Bill. While it's true that the amount credited will decrease in 2020, that is not close enough to warrant the urgency that it has. So if they try to tell you that's a reason to go solar now, they're lying.

    So the question you have to ask yourself is, why should I trust a solar seminar that is sponsored by a solar company? Is everything they are saying true, or are they trying to apply pressure to make you set up an appointment before you walk out the door? They say they are going to teach you about how to choose a solar company, but it's going to be a sales rep telling you who to choose. Definitely not a gimmick right?