The honest pros and cons of going solar in 2026
- Panels cost a fraction of what they did a decade ago; a well-priced owned system in a decent sun state pays back in 8 to 12 years and then produces nearly free power for another 15.
- Utility rates have risen roughly 3 to 5 percent a year in most states; a paid-off system is a hedge against that for 25 years.
- A battery gives you backup through outages and, on time-of-use rates, lets you avoid peak pricing. 37 percent of new residential systems in 2025 included one (Berkeley Lab).
- An owned, documented, permitted system can add to resale value; appraisers now have a standard form for it (the Appraisal Institute's Green Addendum).
- Equipment warranties are long and come from the manufacturers: 25 years on most panels and microinverters, 10 or more on batteries.
- The federal 25D tax credit for homeowner-owned systems ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. A proposal still showing 30 percent off is wrong.
- Most states have cut net metering; exported power now earns a fraction of retail, which shrinks savings for systems oversized to "100 percent offset."
- The typical door-to-door deal carries a dealer fee of 15 to 35 percent hidden in the loan, so you finance a quarter more than the system is worth.
- More than 100 installers have failed since 2023; the workmanship warranty dies with them. Six state attorneys general sued solar sellers in 2026.
- Leases and PPAs give you none of the ownership upside and complicate selling the house.
The pattern in both columns is the same: solar rewards owners who buy a correctly sized system at a fair cash-equivalent price from a company that will still exist. Everything below is about getting those three things.
How the rep gets paid, and why it matters to your price
Most door-to-door solar is sold by independent dealers or commission-only reps, not by the company that will put panels on your roof. The installer gives the sales organization a floor price per watt, commonly called the redline (say $2.40 to $3.00 per watt in 2026 for a basic system, varying a lot by market and equipment). Everything the rep can get you to sign above the redline is commission, split between the rep, their manager, and the dealer. A 7.5 kW system sold at $0.60 per watt over the redline is $4,500 of commission on top of the installer's own margin. Reps also earn more on financed deals, because the lender's dealer fee funds a higher commission than a cash sale does.
None of that is dishonest in itself; salespeople get paid. It matters because it tells you where the room is. The redline is the price the installer is content with. The rep's first number is the redline plus whatever they think you will accept. Your job is to find out the redline, or get close to it with a competing cash quote, and to refuse the financing structure that hides the fee.
Calling a company directly vs. buying from the rep at the door
You can skip the door entirely. Installers that take direct inquiries often quote lower than their dealer channel, because there is no dealer commission in the price; some run an in-house sales team with a lower pay structure. The trade-off is that you have to do the shopping yourself.
- Call two or three licensed installers in your area (search your state contractor-license lookup for solar contractors, or ask a neighbor with panels who did their install and whether they would use them again). Ask each for a cash price per watt on a named panel and inverter.
- Ask the rep at the door who the installer is, then call that installer and ask whether they sell direct and at what price. If the direct price is lower, you have your answer; if the rep's company is the installer, ask for their in-house rate.
- Use a marketplace quote as a benchmark, not as the purchase. Online quote sites produce real numbers from competing installers; take the lowest credible cash price per watt into every conversation.
- Do not give your utility login, Social Security number, or a signature to anyone at the door. A real quote can be prepared from a copy of your bill and your address.
Your leverage: how to get the best deal
- Price per watt is the only number to negotiate. Monthly payments hide everything. Divide the cash price by the system's DC watts and compare across quotes. Ask every rep for the cash price in writing before any financing talk.
- Bring your own money. A credit-union loan, a HELOC, or a cash-out refinance has no dealer fee. Even at a higher APR, you usually come out ahead of a "low APR" solar loan carrying a 25 percent fee. The calculator below shows both.
- Ask for the redline. Most reps will not tell you, but asking signals you know how the deal is built and tends to shrink the markup. Say you are comparing to a direct quote at a specific price per watt.
- Size to your usage, not to the roof. Under net billing, every kWh above what you use is sold back at a discount. Ask for a system at 85 to 100 percent of your annual kWh, not 110 or 120.
- Take the equipment you want, not the one on the pitch sheet. Microinverters or a battery-ready string inverter with a 25-year warranty avoid a replacement bill in year 12. Ask for the exact make and model, and the warranty PDF.
- Make permit, final inspection, and PTO conditions of payment. If the lender releases funds on signing, you have lost your leverage before the first panel goes up.
- Make them register the warranties and monitoring to you. It costs them nothing and protects you if they fail.
- Use the calendar. Sales teams have monthly and quarterly targets; the last week of a quarter is when the markup gets thinnest. A real price survives a week; one that "expires tonight" is a commission talking.
- Walk. The rep's leverage is urgency; yours is time. Nothing about solar is urgent. The homeowner tax credit already ended. The deadlines that are still real belong to someone else: the leasing company's December 31, 2027 tax credit deadline (how it works) and utility rate changes such as Duke Energy's December 31, 2026 cutoff in North Carolina and Arizona's yearly September cut. A real deadline can still be used to rush you; check it with the utility, not the rep.
The eight questions that change the price
- What is the cash price, and what is that per watt?
- Who is the installer of record, and what is their state license number?
- Who is the lender, what is the APR, and what is the dealer fee on this loan?
- What production in kWh is this sized to, and what is my annual usage in kWh?
- Exactly which panels, inverter, and battery, and who registers the warranties?
- Is there a payment increase at month 18, and what triggers it?
- What is the roof-penetration warranty, and what happens to it if you close?
- If I pay cash, or bring my own financing, what is the price?
The full list, with the roof, utility, HOA and resale questions, is in the buyer's guide.
The calculator, and exactly what to enter
The calculator asks for six numbers. Everything else is set to a typical U.S. default and sits under "Advanced" with an explanation on each box; change those only if you know your figure is different.
- Average monthly bill and price per kWh: your utility bill. Average the last 12 months; the rate is total charges divided by kWh.
- System size: on the proposal, in kW (often written kW DC), on the same page as the panel count.
- Cash price: ask for it in writing. If the rep only has a monthly payment, enter the amount financed here and leave the dealer-fee default (25 percent, under Advanced) until they give you the real cash price.
- Loan APR and term: the loan disclosure. For a lease or PPA, pick that tab and enter the year-1 payment or the price per kWh instead.
- Battery: switch it on if the proposal includes one, then enter the size (13.5 kWh is the most common) and, if you ask the rep, the battery's share of the price.
- Under Advanced, the one worth checking: annual usage. Add 12 months of kWh from your bills; do not let the rep estimate it. The rest (export credit, degradation, direct-use share, escalators) have defaults that favor neither side.
How to size and configure the system in your favor
- Run the calculator three times: once with the rep's numbers, once with your own annual kWh and your utility's real export rule, and once with a cash or credit-union price. The gap between run one and run three is what the pitch is worth to the seller.
- Watch the month-1 change tile. If you pay more in year 1 than today, the deal depends on future rate increases. That can still be fine for a cash buyer; it is a poor reason to take on a 25-year loan.
- Size down until exported power is small. Under net billing, the best system is often 10 to 15 percent smaller than the one proposed.
- Add the battery only if the battery section says it pays back inside its warranty, or if you are buying it for backup and know that. On full net metering a battery saves almost nothing on the bill; on time-of-use net billing it can be the best part of the system.
- Keep the roof in the math. If your roof has under 10 years left, add the removal and reinstall cost to the maintenance field, or replace the roof first.
- Save your results. Print the page or screenshot the tiles. When the next rep knocks, you already have the number to beat.
Frequently asked questions
Often yes for a cash or low-fee-financed owned system in a state with decent sun and rising rates, usually with a payback of 9 to 13 years instead of 7 to 10. It is rarely worth it through a 25 percent dealer-fee loan under net billing. Run your own numbers above.
Commonly $0.20 to $1.00 per watt above the installer's redline, split with managers and the dealer; $2,000 to $7,000 on a typical home is a reasonable range, more on financed deals. The exact figure depends on the company and is not something you will be told; the point is that it is negotiable because it sits above the installer's floor.
If you can own, own. A lease or PPA with an escalator costs more over 25 years than the system, gives you no asset, and has to be assumed or bought out when you sell. The one case for third-party ownership is a household that cannot use any tax credit and cannot finance at a reasonable rate; even then, compare the 25-year total against a cash quote.
A contract signed at your home carries a federal three-business-day cancellation right under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, and several states give longer. Cancel in writing to the installer and the lender. Details here.
If you are inside the cancellation window, cancel. If not, keep paying, dispute in writing with the lender under the FTC Holder Rule, file with your state attorney general, and tell us what happened; we pass intakes to an independent consumer attorney at no charge.