Alberta’s solar industry is growing at a rapid pace. According to the Alberta Electric Systems Operator, 7,207 properties installed solar panels in 2023. Which is more than double the 2022 number. But, this growth is not without growing pains in the form of shady door knocker solar sales tactics.
In 2017, the province instituted a door-to-door (d2d) energy sales ban that includes furnaces, hot water heaters and A/C units… but not solar panels. This omission, combined with a booming Alberta solar industry fueled by high grid electricity prices and grants, has opened the door for some shady companies to take advantage.
Like Alberta’s solar industry, the number of door knocker solar sales horror stories is growing at an astounding pace. Many Alberta homeowners are making their voices heard.
Common complaints include:
pressuring homeowners into signing contracts on the spot
As the largest solar broker in Alberta, Glean has collected a database of over 1,000 solar quotes from over 100 different Alberta based solar installers over the past 2 years.
Our primary source of solar quote data comes from our solar quote broker service where we deliver 3 solar quotes to homeowners for free and provide our unbiased expertise and advice to help them choose the right installer. In the last 2 years, nearly 800 quotes came from Glean’s own network of vetted solar installers through our solar quote brokering service. Glean does not allow solar installers that engage in door-to-door sales to join our network.
Glean also conducts free solar quote reviews for homeowners who come to us with quotes already. Through this process, we have collected hundreds of additional quotes from outside of our network. A total of 250 solar quotes came from installers outside our network that do not engage in door-to-door sales. Another 200 quotes came from installers outside our network that use door-to-door sales.
When we compare door knocker quotes to non-door knocker quotes, the results are astounding.
When comparing solar pricing the best metric to use is cost per watt. This represents the unit cost of the solar installation project. It is calculated by dividing the total pre tax cost by the total size of the project in watts. This allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of prices. The following graph shows the unit cost based on project size for Glean quotes, non-Glean quotes and door-to-door sales quotes.
A summary of 1,250 solar quotes collected by Glean between 2023 – 2024 in Alberta comparing quotes from door knocker solar sales against the industry.
The prices provided by an installer that uses door-to-door solar sales exceeds non door-to-door quotes by 24.7% on average. Our database even includes 25 quotes from one particular door-to-door solar company that exceeds non door-to-door quotes by 80% on average! In some cases, that company provided quotes that were double or even triple the industry standard!
In general, there is no technical justification for these price increases. Yes, travel costs, steep roof slopes and electrical upgrades can lead to some cost increases, but our data includes outlier projects like this for both d2d and non-d2d installers.
The primary reason for the price increases seen amongst door knocker solar quotes is greed!
There is no quality difference, no warranty difference, no experience difference. In some cases, homeowners even complain that the quality is lower among d2d projects. Especially when it comes to customer service.
Why has nothing been done?
If the door knocker solar sales is so bad, why hasn’t anything been done about it? Simply put, homeowners are embarrassed and solar installers are scared.
Homeowners who find out months later that they paid double what they should are embarrassed to admit that they made a mistake. It is not easy to publicly admit that you were swindled into paying $35,000 for a project that should have costed $20,000. Although both Solar Alberta and the Alberta complaints commission have complaint forms, it seems they are not capturing the entire story for this reason.
On the installer side, there is risk of malicious retaliation. There are thousands of d2d salesmen in the province. If they catch wind of a whistleblower, they’ve been known to bash that installer until they stop. The threat of lawsuit is also very common.
What is the solution to the door knocker solar sales epidemic?
Can door knocker solar sales be done ethically? Possibly. Is door knocker solar sales being done ethically in Alberta? No.
The ability to go to someone’s doorstep and entice them into buying something that can be 10, 20 or even 50 thousand dollars should not be allowed. Although, there are certainly some d2d salesman that are doing it ethically, the bad apples have ruined it for everyone.
The d2d sales of solar panels is giving Alberta’s booming solar industry a terrible reputation.
The possible solutions are as follows:
The prominent d2d companies in the province that claim to be doing things ethically will say that the onus is on homeowners to do their research. The flaw here is that getting solar panels is a challenging and complicated process. Homeowners are not equipped with the knowledge needed to make a decision that can cost them thousands of dollars. In these d2d interactions, the salesmen have all the knowledge and power. Consumer protections are needed.
Incentive programs like the Greener Homes Program and CEIP must begin to REQUIRE (and not just recommend) that homeowners get at least 3 quotes. This would ensure that door knockers cannot pressure homeowners into signing contracts before seeing other options. This is what was done in Australia where telemarketing and door-knocking have been banned from the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program and Solar Homes program.
Ban the door-to-door sales of solar panels altogether. This would be an unfortunate result as many Alberta homeowners would not even consider getting solar without a d2d salesman introducing it to them. But the reality is that a few bad apples has spoiled the bunch. Something needs to be done to protect innocent families and homeowners.
As a company that is built upon the premise of encouraging homeowners to get multiple solar quotes, providing unbiased information and never using high pressure sales tactics, the state of Alberta’s solar industry has become extremely disappointing. The issues surrounding d2d sales of solar panels are plaguing the reputation of our great industry.
If you have been victimized by d2d solar panel sales, please make your voice heard:
The Alberta’s Consumer Investigations Unit via email – cs@gov.ab.ca
