ATLANTA — Georgia homeowners say solar panels installed are now damaging their homes.
A Grantville woman says for months she’s been trying to get in touch with the business owner ADT Solar regarding her property damage and increased power bill.
Cori Quick told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln that she went solar to save money but instead, her bills went up.
Now, the panels are damaging her roof after having her solar system for only a year.
[READ: 3 Things To Consider Before You Get Solar Panels]
Lincoln found ADT closed their solar division with no direction regarding who’s over their accounts now.
“I’m disgusted,” Quick said. “One of the biggest promises to us was that we will not have a power bill anymore.”
But Quick said she’s now paying more than $500 a month for power and to finance the nearly $60,000 solar panels.
“What are you paying now?” Lincoln asked Quick.
“$250 to $275, sometimes $300,” Quick said.
“On top of paying for the finance fee?” Lincoln asked.
“Which is $290 every month,” Quick said.
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Wanting to do her part for the environment and condense bills, she hired SunPro Solar. She said the company sold her a dream.
“She was a great liar. She was a really good liar,” Quick said.
But instead of Quick’s bills going down, she said they actually went up and now the panels are causing damage to her home.
“All of the siding is coming off,” Quick said showing Lincoln the damage to her home. “This is where the water damage is starting.”
She said the company has since gone dark and hasn’t responded to any emails or phone calls.
“At this point, I don’t know what else to do,” Quick said.
Lincoln called SunPro Solar and found the company was bought by ADT Solar in 2022. Earlier this year, ADT Solar announced they were closing their solar division.
“This is a disaster,” Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard said.
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Howard said in most cases, warranties from home improvement projects vanish with the initial developer.
“This is a terrible problem. It’s no different than if somebody did a renovation to your kitchen and it wasn’t working right, and that contractor just vanishes. That warranty they gave you on the work becomes worthless,” Howard said.
Howard said in Quick’s case, if her bills haven’t decreased that could indicate a faulty solar panel system.
“What I recommend in this situation is they need to hire a respected software company to come in and make sure that the system is actually working,” Howard said.
And because the panels are being financed, Howard said faulty doesn’t mean Quick won’t have to stop paying for her purchase.
“The obligation on the loan that’s there, you can’t fix that. So, what you have to fix is that you’re getting the power that you thought you paid for, that you probably aren’t getting,” Howard said.
The Georgia Solar Energy Association, an advocacy nonprofit, said homeowners should avoid companies with marketing gimmicks.
In Quick’s case, she said it was a $1,000 referral incentive.
“I’m at a standstill. What am I going to do with the side of my house? What am I going to do about my power bill?” Quick said.
Lincoln has emailed ADT regarding who or what company is now over Quick’s account. So far, they have not responded.
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