Honest answers to the questions homeowners actually ask, about money, roofs, batteries, and who to trust. No jargon. No pitch.
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State tax credits, rebates, property exemptions, and SREC programs still available in major markets after the federal expiration.
Total cost, ownership, tax credit eligibility, and who each option is actually right for, honestly compared.
Line-by-line glossary: system size, offset percentage, production guarantee, escalator, dealer fee, and true cost of capital.
NEM 2.0 vs NEM 3.0 determines whether your excess solar earns retail or wholesale rates, which changes the math entirely.
U.S. rates rose about 3% a year from 2005 to 2025 while solar locks in your cost for 25+ years. The financial case and the honest counterpoints.
Zillow and Lawrence Berkeley Lab data: owned solar adds 3 to 4% to sale prices. Leased systems complicate deals. Here's why.
Installed in 2025? You can still claim 30%, on an amended return if needed. Why Section 25D ended nine years early, how the 48E deadline works now, and which state incentives survived.
Your rep said it's free. Here's the honest truth about what solar actually costs, and what incentives are really available.
Start with kWh, not dollars. The usual causes, from higher use to a lease escalator, and how to check each one with your bills and monitoring history.
Owned vs. leased, UCC-1 fixture filings, system age and warranty residue, and the inspection red flags to catch before you close.
VPP programs pay homeowners with batteries to share stored energy during peak demand. The economics deserve a closer look than the marketing gives them.
What a single Powerwall actually covers, and what it won't. How to size for what you actually need vs. what the sales pitch implies.
Most homeowners don't know what "hybrid" means. Covers interconnection, net metering, and why 45% of new home solar now comes with a battery.
NEM 3.0 and time-of-use rates changed the math. What the attachment data shows, and where a battery pays and where it may not yet.
A practical guide to figuring out how much battery storage you actually need, based on your goals, your loads, and your budget.
Most savings estimates ignore EV charging. An EV adds 2,500 to 4,500 kWh annually. Learn the math and why Level 2 charging changes your system design.
A transparent look at Solrova's methodology: Google Solar API for roof analysis, PVWatts for production estimates, and every assumption we make.
Trees, chimneys, neighboring structures, and seasonal sun angles. When shade is a dealbreaker vs. manageable, and how microinverters change the equation.
Why south-facing isn't always the answer. West-facing roofs can outperform south-facing in time-of-use markets like California and Arizona.
From photovoltaic cells to your utility bill: a plain-English walkthrough of the full solar energy loop: panels, inverter, your home, and net metering.
The actual calculation: annual kWh usage ÷ production per panel = system size. Worked example with a real 1,200 kWh/month household and 400W panels.
Warrantied for 25 years, still operating at ~87% by year 25. What causes degradation, and the biggest warranty risk most homeowners don't ask about.
Cold actually improves panel efficiency. Snow causes minor annual losses. The honest picture on winter production in Denver, Chicago, and Boston.
2 to 4 months is normal. The permit-to-system-on sequence, what each stage involves, and when a delay is a red flag vs. expected.
The checklist: permit history, insurance, license verification, references from 5+ year old installs, production guarantee in writing.
What to gather before any rep calls, the full vetting questions for every installer, the design questions that catch bad math, and the seven documents to hold before signing.
Green flags, red flags, and critical questions to evaluate solar installers. Learn to verify licensing, assess financial stability, and choose a company that will still be around in 5 years.
Door-to-door pressure, "today only" pricing, and unlicensed operators pulling permits under a borrowed contractor's license. The red flags, how to verify a rep is legit, and what to do if you've been targeted.
What happens to your warranty, monitoring, and system protection when an installer's operations are disrupted. A step-by-step action guide, with real-world context from the Freedom Forever Chapter 7 liquidation, converted from Chapter 11 on August 7, 2026.
Access your monitoring portal, understand your production data, spot warning signs early, for Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla, and more.
Many states prohibit HOAs from blocking solar outright. What they can restrict, what they can't, and how to push back if you've been denied.
The cancellation windows right after signing, the paths that hold up later, why stopping payment is not an exit, and what to ask a contract-exit company before you pay it.
Your installer's app went dark. A directory of sign-in links plus the claim steps for Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla, SunStrong, SMA, Fronius, Generac, and Solar-Log.
Your installer is gone, but your panels, inverter, and battery still carry manufacturer warranties. Who covers what, and how to file directly.
What licenses to require, what insurance to verify, what NABCEP means, and the red flags that disqualify a contractor on the spot.
Zero production in your app. The 4-step triage: inverter LEDs, breakers, your meter. What's urgent vs. what can wait.
How the court processes differ and what to check about solar warranty coverage, financing obligations and claim notices.
Freedom Forever is in Chapter 7 liquidation, converted from Chapter 11 on August 7, 2026. The court's claims deadline is October 16, 2026. Who services your system now, and how to file a claim.
What happens to your loan, lease, or owned system at closing, the document packet buyers ask for, and how to sell when your original installer is gone.
Your loan is with a lender and your lease is with the third-party owner, so the bill survives the installer. The exceptions worth pursuing, and what to do instead of stopping payment.
What a new servicer can and cannot change, the billing and credit reporting failures that follow a transfer, and the paper trail that protects you.