I Bought Solar Panels 5 Years Ago. Here’s Why I Regret It.
- Marc Lowe
- Dec 19
- 4 min read
Updated: 12 minutes ago
Five years ago, I made what I thought was a smart, forward-thinking financial decision.
I bought solar panels.
I have heard of people having a great experience with solar panels and I am happy for them.
I had a different experience so far..... but my opinions may change as things progress.
At the time I bought the panels, it felt like a no-brainer. Energy prices were soaring coming out of COVID. Inflation was everywhere. Texas gets an incredible amount of sun. Like many people, I was trying to lock in certainty—control my energy costs and protect my household budget from future price increases.
The Sales Pitch to me was: “Your home will be covered for about 80% of your energy usage. ”Lower bills. Cleaner energy. Long-term savings.
Fast forward five years, and while the panels technically did what they promised, I still regret the decision.
Here’s why.
1. I Didn’t Eliminate My Energy Bill — I Added a Second One
Instead of replacing my electric bill, solar gave me two monthly bills.
A $256 loan payment for the panels
Plus $100–$200 per month in electric charges
The panels were financed at 6% interest, because I purchased them shortly after COVID when rates were already moving higher.
Yes, the system covers roughly 80% of our energy usage—exactly as advertised. But what the analysis didn’t emphasize were all the costs that don’t go away:
Utility service fees
Maintenance and delivery charges
Higher-than-expected usage during peak months
So while solar reduced part of the bill, it never eliminated it. From a cash-flow standpoint, it felt less like a solution and more like an added obligation.
2. In Texas, Unused Energy Credits Don’t Really Carry Forward
Another surprise was how unused energy credits work in Texas.
In lower-usage months, when we produced excess electricity, we couldn’t meaningfully roll those credits forward to future months. There was no seasonal banking of power.
That meant:
Extra production in mild months went unused
High-usage summer months still came with sizable bills
The system worked month-to-month, not year-to-year
Texas has plenty of sun, but the utility rules limit how much homeowners actually benefit from overproduction.
3. Selling Power Back to the Grid Never Materialized
The idea of selling electricity back to the grid sounded great.
In reality, it rarely happened.
The hours when electricity has the most value—between 5 and 9 pm—are the same hours when households are using the most power. Cooking, air conditioning, lights, and everyday life all compete for that energy.
So instead of exporting power, we were consuming it. The result? Very little opportunity to sell excess electricity at meaningful rates.
4. The Tax Credit Helped — But the Math Still Didn’t Work
We did receive the federal solar tax credit, which covered about 25% of the total cost.
That helped.
But even after the credit, we were still left with $38,000 financed at 6% interest. When I look back, that capital could have been deployed in far more flexible ways—or avoided entirely by waiting and paying cash.
5. The Icing on the Cake: The Renter Gets the Benefit, Not Me
And here’s the part that really drives the lesson home.
We eventually decided to rent out the house.
So who gets the benefit of lower energy costs?
Not me.
The renter enjoys the reduced utility bill, while I’m still responsible for the solar loan payment. From a planning perspective, that’s a classic mismatch—I took on the long-term financing risk, and someone else receives the short-term benefit.
That wasn’t part of the original decision framework, but life changes. And when your financial choices aren’t flexible, those changes can turn a “smart” decision into a frustrating one.
The Bigger Lesson
This isn’t an anti-solar post.
It’s a reminder that good intentions don’t guarantee good financial outcomes.
Most regrets around solar don’t come from the technology failing. They come from:
Financing costs being underestimated
Cash flow being misunderstood
Utility rules being glossed over
And life changes not being stress-tested
The same mistakes show up in investing, retirement decisions, and tax planning.
If I had slowed down and evaluated the second- and third-order consequences, I likely would have made a different choice.
That’s the perspective I bring to my work today—helping people think beyond the pitch, beyond the headlines, and into how decisions actually play out over time.
Because the goal isn’t to make decisions that sound smart.
It’s to make decisions that still feel smart five, ten, or twenty years later.
About the Author
Marc Lowe, CFP® is a fee-only fiduciary advisor based in Waterford, CT, helping retirees & business owners make smarter financial decisions.
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