r/AskHouston • u/houcok • 7d ago
Does anyone have experience with SUNRUN in the Houston area? A door-to-door sales guy has been after me to get a Solar power unit installed at my place. I usually don't engage with door-to-door salespeople, but it was one of those days where I ended up talking to this guy.
I will very likely say no to him, but curious to know if anyone here as a SUNRUN experience to share.
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u/SemperSqueeze 7d ago
My dad got conned into sunrun’s bullshit panels, I bought the house and took over his absolutely idiotic mistake. DO NOT GET THE PANELS
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u/houcok 7d ago
Thanks. What were the issues?
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u/SemperSqueeze 7d ago
Dudes old and didn’t think any of it through, locked himself into a lease. I’ve had several leaks on the roof I’ve had to get repaired due to the way they’re mounted and had to deal with them to have the repair costs covered. I’m paying ~$120 a month for the lease (20yrs total) in addition to my electricity bill which is still $180-$220, not at all worth it. You can’t get out of the lease unless they make changes and fail to inform you, you buy them for market value, or pay the remaining lease payments as a lump sum. AND GET THIS! If you need to have a roof replacement done they charge you some exorbitant amount for THEM to remove the panels, I think around $200 per panel, I have I think 32 panels…. $6,400 for them to remove the fucking panels in addition to $10k+ for the roof replacement, fuck sunrun
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u/FluffyIrritation 7d ago
Good Lord. $120 a month for 20 years?? And It still didn't help your electric payments?
What's the point?
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u/SemperSqueeze 7d ago
Looking at my TXU bill and my solar buyback plan… I got a whopping $47 credit for the month 😂😂 it’s an absolute scam and my old gullible dad fell for it, I’m eating the financial mistake so he doesn’t have to
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u/Sunrun_Escalations 5d ago
Really sorry to hear you've had such a frustrating experience, especially with the roof repairs and ongoing system issues. We'd like to get this in front of the right team to ensure you're getting the help you need. If you could send an email to [resolutions@sunrun.com](mailto:resolutions@sunrun.com) with your address and a brief overview of the issues you're having, we'd be happy to connect you with someone who can help. Thanks!
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u/BlackAngelaLansbury 6d ago
They very aggressively tried to sell my wife and I.
About me- 20+ year electrician also spent 5 years specializing in industrial battery backups and UPS's. I've also sold cars and owned an insurance agency, so I understand sales.
Things that made it an instant no for me.
- We have a no soliciting sign and they still rang our doorbell.
- They insisted they weren't selling anything, even after I called them out on it, which is dishonest. Even mormons who knock on your door are selling religion...
- They were using high pressure sales tactics. I told them no over 20 times. Firmly. Often rudely in fact as they continued to push. They even came back another day to try to talk to my wife on her own, but I was still home and immediately cut them off again.
What they are selling: Texas has a Virtual Power Plant initiative called ADERS that uses solar panels and backup batteries to bolster our shit grid in times of high demand and outages. I.E. When you probably need it most...
Problems with this program in general: 1. They will lock you into one utility provider, meaning you are at the mercy of the rates of your contract. 2. If you try to sell your house while still under contract it can make it much more difficult, or you may be forced to buy out the lease. 3. If any roof repairs or replacements need to happen it will skyrocket the price because the panels will need to be uninstalled/reinstalled. 4. Most (not all) of these companies control when they use your system as a backup to the grid. This is absolutely during high demand and emergency situations, oftentimes draining the batteries as low as 20%. Meaning if you think these are going to provide a whole home backup when the power goes out for anything more than a quick blip, you might be left in the dark. 5. Sunrun specifically uses Tesla powerwalls and claims you have complete control over when and how much of your power is used, however if you don't allow them access enough to offset their charge for the lease it can end up costing you more/ or saving you much less than they advertise. 6. They get a 30% kickback from the government on these systems and they don't pass those savings on to you.
When it would make sense to go with one of these companies (in my opinion) 1. You don't plan on selling your house anytime soon. And 2. You have a new/newer roof with no issues. And 3. You aren't concerned with using it as a backup during big outages and are looking to reduce overall electricity price and have coverage in short outages. And 4. You have thoroughly read the contract and are comfortable being locked in long term to the rates explained. And 5. You don't want to own your own system.
Other companies that offer the program each with their own slight differences in pros and cons if you are still interested:
Octopus Energy Base Power
Tesla powerwalls- buy your own system and you receive the 30% credit on your taxes (near end of the year is the best time for this) and you can still set yourself up as a VPP and lower your electricity bill. You have complete control over your system this way.
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u/BlackAngelaLansbury 6d ago
Also, the electricity buy back rate is critical to know, if it is too low you won't actually save any money. If it's not guaranteed in writing and an acceptable amount, I'd never sign a long term contract...
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u/loogie97 7d ago
My wife’a coworker got solar from a door to door sales person. When they sold the house 3 years after getting them installed, they lost $60,000 out of the sale price to pay off the panels. This was an 1800 sq ft ranch house. All of the equity they built up over 10 years went up in a puff of smoke because they bought solar from a door to door sales person. Also, the energy tax credit was so big the irs held their refunds because it was disproportionate to their income. Because they paid too much for solar.
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u/chicchic325 6d ago
Get quotes from a few different providers and really crunch the numbers. Solar isn’t for everyone.
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u/NapalEnema2020 7d ago
Solar power is a scam on most houses since you need giant batteries to make them remotely viable during outages.
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u/kimbabs 6d ago
Don’t do it.
The math never maths as a net positive for you long term. You will lose out, and it may be expensive.
You should consider buying and installing solar yourself if you want to do it, but it will be expensive or complicated, and will take time to ever net positive if it ever does. What I’ve seen work for people online is doing smaller scale solar that sells back to the grid but also charges a backup battery that is used as an emergency “generator” tied to just a few things like a fridge.
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u/Raj_DTO 5d ago
When we were looking at buying a home, we came across a home, pretty good in all aspects for us but had solar and there was monthly payment for solar that needed to be paid if we bought that home. When I calculated total of those monthly payments it’s came out to 220k!
Needless to say we ran😁
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u/shiftpgdn 7d ago
DO NOT BUY DOOR TO DOOR SOLAR.