I-Team: He paid them $82,000 for a rooftop solar system that doesn't work

By Randy Travis
Published September 14, 2022
AUBURN, Ga. - Thousands of rooftop solar customers find themselves caught in the middle of a legal dispute over why their expensive power system isn’t working.
The blame game involves one of the country’s biggest installers of home solar energy and the company that provides key equipment.
On one side is Pink Energy, the North Carolina-based marketer and installer currently operating in 16 states including Georgia. Around since 2015, they advertise heavily online and send sales reps to prospective customer homes.
On the other is Generac, a longtime generator manufacturer that now provides some of the key components for the growing industry of rooftop solar.
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[@user-cw2py6wh8l]

If a company's name has "pink," run.

[@dougfredricks2017]

Loss Of Light ie. LOL

[@briangeeesq]

Unfortunately for these customers “Pink Energy” is now officially out of business.

[@eclecticguy7065]

Plenty of solid solar energy companies out there. This is a HUGE investment that is attached to your house. You should get 5 or 6 quotes and research every single company. Ask them: Do you use contractors? Are you installers NABCEP certified? How long have you been in business? What is your employee retention? Are you well capitalized enough to be in business for the next decade? Then go verify if anything they say is true. Lots of resources online to help you, including reviews on various solar sites etc. NEVER go with the first company, esp if they knocked on your door.

[@sbolden123]

It's simple folks. Solar panels are not going to save you any money . Think about it 🤔🤷‍♂️ $82,000 loan to pay for the system over 20 years =$4100 a year/$341 per month. You might as well just pay for the regular energy.

[@spaniardsrmoors6817]

Unbelievable the ignorance. That's not counting the enormous expense if something happens to those panels and/or the roof or just having to replace the roof after it wears out, working around those panels, must add thousands to the cost.

[@eclecticguy7065]

At those prices? No. Pink financially assaulted clients. But there are good companies out there if you do your research. Our electric bill is 20 bucks a month to pay for the grid tie because the company properly sized the system. We pay $200 a month for the system so $220 or about 20 bucks more than we paid for electric before we went solar. Which seems bad until you realize we have now created a fixed cost for electricity while the power companies keep raising rates. 1-2 annual rate increases and we break even. A few rate increases after that? It's all gravy. As for "repairs"? The panels are rated to be more durable that roof shingles so they actually protect our roof from damage (and heat..it's cooler in the summer now under their shade). Everything is warrantied for 20 years and the company is well-ran so I expect them to be there maintaining it if we have any bumps free of charge.

[@spaniardsrmoors6817]

@@eclecticguy7065 I hate to tell you BUT the roof shingle 20-30 year warranties are a SCAM. Those "30 year" shingles are toast after just half of that and I speak from experience. On my home I replaced the concrete tiles of the previous owner after 15 years but they had been installed at least that long prior. My 30 year shingles lasted about 16 years but with problems starting already a few years prior. 20 years later and multiple hurricanes, tropical storms, my clay tiles are still intact. Good luck with that 20 year warranty and if that company is still around. And remember, that only includes replacement of the panels, and check if the cost is PRO RATED the labor which is the bulk of the cost of replacement, will be at your expense.

[@covertpuppytwo3857]

hmmmm.... I installed solar on my house. Went with SunPower. I contracted with them to put enough solar panels on my house to cover my electric which also includes heat-pumps and my plug-in hybrid car. I'm paying $180 a month (25 years) for the panels plus $20 a month to my electric company to stay within the grid. That's $200 a month for electric, fuel for my car and much of the heat for my house during the Winter. Without the solar panels, I would be paying well in excess of $500 a month and even higher in the Winter when using the heat pumps. So, I have no clue why you believe solar panels aren't going to save you money. My solar setup comes with a 25-year warranty... I'm already saving much $$$$$$... and my electric company (Central Hudson) has already raised their rates TWICE since I began going solar... and those cost increases don't affect me at all.

[@scottshingleton7659]

@@covertpuppytwo3857 Same here, if done right they not only save money but give you independence. I also have a grid tied system in my backyard, my house is all electric with a wood stove for primary heat. The ideal situation is to have a battery large enough to store the banked power which I plan to do eventually.

[@grantwilcox330]

Rob Wolcheck in Fox 2 Detroit covered this as well. Matter of fact they shut down their business in Michigan and Ohio.

[@ForkLiftCertified]

Now the the CEO of pink energy is now in the hall of shame

[@drummertroy]

Rob Rules

[@joeysworldsewer]

​@@ForkLiftCertifiedyou're in The HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL of Shame 😂😂😂😂😂

[@joeysworldsewer]

​@@drummertroyRob is the 🐐

[@PrunyDJ]

that guy got absolutely mugged. 16 modules, around 8 kWp system, shouldn't cost more than 10k USD.

[@galenrog]

The problem, in my opinion, is Pink Solar using installers who are unfamiliar with electrical codes in the various States, and ignorant of how these systems should be installed. The electrical contractor I used for over 20 years told me to NEVER use a solar installation company for these reasons. His company has been actively training electricians through their apprenticeship program to properly work with roofers, structural engineers, and other construction professionals to do the job right the first time, typically at less than half of what companies such as Pink Solar charge. Another tidbit that was offered was this: if you need a loan to put is on, you probably can not afford the maintenance that will inevitably come through time. Time for more coffee.

[@ipissed]

The guy you use told you to never hire anyone else? This reminds me of the time I pulled up to a McDonalds and they told me I should go over to Burger King because they have better food.

[@galenrog]

I was never told not to hire anyone else. Many time, for small projects, and a few larger, I had other electrical contractors on my short list should my preferred contractor be unavailable. When I find reliable, competent contractors, I stick with them.

[@Boycott_Wendys]

Solar systems work much better when you have a dc system in your home. But you lose alot changing from dc to ac for the entire home, using multiple small batteries and inverters saves lots of energy

[@ryzen397]

it makes your home look like garbage too with those panels on the roof. 82 grand........ you got scammed man. You could have paid your electricity bill for many many years.

[@zesolodar]

yep, if you need backup power so badly go buy a genrac generator and have it installed. i know plenty of people with generac products and they work just fine. but yea these guys are nothing but scammers. go watch the hall of shame story from rob wolcheck in detriot to see how many people they screw and what their sales tactics are. they told one guy they provide all the power for ford field and then ford field came out and said they provide under 5 percent of it. i actually had one of these sales people show up at my door. after they gave me a quote i asked them the justify that costs considering i pay georgia power a fixed power rate which i could pay for 15 years before the cost made sense. whats also funny is they tried selling me the entire you can sell power back to the grid which they used falsely in detroit. guy got real quit when i told him i knew someone who was a higher up at southern company and asked if i called him and asked this would he confirm this. dude turned and walked away. but you know what they say there is a sucker born every minute

[@BM934]

This guy does not want to be a hold responsible because he’s terrified about the consequences that’s coming to him. He’s just blaming it on a different company trying to sugarcoat things I don’t believe a single word of that guys mouth. he screwed all those customers

[@magicmegan4290]

It’s narcissism: shifting blame, not taking responsibility, money driven, taking advantage of others for personal gain, cult-like structure, manipulation, etc

[@jordangray9793]

Rob Wolchek from Fox2 did a story of this same thing... Interviewed this CEO dude too

[@ForkLiftCertified]

“And your in the Hall of Shame”

[@insertnamehere9154]

Designed to save customers money on electricity bill and it still ends up costing u $82K up-front 🥴 make it make sense. (I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.)

[@10PercentForTheBigGuy]

How much you selling the bridge for?

[@816928]

It actually cost more than 82 Grand. This dummy financed the boondoggle. Look how many people do this stupid stuff.

[@MISTAKEWASMADE4live]

As for the investment, I have to say, hiring an private company to install solar panels for you is straight up foolish, Pink Energy overcharged Mr.Daniel several magnitudes over the actual price, just from looking at their work on his house, the whole cost was only worth about 30K at most and that's an extremely generous contract. The problem is you have people that know nothing about technology, like rich guy Mr.Daniels here that wants to get in on the business because it's hip and the future without doing any research. Had Mr.Daniels done his research, he would have known that no solar panels, even in a 35 year lifespan would make up for that kinda money, and that the work that was done on his roof, he could have done it himself for a fraction of the cost, I could have done it for less then 15K, and with 30K I could easily make my house fully independent from the energy grid, but rich guy Mr.Daniels doesn't do his research because he is old and rich thus lazy, so he lets some random company who clearly sized him up and knew he could pay more, and overcharged him for a product that doesn't even work. The technology is real though and very good if used right.

[@816928]

@@MISTAKEWASMADE4live The average person isn't going to install DIY. The tax incentive the Guv't gives you is simply added onto the final bill of sail just like on all these EV cars. The tech might be worth it if you can self install and you never have a tornado or hurricane or a hail storm but barring that it is a stupid investment that probably will never return the initial purchase price especially when you finance the stupid thing.

[@Tonyinmemphis]

30 yrs payoff battery may fail in 5-10yr time to replace

[@jamesbond007colt45]

You could have used that to pay the light bill for 20 years plus...actuality paid more in interest payments..

[@AndrewLarson-mq7xc]

This dude is stealing our money in the first place. Old folks living, on a golf course for 15k a month x4 =60k a month! Could care less if his solar works or not.

[@jed3443]

My goodness

[@brandonmoskos9149]

Waller needs to be in prison.

[@bmorris8276]

guess whats NOT on my roof top, guess what I DONT have missing from my bank account? Nuff said

[@JWParkerPhDDDiv]

Makes me glad we did a deal with SolarCity (Tesla Solar) because we only expected a minor reduction that they promised and ours actually works. Go with established companies and not the start ups for this kind of thing.

[@David-pg5yv]

From my understand there all startups

[@JWParkerPhDDDiv]

@@David-pg5yv not at this stage.

[@covertpuppytwo3857]

@@David-pg5yv SunPower is not a startup, they are a proprietary system, and they do the installation themselves. Their panel/systems are rated as one of if not the best system and they come with a 25-year warranty. They are by far not the cheapest. However, everything they promised me in my contract has been spot-on. Couldn't be happier with their system. One of the best investments I have made on my home.

[@someguy3717]

​@@JWParkerPhDDDivyou mean the company that used faked products during their showings and used tesla funds to stop solar city from going bankrupt due to his brother's bad business practices? That one?

[@someguy3717]

​@@JWParkerPhDDDivthe problem here is the false claims and overpromising these companies do. They'll tell you anything to get you to sign a contract. When, in reality, most people use more electricity than they can produce, alot of cites make you tie into city electric so you cant even operate off grid, and the actual life time of the products and maintenance is drastically shorter than most loan terms for initial installation. This, among other things, makes it not financially sound advice for most people to do it or even be able to afford it. You're just shilling some Tesla crap because you are a fan boy of elon musk. You inserting a random solar company is just that.

[@mikerock8177]

It will if it's done right going green is smart two of my friends have solar on their house have zero electric bill most of the year

[@wb1340]

BTW, an A+ rating with the BBB is meaningless. Customers signed with pink energy, not generac. Even if the parts are defective this is pink energy's problem to resolve. It should not be telling customers to contact generac. Pink Energy will probably just go away and the owner will either retire with the company's profits or start up a new company and do the same thing. Do you research before you sign.

[@kenfulkerson9567]

Its not just non working systems, shoddy installation caused damage to my home and they are refusing to payout insurance money till the Bankruptcy is settled. Issue now is the system is not installed nor is it working and we are being hounded by Goodleap for payment of what is in open violation of the power home solar contract.

[@jordanhenshaw]

I don't work on solar, but parts like that don't just burn up for no reason. Why are they overamping? Probably improper installation. Did the Pink Energy installers read the manufacturer's documentation on how to install? Probably not.

[@wb1340]

Hold up. At 3:50 the video states customers discovered they had committed to a 20 year solar loan. This is the customer's fault. READ THE CONTRACT before you sign it. Have an attorney review the contract before you sign it. Don't cry foul when you realize there is something in the contract you do not like AFTER you already signed.

[@joelma1109]

Classic blame game here.

[@willcamp6319]

Pink Energy needs to be audited

[@kojackMintz]

Ohh, I wonder where all the money went? I have my suspicions.

[@MickC2167]

Bad luck Pink Solar, you supplied and installed the product, and you need to fix it. When you buy a faulty product you take it back to the shop you got it from, you don't have to deal with the manufacturer. Plus, only sixteen panels with three batteries, you must be kidding. The panels look like normal residential size, so the system would be around 6 - 7 kW. For the $80k price you'd have to be looking at 30+kWh of storage to go along with it (or being seriously overcharged for less). Even in warmer months he's going to be lucky to have enough solar to run the home all day and fill up the batteries for use at night. In cooler months he'll have no hope. Another Solar company selling as much as they can without any care about whether it will benefit the customer.

[@jxpence9092]

No one talks about service repair costs...these parts dont last 20 years...consider replacement costs

[@antoinettenovella1630]

How about he, Jason Waller, take responsibility for his mistakes. He claims on his podcasts that he is accountable, and self-aware etc. Not seeing this being illustrated in real life terms.

[@kojackMintz]

LOL, Take responsibility? Are you silly? No one does that now-a-days. Get with the times. That's why everything is corrupt. The police, the government, Amazon, Facebook, The G word, The President and former presidents, corporate america in general. I could go on for hours.

[@andrewmorales5325]

Wow

[@doublek5583]

So why did they stop using solar edge equipment and switching to generac,, pink energy shut my system down

[@michaelsmiley15]

Pink solar used generac for there solar panels Generac warranty's all there solar equipment All pink solar customers with generac systems should contact generac about warranty issues So now pink solar is blaming generac Ok

[@nightmareinaction629]

With 16k you can get a really good system by yourself with batteriesb

[@victorreece9256]

a lot of money with 200% mark up.

[@brotherlogicrmf2199]

You mean to tell me pink energy went on every one of these rooftops and discovered faulty mechanical parts? I highly doubt it. You can tell that to a person that doesn't know how work solar panels easily.

[@stonewall381]

Ain't that the company that call that bk dude theN word .. Pink energy is going out bad and business...

[@10PercentForTheBigGuy]

How long does it take to pay that $$$ back, even if it did work? What's this dudes power bill, $500? That's 14 years. Panels and batteries degrade over time, so they might not even make it that long. What a scam, all around.

[@MISTAKEWASMADE4live]

Solar panels last about 25 under most warranties without losing significant generation. As for the investment, I have to say, hiring an private company to install solar panels for you is straight up foolish, Pink Energy overcharged Mr.Daniel several magnitudes over the actual price, just from looking at their work on his house, the whole cost was only worth about 30K at most and that's an extremely generous contract. The problem is you have people that know nothing about technology, like rich guy Mr.Daniels here that wants to get in on the business because it's hip and the future without doing any research. Had Mr.Daniels done his research, he would have known that no solar panels, even in a 35 year lifespan would make up for that kinda money, and that the work that was done on his roof, he could have done it himself for a fraction of the cost, I could have done it for less then 15K, and with 30K I could easily make my house fully independent from the energy grid, but rich guy Mr.Daniels doesn't do his research because he is old and rich thus lazy, so he lets some random company who clearly sized him up and knew he could pay more, and overcharged him for a product that doesn't even work. The technology is real though and very good if used right.

[@mrbogard1]

I figured they didn't know the equipment they were installing and sells didn't know what they were selling. MY SYSTEM FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS HAS NEVER WORKED...AS IM SITTING HERE IN THE DARK FROM A STORM.

[@joeysworldsewer]

Damn bro I pray you recover from this scam. Pink Energy has screwed over everyone in the country and slightly tarnished solar's image. I keep seeing so many scam solar ads on KZbin too. I wouldn't go with anyone but SunRun, Tesla or doing a DIY system using an Anker solar backup system

[@rlmiller007]

Florida has the story

[@MrBobochow]

No kidding they don’t work, before buying a solar system, talk with someone competent at your local power utility.

[@iuyozx]

Going into debt to save money. What a great idea

[@Tonyinmemphis]

$50,000 Profit. I have 6kw and battery less than $10,000. This is 7 yr payoff

[@ryzen397]

This would be like if your brand new Supra's engine broke and then Toyota said well the engine was made by BMW you deal with them!

[@Harem__King]

Jeez 85 grand dude could’ve had a brand new roof from Teslas solar tile roof and with their Tesla power walls. Go with Tesla if you want high quality made in America idk 🤷‍♂️ why ppl go with ccp made 💩.

[@idkidk8278]

I don't know how BUT you go get your money back! You find one way or another or another or a combination of things to get your 82 thousand dollars back from Pink Energy. Of course don't injure or murder anyone. you could Sue them/Lawsuits or maybe somehow there's a way that you can have their assets repossessed. Ya know for the Eighty-Two Thousand Doll Hairs they owe you. Oh, they will PAY Is what I SAY I'm gonna get My mon-AY

[@ScottyPimpinATL]

This is the plot from say anything

[@cylekicksurass]

Wheres rob wolchek

[@siakiroberts9478]

Blah blah blah. Try to blame Generac and yet, they’re the ones that came to my house and sell me the system.

[@johnsousa6708]

Fact guys a scammer

[@fyou4641]

16 panels for 82k damn thats 5125$ per panel someone is ripped of even if it would work you can get 16 panel sets here for less than 5k$ a panel should cost 250-350$ not 5k

[@covertpuppytwo3857]

I agree that the overall cost is way too high... but that cost also includes more than just the panels. You need to include the inverter, Channels for the solar, installation, etc... But I say again... looking at their setup... they were overcharged for that setup.

[@MyAb111]

Textbook scam.

[@27Killermike]

Thats dumb lol

[@jonkrispeterson6678]

So glad I used Tesla.

[@MISTAKEWASMADE4live]

Tesla is ok their Powerwall is really their big item you want, but the best play is to just buy your own solar panels and install em yourself. Tesla overcharges for their service and can take a super long time. Their panels are good but not that much better, the Powerwall is the only item they have that is truly top tier and a must.

[@jonkrispeterson6678]

@@MISTAKEWASMADE4live Installing panels on a concrete tile roof in 85 degree weather isn’t in my wheelhouse. Plus, they took care of all the permits, and contacting power company. At the time I purchased, you couldn’t buy powerwall without buying their panels and installation. I have no qualms about having Tesla handle the whole thing.

[@MISTAKEWASMADE4live]

@@jonkrispeterson6678 Oh yeah, that's right, they used to bundle them up that was very problematic.

[@Gfysimpletons]

Ha Ha

[@phillysauto4724]

So where are generac engineers .

[@billionairefaith1]

This is why pink energy is out of businesses now. Sad they give our industry a bad name as well ridiculous 😕

[@TONIOFSFV]

They will never work until the correct windmill is installed to power the solar panels .

[@C.P.C3719]

Never buy any new technology.

[@buckeyeg4888]

It would take me a hundred years to use enough energy at cost to equal those panels cost, fools

[@joeysworldsewer]

You guys should call up my boy Rob Wolchek from Fox 2 in Detroit!

[@monicaghuman3388]

Get Chinese solar better and cheaper