Veteran-built.
Solar in San Diego: buy, lease, or keep paying SDG&E?
Run your own bill through the numbers. Five-year totals for each choice with SDG&E rate increases built in, plus batteries, backup power, pool solar, and the sales tricks to walk away from.
Five-year cost: SDG&E vs buy vs loan vs lease
From your SDG&E bill
Enter numbers from your bill. Monthly kWh is on page 2 of most SDG&E bills (average your last 12 months if you can). Every default is editable.
Estimates only. Real savings depend on your roof, shade, rate plan, and the exact contract. Get at least three written quotes with the cash price, the escalator and the transfer terms on paper.
Battery only: does storing cheap power pay?
Battery only: charge cheap, use at peak
Defaults are SDG&E TOU-DR1 levels for 2026 (super off-peak about 37-44 cents, on-peak about 61-69 cents). Your plan may differ. The battery has to be allowed to charge from the grid for this to work; some setups only charge from solar.
Backup power when the grid goes down
Backup power: what do you need to run?
Change the watts and hours, or zero out what you do not need.
| Item | Watts | Hours/day |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | ||
| Internet router + modem | ||
| LED lights (5) | ||
| Phone/laptop charging | ||
| TV | ||
| Gas furnace blower | ||
| Well or sump pump | ||
| Medical device (CPAP) |
Good, better, best
Portable power station + folding panels
$300-$2,500
- Runs fridge, router, lights, phones
- Plug-and-play, no permit
- Use the load calculator above to size it
Generator + interlock kit or transfer switch
$1,500-$5,000
- Runs chosen circuits for days on fuel
- Needs a licensed electrician and permit for the panel work
- Never back-feed through a dryer outlet: it can kill a lineman
Battery with backup gateway (with or without solar)
$11,000-$20,000+
- Switches over automatically
- With solar, it recharges every day during long outages
- Grid-tied solar alone shuts off in an outage for safety
Whole-home system design
Quote
- Load study, panel upgrade if needed, permit and PTO
- Critical-loads panel for fridge, well, medical
- We refer you to licensed contractors
What the sales pitch gets wrong
"Get the 30% federal tax credit." True or false in 2026?
False for panels you buy yourself. The Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for expenses after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025. A lease or PPA company may still claim a business credit (Section 48E) on the system it owns. If a seller says you get 30%, ask who gets it and get the price drop in writing.
"Your SDG&E bill goes to zero."
Rarely true. New systems are on net billing (often called NEM 3.0, in effect since April 2023). Power you send to the grid earns roughly 5-8 cents per kWh while power you buy at night costs 40-69 cents. You also keep paying SDG&E's base services charge, about $24 a month. A battery that stores your daytime solar for 4-9 pm is what makes net billing pay.
"The lease payment is the same as your SDG&E bill, so it's free."
If the payment equals your bill, you save nothing in year one. You win only if SDG&E rises faster than the lease escalator (often 0-3.9% a year) for 20-25 years. Ask for a 0% escalator, the buyout price by year, and what happens when you sell the house.
"It's a free government program."
There is no free government solar program for regular homeowners. "No cost" usually means a lease, a PPA, or a loan with a 20-25-year payment. Low-income programs exist (for example DAC-SASH and SOMAH in California) but they qualify you by income and location; a door knocker cannot sign you up on the spot.
"Solar will raise your property taxes."
Not if the system is finished by December 31, 2026. California's solar exclusion (Revenue and Taxation Code Section 73) keeps qualifying systems out of your reassessment, and SB 710 lets you keep that through ownership until you sell. Systems completed in 2027 or later may be assessed, unless the law changes again. Get permission to operate (PTO) from SDG&E before year end if this matters to you.
"Batteries always pay for themselves."
Only when you use them every day to shift power into 4-9 pm. As backup only, they are insurance, not an investment. Use the battery calculator on this page with your own rates.
"Sign today, the price goes up tomorrow."
Pressure tactic. California gives you a 3-day right to cancel home solicitation contracts (longer for seniors 65+). Never sign on a tablet at the door, and never sign a contract that has blank fields.
Scams and contract traps
Red flags at the door
- "Government program", "free solar", "SDG&E sent us"
- Wants your SDG&E login or a photo of your bill on the spot
- Signs you up on a tablet and scrolls past the terms
- Promises a 30% credit on a system you own in 2026
Contract traps
- Dealer fee of 20-30% hidden inside a "low APR" loan: always ask for the cash price
- Lease escalator of 2.9-3.9% a year for 25 years
- UCC-1 fixture filing that can slow down a sale or refinance
- Production "guarantee" that only pays pennies
PACE loans
- Paid through your property tax bill, often 7-9%+
- Lien on the house: can complicate a sale or refinance
- Some lenders will not refinance until PACE is paid off
- Compare to a HELOC or cash first
Why solar companies go out of business, and what you do then
Several big residential solar companies have failed recently. SunPower filed for bankruptcy in August 2024. Sunnova, a major lease and loan provider, filed for Chapter 11 in June 2025. The causes stack up:
- Net billing (NEM 3.0) cut how much California homes save without a battery, so sales dropped sharply after April 2023.
- High interest rates made 20-25-year loans and leases expensive to fund.
- The end of the 25D credit after 2025 removed 30% of the selling price for cash and loan buyers.
- Dealer model: many brands are sales companies that subcontract installs and sell your contract to a financier. Thin margins plus long warranties are a bad mix.
If your solar company goes out of business
- Lease or PPA: your contract is an asset; it is usually sold to another servicer. Keep paying, and get the new servicer's name in writing. The panels keep working.
- Loan: the loan usually belongs to a separate lender and does not go away. Keep paying and keep records.
- Warranties: panel, inverter and battery warranties come from the manufacturer and normally survive. The installer's workmanship and roof-penetration warranty usually does not.
- Monitoring: download your production data and keep your system documents (permit, PTO letter, equipment list).
- Service: a local licensed C-10 or C-46 contractor can service most systems. We can help you find one.
Ways to pay: pros and cons
| How you pay | Upfront | Who owns it | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | All | You | Lowest total cost; no lien; adds value | Big check; no federal credit in 2026 |
| Solar loan | $0-low | You | Own it; fixed payment | Dealer fees often hidden in "low APR" loans; 20-25 yrs |
| HELOC / home equity | $0 | You | Often cheaper than solar loans; interest may be deductible (ask your CPA) | Variable rate; your house secures it |
| Lease | $0 | Company | No maintenance; company may claim 48E | Escalator; transfer at sale; you build no equity |
| PPA (pay per kWh) | $0 | Company | Pay only for what it makes | Rate escalates; same sale issues as a lease |
| PACE | $0 | You | Easy approval | Higher rates; property tax lien; refinance/sale headaches |
Can you run solar just for your pool?
Variable-speed pool pump
$900-$1,800 installed
- Usually the best payback: runs slower, uses far less power
- California requires variable-speed motors on most replacement pumps
- Run it during super off-peak hours with a timer
Solar pool heating (thermal)
$3,500-$7,000 installed
- Black collectors on the roof heat the water directly: no electricity made
- Adds weeks of swim season; good DIY project with a kit
- Separate from SDG&E: no interconnection needed
Grid-tied solar sized to cover the pool
Add 1-3 kW to a system
- Solar offsets your whole meter; it cannot be wired to only the pool
- Size the system for your house + pump use
- Add a battery if the pump runs after 4 pm
DC solar pool pump kit
$1,500-$4,000
- Panels run a DC pump directly, daytime only
- Works for small pools and remote spots
- No SDG&E paperwork; no night filtration
What you can do yourself
Rooftop solar wired into your panel needs a permit, an SDG&E interconnection agreement and, in practice, a licensed contractor. Things you can do yourself:
- Cut use first: LED bulbs, a smart thermostat, a variable-speed pool pump. Every kWh you do not use is worth 40-69 cents.
- Switch rate plans in your SDG&E account and move dishwasher, laundry and EV charging to super off-peak.
- Build a portable backup kit (power station + panels) sized with the load calculator above.
- Install a solar pool heater from a kit (follow the manufacturer's roof-attachment instructions and local permit rules).
Sources: SDG&E TOU-DR1 rates 2026 · SDG&E TOU-DR1 rate table (Jan 1, 2026) · CPUC Public Advocates rate report (SDG&E rates up 77% 2015-2025) · 25D and 48E after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act · California solar property tax exclusion and SB 710 · San Diego solar costs and net billing export values · Sunnova bankruptcy. Checked October 2026. This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Broker, not a contractor. David Thomas Mejia is a California real estate broker (CA DRE #01448424), not a licensed contractor. Work that needs a California contractor's license should be done by a CSLB-licensed contractor; check any license at cslb.ca.gov. Cost ranges on this page are general estimates, not bids.