Drew Dixon
When adding solar panels to Florida homes and businesses, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is cautioning homeowners in the Sunshine State to watch out for hidden catches and complications.
In an announcement, Patronis acknowledged the spike in companies and private residents adding solar panels to their roofs to take advantage of generating energy from Florida’s intense sunlight. But Patronis said there are increasing challenges that are now associated with adding the panels to buildings.
“Buyer beware when looking into solar panels for your home or business. We’ve all seen the dramatic increase in residential solar panel sales throughout Florida, and I believe that there are some serious red flags that consumers need to be leery of including impacts to insurance costs, pushy sales tactics, and cheaply made products imported from China,” Patronis said in a prepared statement.
Installation of solar panels have increased more than 1,000% in the past five years, and Patronis said that has opened many consumers up to hidden costs and other snags they simply weren’t informed about.
One of the biggest catches is many property insurance companies won’t cover the solar panels as part of their coverage. Sometimes the installation of the panels compromises the integrity of the roof structure of buildings.
“In the Florida market, there are only certain insurance companies that cover homes with solar panels, limiting the options of these households right off the bat. Reports show that these homeowners could also see higher premiums over time, due to a need for specialized coverage, or for the replacement of a solar panel because they are outside and are more vulnerable to the elements,” Patronis said.
He added that the weight of the solar panels that are installed could cause structural damage to the roof and could pose complications if a homeowner decides to sell their house.
Patronis provided a list of tips for anyone considering solar panels or who may already have had them installed:
— Do insurance research: Get multiple property insurance quotes to ensure the solar panels are insurable when installed on your roof and research what the impact to your premiums will be. Will they replace them in the event of a hurricane or natural disaster? Will you be liable if the panels come loose in a storm and damage someone’s property? These are the questions you need to ask.
— Is this product right for your roof? Most panels are installed on roofs. Ensure your home can support the installation and the wear and tear over time.
— Don’t fall for sales pitches: Just with any purchase, be suspicious of door-to-door salesmen promising big discounts or free offers. The Better Business Bureau has received numerous reports of solar panel scams promising big deals and free roofs.
— What if you sell your home? If you are financing your solar panels, you may be on the hook for the full price if you sell your home. Read the fine print and understand your obligations when you sell your home or business.
42 comments
Joe
May 1, 2024 at 1:18 pm
This anti-solar propaganda brought to you by Big Energy corporate lobbyists. Patronis has been the industry’s bought-and-paid shill for at least a decade.
Chuck Richards
May 2, 2024 at 10:48 am
Everything the guy said is 100% true. If you disagree, please provide point by point disagreement and facts to back up your disagreement. Otherwise, please keep your liberal tactics of name calling when you have no real argument to yourself.
Anthony
May 2, 2024 at 3:41 pm
Clearly you don’t understand the force/damage that solar panels can cause to a roof during a hurricane. Go ahead and cover your roof, but don’t come crying when your homeowners insurance premium goes sky high and expecting everyone else in Florida to bail you out when your roof gets ripped off.
Michael K
May 1, 2024 at 1:23 pm
What an idiot. Florida could lead the nation in solar-generated power – but the Republicans are financially beholden to big oil.
My insurance did NOT go up when I put solar panels on a new roof. The panels paid for themselves and became a selling point when I sold the house – something to do my $12 monthly electric bills.
Dave Saitta
May 1, 2024 at 8:42 pm
Bravo – yep, this is just another SHILL Article to Pad the Political Pockets of our “CFO,” as his Best Interest is with Big Electric – Big Insurance, and more.. .
This guy is a sham, and Prop will eventually get caught laundering money or taking bribes and more.
His last comments during the St Augustine Tornado were Legally Incorrect, Shady, and just pathetic!
FYI – to the anti-door knockers, hey, last I heard, you can’t take your Roof to the store to get it fixed; most homeowners never go on their roofs and wouldn’t know what to look for if they did, and that’s triple for solar education or sales.
PS You’re welcome to the free inspection and education about how you’re being Ra@@d by Big Electric…
Keep paying your Power Bills like a good little SHEEP.
Chuck Richards
May 2, 2024 at 10:50 am
Your insurance did not go up? OK, what insurance are your using? I have researched this and found that insurance companies either do not insure panels or will significantly increase your rates. So please, tell us all who you are using so that we can all benefit.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 8:03 am
Hey Mikey, still waiting on that “fantasy” insurance company you claim to be with that does not raise rates for solar panels. Just as I thought, nothing. You are alike all the other liberals that call names and make things up to try to support a weak argument.
Bill Pollard
May 1, 2024 at 6:15 pm
Never buy anything this expensive from someone selling door-to-door. Many or most of these door-to-door solar sales people will tell you anything to sell panels. I’ve been told twice that they are actually free. I know better than that. Research and go to reputable companies.
Dave Saitta
May 1, 2024 at 8:44 pm
This article is pathetic, and so is Our CFO.
Can you say Pockets of #BigInsurance #BigEnergy?
What a pessimistic approach to “products from China” (hey, dumb a-, 95% of the crap at Walmart is from China!) LMAO.
Chuck Richards
May 2, 2024 at 10:56 am
Please list insurance companies that will cover solar panels without a significant increase in rates?
rick whitaker
May 2, 2024 at 5:15 pm
CHUCK RICHARDS, i know your kind, you pretend that you are a person capable of discussion, but is not. with guys like you, it’s a trick to even try. the progressives are trying to transfer over to newer and better ways of doing things. the regressives ( gop ) are trying to keep the status quo. the insurance industry you seem to be calling on to help you, helps no-one unless they make money. honesty and fairness are two words i don’t think of when i hear insurance co. most people know that when the pile of money is big enough, it is always a target to profiteers. profiteers will spend big money to disguise their devious acts. lobbyist and ” contributions to politicians” are only 2 ways they use.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 7:41 am
Thanks Rick for telling me what kind of person I am. Frankly, you have no idea who I am. You have made clear who you are, a “progressive” which is code of communist/socialist. Yes, the insurance companies, like all companies, what to make money. There is nothing wrong with that. It is competition and free market that will wet the price. Its people like you that think everything should be “fair” and/or “free”. We live in a free market, which has made this nation the most powerful, and prosperous nation that has ever existed. Progressives don’t like that, they think it can be better if the government controls everything and tells companies what they can and can’t charge. Your little communist plan has been tried in history and fails every time. So please, don’t try to fool anyone into thinking progressives are offering some new, great plan. It’s an old, and failed argument. BTW, I’m still waiting for your actual argument that shows were Patronis is wrong in what he says.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 8:29 am
I too was moderated. I guess they feel your communist ears can’t stand the truth. Oh well, I will not waste time arguing with someone who supports some historically failed system (communism/socialism) all while enjoying the freedom of this terrible capitalist society. Do us all a favor and move to Cuba already.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 9:38 am
I too was moderated. I guess they feel your communist ears can’t stand the truth. Oh well, I will not waste time arguing with someone who supports some historically failed system (communism/social-ism) all while enjoying the freedom of this terrible capitalist society. Have a great day.
rick whitaker
May 3, 2024 at 9:59 am
CHUCK, comparing now and the past, doesn’t always work. every democratic and every socialistic country is different. socialism gets better and more useful with every year that passes. the uber greed of the past can’t endure. you are convinced that you are right, so go out and make some money, that will make you happy.
rick whitaker
May 2, 2024 at 5:17 pm
CHUCK RICHARDS, i mentioned the word lobbyist, and my post got moderated.
Kenneth L Gallaher
May 2, 2024 at 11:02 am
Big Fossil/Big tobacco professional liars.
Chuck Richards
May 2, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Please, point out the lies and explain why they are lies. Or do you just drop in and do your usual liberal name calling and then go back to watching the View?
JD
May 2, 2024 at 12:47 pm
I hate to ever agree with Patronis, but he’s actually right on some of these aspects and I can speak from personal experience.
So Jimmy, we very much appreciate the PSA / Education. Why not get a colleague to sponsor legislation further regulating the insurance companies to cover the panels, create some type of energy tax on the power company profits to fund it, and regulate the solar / finance companies?
A little more help than this “buyer beware”.
Chuck Richards
May 2, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Ah yes, the liberal mantra “make someone else pay for what I want”. That and “can’t afford it, just create a tax”. I swear you people really are delusional.
rick whitaker
May 2, 2024 at 5:54 pm
CHUCK, it’s the gop that does that. when something helps them, they are for it, and when something helps others or the country as a whole, they are against it. the fact that you got it all wrong tells me a lot about you. that is NOT the liberal mantra, you just lied to me. i have an emersonian view of self reliance as do most dems i know, so i don’t have any idea where you got that, except from maybe the ravings of steve banon.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 7:44 am
That’s way too funny!! Accusing conservatives of wanting more taxes and freebies? WOWO!! Where in this article is any GOP person saying create a tax? It is the tax and spend dems that do that. Please, go back to watching MCNBC and let the adults handle this.
rick whitaker
May 3, 2024 at 11:33 am
CHUCK, you’re way off base. i can’t help you. try watching TNT if cnn and msnbc aren’t working for you. TNT is my personal favorite.
JD
May 2, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Oh shut up.
Why is it corporations and billionaire get to use public coffers to further their businesses on false pretense they will create supposed jobs and the rest of us have to abide by rugged bootstrapping?
Tell me? How is it not the same when they get tax breaks or tax dollars, or some BS “public/private” venture nonsense?
Maybe if the above was done you’d not be bitching about your insurance company not covering your solar panels. Make the electric company pay their fair share.
You are the deliusional one because you cannot see it.
My proposal would 1.) democratize the power cost and actually lower it for the common folk, and 2.) make the insurance companies actually insure the panels at a reasonable rate instead of their outmoded profits.
So go ahead and deny this would not help the normal folk be more self-sufficient and afford the “spiraling” inflation and energy costs.
You are blinded by your biases.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 7:55 am
You are a communist-liberal who thinks everything should be free, no profits for businesses (you know, that thing that drives business and creates the economy your enjoy now), and the government should control everything. Business (not government) creates jobs and opportunities for people. Your model (communism) has been tried many times over the years and fails every time. Disagree? Point to once when it has worked in history. The “spiraling inflation and energy costs” you complain of are caused by your liberal federal policies. We need less government, not more. Please, move to Cuba or Venezuela (where they control the energy “for the people”) and leave us to fix this nation.
JD
May 3, 2024 at 8:55 am
You’re mistaken about my views. I’ve owned businesses for 25 years and support capitalism, not communism. But unchecked capitalism doesn’t work. Real-world economies need a balance between government and private sectors.
You say liberal policies cause inflation and high energy costs, but ignore that federal aid has been crucial for places like Florida during crises. Likewise with the rising profiteering from staple companies in food and energy production. We need government involvement to stabilize and aid the market when necessary.
Discussing moves to Cuba or Venezuela is a distraction. We need practical solutions here, in our context. I was attempting to focus on refining our economic model to be fair and effective, not just less government for the sake of it.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 9:33 am
Nice try, 9 out of 10 for effort. I don’t care if you owned a biz for 100 years (which I do not believe you ever did), anyone that speaks of nationalizing power and insurance companies and/or “making” companies pay for or set prices is a communist/socialist. Even your socialist friend agreed with you and started touting his socialism. So please, try that somewhere else. I was not born yesterday. Just for a new flash, the power companies and insurance companies are already regulated, they do NOT run “unchecked”. And moving to Cuba or Venezuela is not a distraction, but a model of what your thinking brings.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 9:34 am
Nice try, 9 out of 10 for effort. I don’t care if you owned a biz for 100 years (which I do not believe you ever did), anyone that speaks of nationalizing power and insurance companies and/or “making” companies pay for or set prices is a communist. Even your communist friend agreed with you and started touting his socialism. So please, try that somewhere else. I was not born yesterday. Just for a new flash, the power companies and insurance companies are already regulated, they do NOT run “unchecked”. And moving to Cuba or Venezuela is not a distraction, but a model of what your thinking brings.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 9:35 am
Nice try, 9 out of 10 for effort. I don’t care if you owned a biz for 100 years (which I do not believe you ever did), anyone that speaks of nationalizing power and insurance companies and/or “making” companies pay for or set prices is a communist. Even your communist friend agreed with you and started touting his social-ism. So please, try that somewhere else. I was not born yesterday. Just for a news flash, the power companies and insurance companies are already regulated, they do not run “unchecked”. And moving to Cuba or Venezuela is not a distraction, but a model of what your thinking brings. Have a nice day.
tom
May 3, 2024 at 9:49 am
CHUCK RICHARDS, i also owned a business for over 25 years and i am also a lifelong socialist. chuck, the next time you drive on the interstate highway, remember, it was a socialistic policy that got that built. i can imagine a gop plan that would have stitched a cobbled system together into a transportation hell of private toll roads, and roads that were built to go through land that their buddies own. socialism has it’s place in the usa whether you know it or not.
JD
May 3, 2024 at 10:12 am
You mean regulated (or rather deregulated) like in Texas when they froze people out because of the surge demand and Senator Cruz was in Mexico?
So check the profits of Duke Energy, or FPL as I am sure they got some taxpayer funded or tax forgiveness. I’m not talking about Local Co-ops.
And I didn’t say anything about nationalizing anything, but I don’t feel that government services like schools and prisons should be privitized using taxpayer money.
I said adding a tax on the power bill to help subsidize the INSURANCE for residential solar panels and you’ve conflated it into I’m supporting communism.
So spin that pearl clutching “YOU WANT TO MAKE US CUBA” elsewhere, because I advocated investing in infrastructure and the American / Florida populace to be self-sufficient and you want to turn it into an entitlement program.
rick whitaker
May 2, 2024 at 6:01 pm
JD, you laid that out beautifully. you are a man that i admire. i’m a very hard working socialist. most people don’t have a clue about what that means. the constant demonization of things good for the whole country is shameful.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 7:59 am
Socialism is a joke, not a “good thing” for this nation. People like you need to be purged from among us. We need to go back to the 50’s when you were forced to hide in the shadows. Your little commie plans will lead to nothing more than death and destruction. If you knew ONE thing about history, you would know that to be true. Be gone with you!
JD
May 3, 2024 at 8:54 am
You’re mistaken about my views. I’ve owned businesses for 25 years and support capitalism, not communism. But unchecked capitalism doesn’t work. Real-world economies need a balance between government and private sectors.
You say liberal policies cause inflation and high energy costs, but ignore that federal aid has been crucial for places like Florida during crises. Likewise with the rising profiteering from staple companies in food and energy production. We need government involvement to stabilize and aid the market when necessary.
Discussing moves to Cuba or Venezuela is a distraction. We need practical solutions here, in our context. I was attempting to focus on refining our economic model to be fair and effective, not just less government for the sake of it.
JD
May 3, 2024 at 9:59 am
You mean regulated (or rather deregulated) like in Texas when they froze people out because of the surge demand and Senator Cruz was in Mexico?
So check the profits of Duke Energy, or FPL as I am sure they got some taxpayer funded or tax forgiveness. I’m not talking about Local Co-ops.
And I didn’t say anything about nationalizing anything, but I don’t feel that government services like schools and prisons should be privitized using taxpayer money.
I said adding a tax on the power bill to help subsidize the INSURANCE for residential solar panels and you’ve conflated it into I’m supporting communism.
So spin that pearl clutching “YOU WANT TO MAKE US CUBA” elsewhere, because I advocated investing in infrastructure and the American / Florida populace to be self-sufficient and you want to turn it into an entitlement program.
rick whitaker
May 3, 2024 at 10:03 am
DREW DIXON, are you the one moderating your article so heavily? whatever, it is your article, so i understand.
Chuck Richards
May 3, 2024 at 11:49 am
We are not talking about Texas, we are talking about Florida. Please try to pay attention. In Florida those industries are regulated. Sorry the facts don’t fit your narrative. BTW, in Texas the “green” generators also failed due to the temps. Would have happened regardless of where Cruz went on vacation. Your Biden was in Delaware on another vacation when that happened, so what?
I do not need to check the profits of Duke or FP&L. If you have a point to make, then produce the evidence. It’s not my job to prove whatever point you are trying to make and I am certainly not taking “your good word” for anything as you have already shown that you will conflate anything to fit your false narrative.
Your plan to force power and insurance companies to set prices or offer services they cannot afford is the essence of nationalizing. Not sure what schools and prisons have to do with this conversation, but since you brought it up, the government has no business running anything. They only know how to waste money because they did nothing to earn it. Privatize everything and get the government out of everything. Yep, that’s my stance. BTW Mr. Biz Owner, why don’t force you to provide your services at a price that you can’t afford. Just to be sure the “common folk” can get it.
Your suggested taxes and government running of the power and insurance companies are the very heart of communism and entitlements. I did not suggest that, you did. Your suggestions to “democratize the power cost” and “make the insurance companies actually insure the panels at a reasonable rate” speak for themselves.
rick whitaker
May 3, 2024 at 1:09 pm
CHUCK, you’re convinced of what you are saying, but that doesn’t make one word of it true just because you believe it. that is called lack of critical thinking. try it, people might like you better for it.
JD
May 3, 2024 at 12:21 pm
More conflating and now strawmen?
So how is tax subsidizing businesses not communism as well? It is.
“Duke Energy gross profit for the twelve months ending December 31, 2023 was $19.381B, a 3.59% increase year-over-year. Duke Energy annual gross profit for 2023 was $19.381B, a 3.59% increase from 2022. Duke Energy annual gross profit for 2022 was $18.71B, a 5.94% increase from 2021.”
“For the full year 2023, FPL reported net income on a GAAP basis of $4.552 billion or $2.24 per share, compared to $3.701 billion, or $1.87 per share, in 2022.”
Seems like they could afford it Mr. Chuck Richards.
Sorry the facts don’t fit your narrative.
And you responses are asinine, because you either grew up with the privledges afforded by government intervention and infrastructure, or you forgot about the stuff corrected.
I’m sure you weren’t part of child labor or union busting or pre union. You may have forgotten acid rain and the fish kills. All of those were results of government intervention. Without it, it would be still happening because God knows business won’t regulate itself unless made to. It just consumes and consumes.
And again, stop conflating my words to fit your narrative. I said a balance and it’s why our form of capitialism works.
JD
May 3, 2024 at 12:25 pm
Oh, and take a look at the charter schools in Florida if you want to see privitization failing in real time. Same for the voucher program.
It was grift by the power that be because they are all aligned to some charter or voucher school.
That’s how they are germane to the conversion where you brought up nationializing vs privitizing of public services.
My Take
May 5, 2024 at 3:55 pm
What about solar panels arrayed in a sunny back yard?
Maybe double use as long cabana roofs.
Christian M Wagley
May 6, 2024 at 9:59 am
This is doing the bidding of FL Power and Light, TECO and other investor-owned utilities that don’t want competition from rooftop solar.
Comments are closed.