Yes, Solar Power Can Save You Thousands Of Dollars. Yes, There Are Some Rooftop Solar Scams Out There.

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Last Updated on: 25th March 2025, 08:25 pm

I spent a lot of time at the dentist in the past week and a half. (It’s a long story.) At one point, I was talking to the dental hygienist who was cleaning my teeth, and we got to the topic of rooftop solar power. She said she considered it (briefly) at one point because rooftop solar installers kept coming to her house trying to convince her to go solar, but she didn’t know if she could trust them and didn’t feel comfortable moving forward with them. She really didn’t buy the pitch that she could save thousands of dollars by going solar.

A few months ago, a college friend of mine who doesn’t follow cleantech news but knows well what I do brought up to me that there was news of a rooftop solar scammer in the Jacksonville region where he lived.

More than a decade ago, we did a lot of solar power cost analyses for states around the US. Routinely, under all sorts of scenarios, homeowners would end up saving thousands of dollars by going solar. In some ways (for example, getting a loan), they’d save more than in other ways (for example, leasing the system). It depended on various assumptions. However, in general, going solar saved people money — a lot of money — over time. Since then, solar panels have gotten cheaper and grid electricity prices have climbed up. So, I’m sure the situation is still the same — many homeowners can save thousands of dollars by going solar.

Of course, there are thousands of CleanTechnica readers who have rooftop solar systems and can attest to the savings solar power provides.

But, yes, there are some rooftop solar scammers out there. They exist. It’s a very small percentage of rooftop solar companies, but it would be a lie to pretend there aren’t any and there’s nothing to worry about. There are different ways to evaluate and vet rooftop solar companies to make sure you’re not being scammed. In general, though, I would just point people to EnergySage. It’s a good site that has been around for ages that will funnel you to rooftop solar companies you can trust. It has a solid team behind it that has been working hard for more than a decade to help people go solar.

There are other, similar rooftop solar shopping sites out there as well that provide a comparable service. If you have one you prefer, feel free to chime in down in the comments to share.

Or, in much of the country, you can just go to the biggest rooftop solar company in the United States, Sunrun. Sunrun has been installing solar panels on people’s roofs for almost two decades. It was in business when I started working on CleanTechnica in 2009 (I remember that one of our core writers back then did door-to-door solar sales for Sunrun for a while), and the company has done a solid job growing with the solar industry across the last 16 years since then. If you’re main concern is whether to trust the rooftop solar company or not, have no fear, just go with Sunrun. I’m sure they will give you a good sense of how much money you can save over time by putting solar panels on your roof.