Why Inspect the Solar!
The Stories
These are some stories of Homebuyers who did, and some who did not order a Residential Solar Inspection©.
Fire Avoided
How do you measure the quality and safety of a solar installation? Our client almost moved into a home with an existing extreme fire hazard. Thankfully The Solar Detective was hired to perform their Residential Solar Inspection© prior to the contingencies being removed. This system was repaired by an independent 3rd party and now the buyer can safely move in. Solar inspection avoids A ticking Fire Bomb
Harry's Story
Harry chose not to have a Residential Solar Inspection© to save money.
He saved $295 when he purchased his home. Eleven months later Harry scheduled the solar inspection because he thought his electric bills were too high. The Solar Detective performed the solar inspection, found the problems, recommended the solutions, introduced him to a quality contractor for repairs, which allowed Harry to begin enjoying his beautiful new home. His system had not been functioning for the entire 11 months, Harry could have avoided $3000 of SDGE bills if he had the solar inspection during the contingency period.
Could Have Saved ~ $3000
The Pitch
One of our recent clients, Dan, contacted us after living in his new home for a year. Dan was having issues with the solar system at his new house. It turns out when he was buying this $2+million house, his realtor, who is very accomplished, recommended her solar installer to look at the solar before contingencies were removed. The system on the home is a ground mount consisting of 69 panels with 4 inverters. And this is what he heard; ...This system is too old, it should be completely removed and replaced with current technology.. at a price of close to $100,000.
What did Dan really need? He needed to call The Solar Detective. Dan eventually called The Solar Detective to get a solar inspection from a independent 3rd party that does not perform repairs or installations, avoiding the potential conflict of interest. The Solar Detective let him know that he only needed to replace 2 bad inverters, remove some vegetation and clean the panels. The Solar Detective referred Dan to two companies, that were vetted, who gave him pricing on the best solution. Dan saved $95,000 and has a functioning solar power plant.
In addition to knowing the good guys and the snakes, we'll provide an unbiased assessment during our solar inspection.
Fire Avoided
600 volts on the roof!!!
Everyone is familiar with the dangerous 110 volt outlets in their homes, no one wants to get zapped by that 110 volts. The wire in the photo above is a typical wire that carries 600 volts on the roof of a solar installation. As you can see, when something goes wrong, the energy in the wire can melt the wire quickly. These types of fire hazards could not be more extreme. The Solar Detective discovered the issue during the solar inspection, called it out, made recommendations and referred an independent 3rd party for repairs.
Safety Safety Safety
It's a New system
Does "New" guarantee safety or quality?
Do you think it would be necessary to have a solar inspection on a NEW home, that's listed for more than $15 million, when the solar was installed by a reputable company? This buyer did, and it's a good thing they had a solar inspection. The Solar Detective found multiple structural deficiencies and other issues during the solar inspection that needed to be addressed.
Home Value is irrelevant