Solar Equity Solutions was recently featured in America Daily Post, where our COO and VP of Client Services, Josie Garcia, spoke to a trend our team sees every day: homeowners signing solar contracts in 2026 without understanding what those contracts will actually cost them over time.
The article, “Why ‘Cost Shock’ is Becoming a Bigger Issue for Homeowners Considering Solar in 2026,” breaks down three shifts reshaping the residential solar market this year, and why they’re catching consumers off guard.
Read the full article here: America Daily Post
The tax credit is gone, and installation costs reflect it
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit, which had knocked 30% off the cost of a solar system, expired in December 2025. As Garcia explained to America Daily Post, that credit was often central to an installer’s sales pitch. Without it, sticker prices are higher, and some sales reps are still misleading homeowners about deadlines or alternative savings that no longer exist.
Net metering is being replaced by net billing
Many utility companies have moved away from 1-to-1 net metering, where excess solar energy could be traded evenly for energy used at night. Under the newer net billing model, the rate paid for solar energy sent to the grid during the day is lower than the rate charged at night, which means the “free energy” homeowners were promised often isn’t free unless a battery storage system is part of the deal.
PPAs can carry escalating costs that aren’t obvious upfront
Power purchase agreements are frequently pitched as the low-risk way to go solar since homeowners avoid the upfront cost of buying a system. But Garcia points to escalator clauses buried in the fine print, contract terms that raise the monthly rate by 1% to 3% each year, which can double a homeowner’s payment over the life of a long-term agreement.
Red flags worth watching for
Garcia’s comments in the article point to a broader pattern our team sees in the contracts homeowners bring to us. A sales rep who claims the December 2025 tax credit deadline was extended, or that a similar federal grant will make up the difference, should be treated as a warning sign rather than reassurance. The same goes for savings estimates that assume old-style 1-to-1 net metering when your utility has already shifted to net billing. And any lease or PPA that doesn’t clearly spell out whether, and by how much, your monthly payment increases each year deserves a second look before you sign, not after.
None of this means solar is a bad investment. It means the math that made sense in 2021 or 2022 doesn’t automatically apply in 2026, and the burden is on homeowners to ask sharper questions before committing to a 20 or 25-year agreement.
Why this matters
At Solar Equity Solutions, we work with homeowners after they’ve discovered the gap between what a solar contract promised and what it actually delivers. Rising installation costs, changing utility buyback rules, and hidden escalator clauses are exactly the kind of fine print that leads to the contract disputes our clients bring to us. In many of these cases, the homeowner didn’t misunderstand the deal; the deal was never fully explained.
If you signed a solar lease or PPA and the numbers no longer add up, or if a sales rep made promises about savings, tax credits, or buyback rates that didn’t hold up, you may have more options than you think, including cancellation, refunds, or a renegotiated settlement.
Talk to our team about your solar contract. Visit Solar Equity Solutions to learn how we help homeowners cancel unfair solar contracts, pursue refunds and settlements, and protect their financial future.