San Diego Solar Rebates: Are They Real?

You’ve probably seen the ads. They read like: “San Diego Solar Program” or “San Diego Solar Rebates”, or “No-cost solar Program in San Diego”. If you’ve been in the market for solar, they’ve likely shown up in your Facebook feed, as banner ads, everywhere you go on the internet. These types of programs seem official, so as a consumer, you may ask yourself: are these types of solar rebates in San Diego real?  The truth is, that no “San Diego Solar Rebates” exist, and the claims that there are such rebates and programs are false. They are typically marketing scams meant to collect your information by lead generation companies, that then sell your info to solar companies for compensation. What Government Solar Programs Actually Exist The Federal Solar Tax Credit There are just a few ways that a government agency will give you some money back when you buy solar, which makes solar even more affordable. The main one is the 30% Federal Solar Tax Credit, which is the main government incentive for installing solar, where if you install solar, you can receive a tax credit worth 30% of the cost of your solar installation. Unfortunately, that Tax Credit is phasing out after this year, by 4% over the next three years before it goes away completely for residential installations in three years. It will stay around at 10% for commercial installations. California Solar Initiatives (CSI) There are a number of solar initiatives through the state of California that are available to low-income households. Specifically, there is the SASH program that provides upfront rebates for single-family, low income homes to help more low income families go solar. The program was scheduled to be sunsetted in 2015, but was recently extended to 2021. The program, which is executed by Grid Alternatives, has already installed systems on over 5,200 homes in California.  Another solar initiative at play in California is the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) program, which provides incentives to offset the initial cost of installing solar on multi tenant housing projects in California. Since its inception it aided in completing 358 solar projects throughout the state, equaling out to around 23.6 megawatts of electricity. Unfortunately, the funds allocated through this program for SDG&E are exhausted, but still exist for PGE and SCE territories. So those are the only programs that exist: you have the 30% Federal Solar Tax Credit, and you have the California Solar Initiatives, and that’s it. No other programs exist, and no other are planned for the future. There is the California mandate that every new home built after 2020 must have solar, but other than that, there are no city specific solar programs or rebates, and any advertisement that claims to have a signup for such a program is false. Deceptive Advertising So now that you know what the actual rebates are in California, you can spot the often used deceptive advertising used in solar marketing. Many ads that you see on Facebook, or in banner ads on websites, will often be designed and worded to look like they are paid for by the government. The ad will say something like: “San Diego Solar Rebates Expiring Soon: Claim Yours Today”. Often times, the landing page or website itself will be designed in a way that makes it look like an official government website - or some form of awareness program. This often leads consumers to believe that they are signing up for something that is an actual government program - when in reality they are likely submitting their information to a solar lead generation company that will distribute their information to several solar companies in exchange for money.  Let’s look at some examples of these kinds of ads and landing pages to see what techniques they are using to lure people in.  “2019 Zero Down Solar Program” This is deceptive with its use of the word “program”. This implies that it is a government funded or instituted program, when no such program exists. Zero down solar is a common way that solar companies finance systems, where the customer does not have to pay anything upfront when financing the system.  “2019 $0 Solar Program” Similar instance here. This goes even further though, implying that the solar literally costs $0.  “Solar Program Finder” Again, this emphasis on “program” makes it sound like this is a government mandated program - it’s just another way to get you to fill out a form.   Here’s a good example of what some of these ads may look like:The common thread, as you can see, amongst all of these, is that the advertisers’ use language that makes it seem like they are not advertising to you, but they are informing you of a program. While there are certain state programs, as we have explained about the California Solar Initiative, they are mostly only for low income homes, and are in the form of rebates. There is no government zero down solar program, no matter how official the ads look.  Other Warning Signs of a Bad Solar Company Like we said before, it is typically solar lead generation companies that are creating these deceptive ads about fake government solar programs. When they get your information, they will then distribute it out to several companies, who will all bombard you via calls and emails. Often homeowners who submit their information to these types of companies aren’t even aware that it is being distributed, and are often deceived into believing they are signing up for a government program. That’s why it is extremely important to research whatever company you are submitting info to. Here’s a couple of things to look for and validate before submitting information to any solar company or solar “program” Scammy Company Names: Companies with very generic names are typically ones to look out for. “San Diego Solar Company” or “San Diego Solar Program” are examples - you should be skeptical of any company that has an overly generic name. While not always true, it's generally a good indicator that you should at least do more research about the company. Skimpy Social Media Profiles: A good indicator of the legitimacy of a company is their social media presence. If they’ve got little to no followers or posts on their Facebook page, or don’t have one at all, you should probably be skeptical. Skimpy Websites: Before you fill out a form anywhere, make sure you check out the website of the company asking for your information. If it is a one page website that is extremely generic, or you can’t find information about the history of the company or anyone who works there, you should be skeptical. Bad or No Reviews: This is an obvious one, but you should check out Yelp and Google Reviews to make sure that the company is legitimate and doesn’t have a ton of bad reviews. If they’re not on these platforms, or have overly bad reviews, you should probably steer clear.  No other presence online: If you Google the company and they don’t have at least 10 listings on local directory sites, you should be skeptical. Any real and respectful company will have a presence online larger than just their website and social media.  So if you’ve been wondering about advertisements you’ve been seeing regarding “San Diego Solar Programs” or “San Diego Solar Rebates”, know that these are deceptive claims - and that no such programs exist. These are simply ads designed to get your information and distribute it to as many companies as possible. It cannot be stressed enough that, before submitting your information to any company or “program”, that you should do your due diligence and know that you are submitting your information to a real, legitimate company.

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