Solar panels are a great way for homeowners to reduce their energy costs, increase their home value, and lower their carbon footprint.

But every energy source has its drawbacks. Nuclear is expensive, hydroelectric dams disrupt waterways, and fossil fuels are warming the planet faster than life can keep up.

In this article, we’ll explore the negatives of solar energy and things to be aware of before installing solar panels on your roof.

What is the main downside of solar energy?

With solar panel cost falling substantially over time, the main downside to solar energy is that it is intermittent. Solar panels require sunlight to produce energy, and electricity production grinds to a halt when that sunlight isn’t available.

While this isn’t much to worry about for residential solar owners with net metering or battery storage, it poses challenges to grid operators. The mismatch in solar production and peak electricity consumption forms what’s known as the “duck curve.” Or, in solar-heavy markets like California, the “canyon curve.”

Photo courtesy of EPI.

There are two main problems with a steep canyon curve:

1. It can lead to the overproduction and waste of clean solar energy during the day
2. It requires baseload energy sources (like hydro and natural gas) to shutdown during the day and restart at night, which is expensive

How to flatten the duck curve

The primary solutions to this problem are various forms of load shifting and energy storage.

For instance, utilities use time of use rates to encourage homeowners to use more electricity during the day and less in the evening. And in California, the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a new solar billing policy called NEM 3.0 that makes pairing battery storage with solar panels especially beneficial.

While intermittence poses a substantial challenge to grid operators, it’s worth pointing out that solar energy is also cheaper and many times cleaner than fossil fuels. Solar panels are also incredibly versatile and can be used in various applications to increase crop production, reduce water loss, and power off-grid systems.

Next, let’s consider the pros and cons of putting solar panels on your home.

What are 3 cons of using solar panels on your home?

The three major cons of home solar are intermittence, upfront solar panel cost, and the need for storage to provide backup power.

Intermittence

Since solar power is intermittent, most home solar systems are connected to the local utility grid, which stores excess solar electricity produced during the day and provides backup power at night.

Although this is beneficial for residential solar owners (especially with net metering), it contributes to the duck curve that we mentioned above.

The main downside of solar energy is that it needs to be paired with storage or other forms of energy in order to provide a constant source of electricity.

Upfront cost of solar panels

Another con for rooftop solar is that it can be cost prohibitive. Going solar can substantially reduce your energy costs – but only if you have enough cash or good enough credit to qualify for financing.

Even with rising interest rates, financing a solar system is often more affordable than paying for utility electricity. However, you first have to be able to qualify for financing.

You typically need a 650 FICO credit score and a debt-to-income ratio (DTI) below 50% to qualify for a solar loan, which prevents many lower- and middle-income households from being able to buy solar panels.

If you want to go solar in the future, use a solar panel calculator to get a rough estimate of how much it would cost and check your DTI and FICO credit score to see if you qualify for financing. If you don’t, work on improving your credit score and DTI now so you can go solar in the future.

Need battery for backup power

The final con of solar panels is that they need to be paired with battery storage in order to provide backup power during grid outages.

When the grid goes down, solar-only systems are automatically shut off in order to protect the utility workers repairing the grid. But, if you have battery storage, your system stays on and can continue to power your house and charge your battery during the outage.

Solar panel regrets

Every home improvement project is subject to errors, oversights, and scams that can cause buyer’s remorse – and solar is no exception.

The majority of solar regrets fall into two categories:

• Entering a long-term leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs) without fully understanding the contract
• Poor installer performance and/or scams

Leases and PPAs are often advertised as “free solar” in order to lure people into signing a long-term contract that’s far less favorable than purchasing a solar system. These agreements often become troublesome when the homeowner tries to sell the house.

There are also solar owners with buyer’s remorse stemming from shoddy workmanship, customer service, or scams.

The key to avoiding solar panel regret is getting multiple quotes from trusted local installers. Better yet, use a marketplace like solar.com so you have an entire team of people advocating for your project instead of going it alone.

Connect with an Energy Advisor to discuss the pros and cons of solar for your home.

With a mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” Tesla has been a major player in the rooftop solar industry since 2016.

During that time, Tesla has offered a handful of leasing, renting, and financing options to reduce the solar panel cost barrier and increase adoption of its home solar and battery systems. Somewhere along the way, rumors sprung up that the company was offering free solar panels.

In this article, we’ll debunk the myth that homeowners can get free solar and battery equipment from Tesla and explore its origins.

Is Tesla solar free?

There’s no sense in beating around the bush: No, neither Elon Musk nor Tesla are giving away solar products for free,

In fact, it’s pretty easy to pinpoint where this misinformation began. In February 2023, at least two Facebook pages – operating under the names Solar Panel Rate and Adam Andersson – started running ads claiming that Elon Musk and/or Tesla was not only giving away free solar systems, but paying a certain amount of people to install and test new solar technology.

These claims have been debunked by Reuters and Lead Stories, a third-party fact checker for Facebook. Both instances are believed to be schemes for collecting personal information from social media users.

The Solar Panel Rate post mimicked a live breaking news broadcast that claimed Elon Musk was paying 100 homeowners to test free Tesla Home Technology. When clicked, it directed Facebook users to a website where they are asked to input their zip code to see if they qualify.

According to the Facebook transparency report, the Solar Panel Rate page was created in October 2022 and is run by three page managers located in Indonesia. It had, at one time, 31 separate ads featuring the fake news broadcast.

Adam Andersson had several false ads circulating, including a staged “Dox News” broadcast featuring Elon Musk’s face and claims that homeowners are getting paid $2,591 to test solar technology as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

These are not the first or only bogus social media ads for free solar panels, nor will they be the last.

Related reading: How Much Do Tesla Solar Panels Cost?

Solar incentives vs free solar panels

It’s worth noting that the Inflation Reduction Act did strengthen the 30% solar tax credit and other home electrification incentives. However, there is a big difference between incentives that reduce solar panel cost and giving away “free solar panels.”

There are also solar incentives offered through local governments and utility providers that can reduce the cost of solar. However, only a small number of niche programs for low-income and underserved communities cover the cost of solar entirely.

Is the Tesla Powerwall really free?

There’s another myth floating around the internet (especially YouTube) that homeowners can get a free Tesla Powerwall. This too is false: The Powerwall is not free, and neither Elon Musk nor Tesla are giving them away.

However, this myth is based more in reality than the free solar panels scam. That’s because, in the past, Tesla actually has given away free Powerwalls in two different ways.

First, in previous versions of Tesla’s solar panel referral program it would give away one Powerwall per referrer that made 10 or more referrals. This program applies only to Tesla customers that ordered solar panels between July 15, 2020 and September 17, 2021.

Second, Tesla offered free Powerwalls to Solar Roof customers that experienced sudden price increases in 2021 in an attempt to prevent them from canceling their contracts. This was a very niche scenario and, in many cases, the value of the Powerwall was less than the price increase of the Solar Roof.

Finally, it is possible for eligible Californian’s to use the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) rebate to cover part or all of the cost of buying home battery storage, including the Tesla Powerwall.

This rebate is worth up to $1,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery storage installed for homeowners that meet certain criteria, such as living in a Tier 2 or 3 firezone and having a life-threatening condition that requires a qualifying medical device. So, in theory, a 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2 could qualify for a $13,500 rebate which may or may not cover the entire cost of the battery and installation.

Does that mean Tesla is giving away free Powerwalls? No. Because the SGIP rebate applies to many brands of energy storage systems and is distributed through a government program.

The bottom line

As a rule of thumb, Tesla does not give away free products. And if it did, it probably would not recruit random Facebook pages and YouTubers to distribute such promotions.

There countless ads and scams promising free solar panels on the internet, and if you haven’t seen one yet, you certainly will after reading this article.

Some of these scams, like the ones mentioned above, are designed to collect and sell your information. Others twist the truth about government incentives to lure homeowners into signing lengthy solar lease agreements that aren’t as favorable as owning the system.

The best way to avoid free solar scams is to get multiple quotes from solar companies with good standing in your community. By comparing multiple quotes, you’ll get a sense of a fair price and easily be able to weed out scams.