Solar Installers Go Bankrupt and Leave Homeowners Stuck
Homeowners are experiencing significant stress and financial burden related to solar panel systems. This includes issues with unreliable installers, escalating lease costs, system failures, company bankruptcies, warranty disputes, and the looming expense of roof replacement impacting panel viability.
SOURCES (60)
“Just got this notice today. I was surprised anything has come of what Mr. Waller has done with PowerHome/Pink Energy. https://www.solarricosettlement.com/ I had my system installed by PowerHome right before covid hit. one of their last installs. I think I got lucky, as my system…”
“Wanting advice on this underlayment. Roofer says replace, my gutter people say it’s fine. In Cali, 33 year old concrete tile roof. The underlayment or roof and solar bill total is a bit much to stomach. submitted by /u/TPHairyPanda [link] [comments]”
“I'm considering buying a house that has solar panels mounted on the house and garage. The roof has seen better days. The seller's disclosure says it's a single layer of asphalt shingle installed in 2013. I'm assuming it's going to cost more than a typical roof replacement because of the panels. Is that right? How much does it increase the cost? Would I also need to hire a solar company to come remove them for the roofers or how does any of that work? submitted by”
“Has anyone got out of a contract with ION? Hopefully this is the right place but I am in need of serious help. Have had the panels for two years now, after being lied to I now regret it. I pay the same for my electric bill and now with a monthly payment of the panels I am at 475 a month just in electric. submitted by /u/sam_tx96 [link] [comments]”
“Has anyone bought solar panels online and have it delivered to your home and has a qualified electrician come and install them on your roof? If so, how much is the rough charge for that being done? Thanks! submitted by /u/Aggressive_Bake_9956 [link] [comments]”
“I've been getting some quotes this week for installing solar panels on our roof. So far I've talked to National Solar and Green Ridge Solar. Honestly, the former outperformed the latter on every single level (# of panels, wattage of panels, estimated energy offset, financing rates from local credit union, AND overall out-of-pocket price) so it feels like a no-brainer but I'm wondering what others' experience has been with either of these companies (good or bad) to help me discern”
“I purchased solar panels from Invaleon, who also installed them a few years ago. My roof recently developed a leak. My roofer cleaned and caulked everything and the roof still leaked. My roofer said the leak was at the solar panel brackets. I reached out to the installer and they sent a team to address the leak. Unfortunately they didn’t fix the leak and are now pushing back, saying they want to send an inspector to assess whether the panel brackets are actually causing the leak. I said we’re no”
“Apologies if this isn’t the right place to ask for a 2nd opinion but I’m about to lose my mind on this and would be grateful for some input. Had some hail damage on the property a couple years ago. Contractor came out, repaired the siding, installed hail resistant shingles, and reinstalled my enphase solar array. 7 months after the reinstall, one of my panels says the micro inverter has stopped reporting. I don’t think too much of it, figure I’ll get it fixed at some point. Another year goes by”
“I've recently been visited by companies that are offering solar panels. The weird part is they are offering them at no cost that could include possible roof replacement. It definitely screams "too good to be true" vibes. The one company today was InifinitySolarUSA. Does anyone have any experience with these companies? Located in Central Pennsylvania. submitted by /u/Intelligent-Help8946 [link] [comments]”
“Inspected this metal roof on the east side of the Big Island, Hawaii, last week. Homeowner says a solar contractor installed a system about 18 months ago and included roughly $10k for a roof service/tune-up before the panels went on. According to the homeowner, they replaced essentially every exposed fastener on the roof. Now there’s significant rust/corrosion developing around a large number of the screw locations. A lot of the screws look pretty obviously overdriven—the washers are heavily com”
“I already have a post up regarding my 5 year old REC Alpha 360AA panels that are under performing. My question is if REC does grant the replacement of the effected panels, does the installer bill the labor to REC to remove the defectives and install the new panels? How does this work? submitted by /u/BillsSolar [link] [comments]”
“Has anyone had any luck utilizing FTC Holder Rule to get money back after a solar company went under? Trying to get warranty repairs but company was aquired...according to FTC liability then falls with lender. submitted by /u/PaleInTexas [link] [comments]”
“Our family home has a roof solar water heater that is now leaking. I haven’t been able to find someone yet who will even come look at it. It was suggested to me to look into tankless water heater. We have PV panels. Idk if I should be calling plumbers or solar companies or what questions I need answered to decide which route to go. Any insight for this clueless mom would be appreciated. submitted by /u/Fun_Emu5746 [link] [comments]”
“Anyone here who has hybrid solar system installed on their home. Kindly share your experience. Have you faced any issues with hybrid inverter so far? Because of 1 - 2 hours powercuts frequently in summer and 5 - 6 hours few times in a month (in peak summer) so opting for hybrid instead of ongrid. Do share your valuable inputs. Hybrid fits best my needs but because it's always working (compared to ongrid that gets rest at night) so worried if hybrid also reliable stable or not. submitte”
“For the last couple of summers our solaredge 7600 inverter and 22 410 W REC panels frequently clipped at 7600 Watts. This year we’re down one panel because the optimizer died and we haven’t replaced it yet, but max output averages about 6500w. I saw a couple of transient spikes into the 7100w range but that’s about it. Any ideas why we’re seeing such a major drop other than weather? BTW Inverter was replaced about 20 months ago under warranty Edit: 405W not 410W submitted by /u/DownA”
“Hi HN, Shawn here. My rooftop system lost about half a year of production and nobody told me. Not the installer, not the monitoring app, not the utility. I found out from an electric bill that made no sense, then spent weeks digging through the monitoring portal by hand.SunRanker is what I wished existed that day. Connect a system once (Enphase OAuth, or a SolarEdge site ID plus API key) and it reads production daily, shows it in plain language, and emails you when something actually changes. Th”
“Just had a sales rep come out the other day and not sure I’m sold. They’re going to replace our very badly damaged garage roof, cut down a line of dead trees behind it and say they absorb the cost. Federal grants apparently make up the difference. It’s a lease for 25 years and the maximum it will go up is 2.99% every year or two I think. I know electric is going up 15% this year. I’m not sure this is completely legit and the Google reviews are 5.0 which I think is suspect. I tend to be extremely”
“My house and roof are 20 years old. The previous homeowner had a company install the solar panels 13 years ago (there are 24 panels total). For 1 year, there has been a leak under the panels and water is staining my living room ceiling. After each heavy rain, new water stains appear in the same area. The area is around 24 inches in length. The solar installer has attempted to fix the roof leak four times in the last year and they can’t fix it. They are also very difficult to work with. I had an”
“Hello, I’m in the process of aggregating quotes on a residential solar and battery system. one question I’m not quite clear on is the importance of the warranty. right I’d ask the folks here about what their warranty experience has been like. Have you had warranty issues? if yes, how old is/was your system when the issues occurred. And did the warranty cover what you expected? I’ve gotten quotes from a few places with low prices but I’m thinking their warranty coverage and quality will be lackin”
“For those who have had a solar system for 3–10 years: Was it worth the investment overall? Did your electricity savings match the original estimates? What unexpected maintenance or repair costs have you had? If you were buying a system today, what would you do differently? Are there any brands or installers you’d recommend avoiding? I’m looking for honest experiences the good, the bad, and the things you wish you knew before signing the contract submitted by /u/Beginning_State_422 [l”
“About three weeks ago a row of five panels on my roof stopped working. I contacted the installer Nova Solar a Virginia company and they still have not scheduled a service visit. Is this typical for solar panel or inverter repair issues? My panels were installed about 6 years ago and this is the first time I’ve had problems but I’m concerned about the apparent lack of customer service motivation that I’m seeing. submitted by /u/National_Media_8911 [link] [comments]”
“Just wondering how other contractors are doing in so cal right now has your business bounced back from the nem3 changes or have you completely left the industry 🤔 submitted by /u/Tortfarmer951 [link] [comments]”
“My contractor used a 3rd party to remove my solar panels instead of going with the solar panel provider. My insurance approved the request. The panels were left in my backyard and I noticed one of the panels was broken/shattered. I let my contractor know. Should I also let my solar panel company know? I have yet to pay the remainder of the balance for the roof and panel re-install, i just want to make sure I cover my ground. For context, the panels are being leased. submitted by /u/T”
“Just looking for advice on what to do. I got my roof replaced and my contracter opted to use a third party solar panel remover instead of SunRun. My insurance approved the request. When they removed the panels they were placed in my backyard and one of them looks shattered. I let my contractor know about the issue. Should I reach out to SunRun to let them know about the damage? How can I cover my ground? The roofing has been completed and we're just waiting on the panels to go back on. I hav”
“Not sure if this is the right community to post in but wanted to get input and advice. We fell on some hard times and had to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, the solar panels were a part of the chapter 7 and discharged in Bankruptcy the panels are still working but with Sunrun I believe they have remote access and can turn them off when they want. I actually like the panels it covers our entire electricity bill so wanted to see what the best way is to handle offering a buyout with Sunrun and how muc”
“So I’m on my second roof leak under my solar panels (that were already installed/paid off before I moved in) so I’m getting a few detached and reinstalled for the repair. The company I went with is a few hours away but the website says they serve my area so I do the consult and everything goes well. They ask how I want to coordinate and I say I can connect the dots with the roofing company. Fast forward the next day (at night on the weekend) they’re like “I need to meet and talk with them to ens”
“Earlier this year, I made a post about my parent's Solar Install. TL;DR - Parents install Solar in 2023 w/ Freedom Forever Solar in Southern California. - FFS never coordinated with Edison on Solar install which meant they were exporting and not using. - Parents reached out to them in 2025 over roof leaks. Difficult to get a hold of support and no action was taken. - I got involved end of Dec 2025 and put myself as a contact on their account. Coordinated site visit to investigate roof leaks”
“Solar system installed without batteries 4 years ago. Electrical panel is 25 years old. Noticed a buzzing sound from electrical panel when microwave runs. Not sure if panel can be repaired or needs replacement. Reached out to original installer, but they will not do just an electrical panel repair/replacement. They will only do an electrical panel repair/replacement when combined with adding batteries or installing an EV charger. If my electrical panel is repaired/replaced by a second company, w”
“We are about to pull the trigger on a solar system for our home through a fairly young business but they have really solid reviews and the customer service has been great so far and they will be installing 19 REC panels and Enphase inverters. Price is good and all that. My wife and I had our shingles redone 7 years ago and are paranoid about something bad happening to our roof due to installation. Our home was built in the 50s and we live in Los Angeles but when they came out to inspect the roof”
“The installation was not smooth at all the discom city regulations also made it a nightmare 17 panel setup top con 620 -625 wp Solis white labeled string inverter HDGI structure south side 18 degree tilt Making about 5.1 kWh/kw/day Cloudy days right now so little less production Please tell if any questions or suggestions I am kind off new but have learnt alot from this sub so thanks everyone submitted by /u/arron_stone [link] [comments]”
“Hi everyone, I'm looking for guidance from anyone in New York (especially NYC) who has dealt with a residential solar contract dispute. Earlier this year, a solar salesperson came to our home. We made it clear that we were interested in learning about solar and possibly moving forward in the future, but we were not ready to commit to a project that day. The salesperson then had us go through an electronic signing process. Our understanding at the time was that we were completing preliminary”
“Howdy! I live in an apartment complex in Northern California. My whole complex just recently got solar panels installed by a company called Sunrun and I was very apprehensive about being forced into this. I guess the landlord and/or housing company got some kind of tax incentive to do this. We have PG&E for an energy provider and lately our bills have been as low as $50, since we qualify for the Energy Assistance Program and simply stay within the Tier 1 energy usage. We also just don't”
“Im trying to find resources for Central California (Madera) customer who was majorly screwed by solar and financing companies. Had a call in for customer who got scammed by installer (Swift Energy CLSB 812746) who built the system but never got the permit finaled, or system commissioned or interconnected (was supposed to be NEM 2.0) System was financed through Mosaic (now defunct/BK) and loan servicing taken over by SolarServicing. Paying >400/mo for 20 years for a 11ishkW system (over 100K)”
“I bought a house and it has Sun Power solar panels installed. The panels were not fully paid off by the previous owner. My understanding is that SunPower went bankrupt in 2024 (the year I bought the house). But I see that they are owned by SunPower Inc. With this being the case, can the solar panels be used at all? If I can get the new SunPower Inc to re-activate them, would I need to pay the rest of the loan on them from the previous owner? If it helps at all, I was able to log into SunStrong C”
“I’m an electrical contractor currently putting my solar system back together after taking it off to get my roof redone. Unfortunately, a storm blew one of my panels over and shattered it so i need a replacement or something that will at least work. My panels say “max series fuse of 20” (first pic) and the only panels i can find have a max series rating of 15 (second pic). They are in groups of 7 and 6 panels per run. Can I use these 15s as a replacement? Not familiar with calculations for solar.”
“Back in 2022 we had solar panels installed on our roof by Lumio. $64k loan paid over the course of 25 years. They work fine, definitely don’t produce as well as they advertised, but whatever. Unfortunately Lumio went out of business, and Goodleap took over the loan. Now we’re trying to sell our house and move, but we still have $58k remaining on the loan. Our real estate agent says that the loan will hinder our ability to sell, as the panels are definitely not worth that much. We need options to”
“Hi, I am in the bayarea and single story house has 15 solarvpanels on thevroof. For reroofing, panels need to be taken down and reinstalled post roofing work. Two solar contractor said they use different mounting techniques. Uses Qbase composition mount Quickmount HUG from ironridge. Which one is better for the end customer not the installer in terms of leak proof and structurally? Can someone please advise? Thank you! submitted by /u/No_Gur5958 [link] [comments]”
“Question for the estimators out there. If you have a structural panel that is being repaired, do you charge structural time? Or are you only charging structural time when replacing panels? submitted by /u/TheGtr32 [link] [comments]”
“I’ve been in the solar industry for 7 years. I’ve seen systems that perform exactly as promised and systems that produce almost nothing while the homeowner is still stuck with a $400+ electric bill and their solar payment. Lately there’s been a clear pattern: big-name installers (Freedom Forever, Titan Solar Power, and others) are shutting down or going bankrupt, leaving customers with systems still in permitting, half-installed, or never turned on. If that’s you, here’s the most practical first”
“Hi, I have 15 300w solar panels on the roof of a single floor house in the bay area installed by Semper Solaris. Panels are 7 years old and for reroofing I have contacted the orginal installation conpany Semper Solaris but they said they don’t offer any service of taking down and reinstalling of panels to customers unless someone is buying their roofing package ( meaning they will install the roof and panel work). They have asked to contact third party installer since I am not getting roof throu”
“So... I'm kind of new to all this. I have a 4 acre property in Washington and am wanting to get some info on buying a solar system for it... There's no HOA or other similar obstacles..... I have a few questions for the group: 1) I have heard a lot about scammy companies that promise cheap install costs but you don't actually own the hardware (rather lease it from the installer) and they keep some or all of the financial return.... How do I avoid this? Are there any recommended contra”
“I am trying to work with Signature Solar to get a set of stamped plans to submit to by utility and municipality to start a grid-tied EG4 system install. I clearly provided the municipal codes we need to build the system to, including links to my AHJ's online code listing. The first set of plans were for the incorrect code versions, and after several rounds of me having to proof and correct them on listed codes and references they send over this absolute gem of a solar label. Where do you thi”
“I'm in need of solar panels to offset electricity charges, but I'm honestly so terrified of being swindled by a bad company. I just had a call with Sunergy and everything sounded great, but then I saw threads with horrible experiences with them. What company have you had a good experience with in Southern California and how long did the process take? submitted by /u/Impossible_Banana [link] [comments]”
“My system is about 7 years old, I need a new roof. I originally signed up under vivint, I've read on the internet sunrun doesnt honor the $500 the sales guy told me would be the uninstall reinstall price. Before I call SunRun, I wanted to arm myself with any strategies or approaches others have taken. Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/ThompsonsTeeth [link] [comments]”
“Hello, we purchased a home in April that had an existing solar panel set up. I know the solar is paid off. However, I received a DocuSign from Carbon Solutions group that is for transferring the SREC. It looks like I have two options to either do a five-year extension of the contract for free or pay a 25/kw AC transfer fee which is roughly $166. Can anyone explain to me what these two options mean? I am new to solar and am really unsure which option I should be selecting. Thanks! submitted”
“Over the last couple months I've received several text messages from "Top Tier Solar" claiming to be working on behalf of the manufacturers and installers of my gear wanting to set up a time for their people to inspect my setup to ensure that it's working properly. Not true. Yesterday, my installer sent an email to their customers warning them that the latest escalation of this scam is for Top Tier to claim that the installer had gone out of business and that they were offering”
“Looking for something that can latch onto the panel frame without damaging the cells, that can be pulled up with a rope. Open to any suggestions but not trying to spend a fortune either submitted by /u/shreddiee [link] [comments]”
“Hello, I am interested in getting solar installed on our home. According to project sunroof, we have a good roof with a lot of sun and space. I would say this is true, our roof gets sun constantly with no trees near enough to block the roof. We have one tree close by that is a foot or so above the roof. I attached pictures to the post. Please let me know if project sunroof is not a reliable source. Our roof is brand new as of 2025, so I am not worried about that. Our most recent electric bill wa”
“I recently had my solar panel install expanded to include several more panels. As part of this, several optimizers failed upon reinstall, which are SolarEdge optimizers. My installer opened several cases and after three months (I've seen the cases opened) have not had any resolution with SolarEdge. Doing some digging, it seems that this is a pretty common issue. I considered going to small claims in our local county to get these replaced, but with how common an issue it is, I've been won”
“We already had 6kW of solar, but most of it was being produced while the house was empty. By the time everyone got home, the solar had gone out to the grid and we were back to buying power. The 4-9pm window was the painful part. AC, dinner, laundry, usual family stuff. We were pulling around 8-10kWh from the grid most weekdays during that window, at roughly 58c/kWh. Added Anker Solix E10 with two batteries at the end of February. Nothing else about the setup changed. The extra solar goes into th”
“hi there, i was a victim of edison solar llc in texas living in louisiana and im at my whits end. i am unable to contact the solar panel company, the contractor and the loan company wont do anything. i cant find a lawyer and cant afford 5k up front for a lawyer. does anyone know of anyone that can help? the texas ag and the lousiana AG have been useless. submitted by /u/mrsthebeatles81 [link] [comments]”
“About half of my 17 panels have the silver strips fading in the center. They’ve been installed for about a year. Production numbers are about 1-2 kWh (daily) lower this year. Los Angeles. Is this normal? submitted by /u/According_Bag4272 [link] [comments]”
“I got my solar system installed yesterday. They used REC Alpha Pure RX 460 panels. I got up on the roof to check it out. It probably annoys the crew but I was building my own system before hiring it out so I knew enough to check up on things and ask specific questions. Anyways, I got up on the roof and I see boot prints all over the panels, smudges from knees and hands all over and all across the panels. Some boot prints are right in the center of the panels lol-like not even trying to be carefu”
“Hi all. Been struggling with deciding on a pathway to take, as I’ve bought my first house (Modesto, CA, built 1977), and it unfortunately needs a new roof. I have two choices to make, and could use the opinions of those of you with solar and PG&E experience in this sub. My budget is extremely tight, if I’m being honest, so even an extra hundred bucks a month is going to hurt (cup noodle dinners, anyone?) My 12 month average for energy & gas with PG&E is around $300… the 3 heavy summe”