By Megan Johnson
September 11, 2025
In neighborhoods across America, salespeople walking door-to-door selling solar panels are almost a dime a dozen. For some Massachusetts homeowners, the option to go solar is a welcome one, considering that skyrocketing monthly energy bills could drive any Bay State resident into the fetal position.
But with the tremendous expansion of the residential solar industry in the last decade comes the unfortunate downside: The US Department of the Treasury said consumer complaints about solar companies are increasing, citing issues ranging from predatory sales tactics to false statements about loans and tax credits. That leaves prospective home buyers in the challenging position of figuring out what exactly they’re getting themselves into when the home they fall in love with happens to already have solar panels on top of it.
Kate Ziegler, a realtor with Arborview Realty in Boston, has seen both ends of the spectrum. She said environmentally sensitive buyers are particularly interested in homes with solar panels, but that only hits the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their reasoning.
“The type of buyers that are really keen on solar panels are the type who are thinking of upgrading their oil heat to heat pumps and their boilers to on-demand water heaters. They’re the type of buyers who are thinking of electric car chargers. It’s about efficiency in terms of utility usage. They’re thinking of upgrading their electrical capacity to meet that higher demand,” Ziegler explained. “On the other hand, some buyers are completely overwhelmed with the premise.”
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