3 Years With Grid-Tied Solar – The Mistakes I’d Never Make Again

Summary

In this detailed account, the user shares their experience with a professionally installed 12.5 kW solar system, which successfully eliminates their electric bill and generates annual credits. However, they reflect on key regrets, such as the high cost of professional installation, limited control over the system, and challenges related to financing. The user wishes they had opted for a hybrid system, DIY installation, and more flexibility in panel layout and equipment choices. Ultimately, they advise future solar adopters to weigh costs, control, and long-term considerations, especially when financing is involved.

Takeaways

• 🔆 The installed system is 12.5 kW (31 × ~415 W panels) tied to a 10 kW SolarEdge inverter and has produced a zero electric bill since installation.
• 💸 Because of Florida's favorable net-metering, the owner still receives ~$80–$150 back each year for excess generation.
• ⚡ Being grid-tied means the house can draw from the grid when solar output is insufficient and export excess to earn credits.
• 📉 The owner warns that many regions do not offer 1:1 credits — sending power to the grid often pays less than the retail rate.
• 🔧 Professional turnkey installation provided speed, design expertise, warranty support and fast repairs, but came with significant markup and loss of certain controls.
• 🔒 Installer retained administrative control of monitoring, preventing full access to inverter/panel-level data and blocking integration with Home Assistant.
• 🔋 Major regret: not choosing a hybrid inverter / hybrid-ready design that would allow adding batteries later for backup during outages.
• 🧰 The owner would consider acting as general contractor (buying hardware directly and hiring trades) to save cost and keep control over equipment & layout.
• 🏷️ Financing the system created long-term problems for resale — a solar loan reduced perceived home value and replaced a lower electric bill with a fixed loan payment.
• 📐 Panel layout regrets: panels were placed on all roof aspects (including 13 on the north) to hit a zero-bill goal, sacrificing peak efficiency and future expandability.
• 🔁 Warranties and service were praised — installer promptly replaced faulty optimizer/inverter components early on under warranty.
• 🚫 The owner strongly advises against leasing solar panels — calls leases a bad choice compared to ownership.
• 🔍 If doing it again: prefer hybrid/grid-flex hardware (hybrid inverters like GridBoss/FlexBox/other examples) to enable batteries, expandability and better monitoring control.
• 📚 Bottom line: the system performs excellently for cutting bills and convenience, but would be designed differently today to prioritize expandability, monitoring access, efficiency, and resale consequences.

Q & A

What type of solar system did the homeowner install and how well does it perform?

The homeowner installed a professionally installed, grid-tied 12.5 kW solar system. It performs very well, running all household appliances and reducing the electric bill to zero while producing annual excess credit.

How does net metering work in the homeowner’s area (Florida)?

Florida offers true 1:1 net metering, meaning every excess kilowatt-hour exported to the grid earns a full credit. This allowed the homeowner to achieve a zero bill and even receive $100–$150 back annually.

Why does the homeowner say the system layout is not optimal?

Panels were installed on the south, north, east, and west roofs according to the homeowner’s requests, but this resulted in less-efficient placements—such as 13 panels on the north side—reducing overall cost-effectiveness.

What major regret does the homeowner have regarding the inverter choice?

He regrets not choosing a hybrid inverter. His current SolarEdge HD-Wave is grid-tied only, preventing him from easily adding batteries or maintaining power during outages.

What issues does the homeowner face with monitoring and system control?

Because the installer registered the system, the homeowner has only limited customer-level access to monitoring and lacks administrative control. This prevents direct access to detailed panel data and integration with systems like Home Assistant.

Why would the homeowner consider a DIY or partially DIY approach if doing it again?

A DIY or self-contracted approach would reduce markup on hardware and labor, allow choice of equipment such as hybrid inverters, and give the homeowner full administrative control over the system.

What benefit did professional installation provide despite its drawbacks?

Professional installation was fast, convenient, included system design, handled permitting, and provided an excellent warranty with proactive service and free repairs when issues arose.

What financial drawback resulted from financing the solar installation?

Although financing lowered monthly energy-related costs, the loan does not increase home value in the eyes of mortgage lenders and makes selling the house more difficult because the loan becomes a liability.

Why does the homeowner believe leasing solar panels is a bad idea?

He warns against leasing because it complicates home sales, can create long-term financial obligations, and usually provides none of the ownership benefits or incentives.

What would the homeowner do differently if starting over?

He would choose a hybrid inverter, maintain administrative control of the monitoring system, avoid financing, optimize panel placement for efficiency rather than total bill elimination, and potentially manage the project himself.

How does the homeowner feel about warranty vs. system ownership control?

While he values the strong warranty and service responsiveness, he dislikes feeling disconnected from his system due to limited access and control caused by installer-managed registration.

What long-term issue does the homeowner foresee with the system’s loan and lifespan?

By the time the solar loan is fully paid after 25 years, the system may be at or near its life expectancy, meaning the homeowner pays for equipment that may not provide full remaining value.