NEW YORK – A New York City homeowner said he turned solar energy to reduce electricity costs, but instead said he did lost several thousand dollars.
Erold Williams said his ceiling collapsed after a heavy rainstorm. Five months earlier, the retired carpenter had hired the company Radiant Solar to install solar panels on his roof. It cost $43,990. According to the contract, that amounts to $288 per month, paid out over 25 years.
All eyes focused on the installation
“It started with a drop … and the plaster started falling down,” Williams said.
The problem, Williams claims, was the installation.
“They have stuff you can lay on and install the panels without drilling into the roof,” Williams said. “They drilled holes in the roof to install the solar system.”
Williams’ homeowner’s insurance company also blamed the solar company. In a letter, State Farm wrote that there is no coverage for “improper/faulty workmanship” for “installation of solar panels.”
Williams claims that Radiant Solar would not repair the hole directly under the panels, or return calls.
“I’m 82 years old,” he said. “I live on a fixed income.”
With the insurance and solar companies pointing fingers at each other, Williams had to dip into his savings to fill the gap.
“I would like to be reimbursed for the money that came out of my pocket because it is my only source of income,” Williams said.
Complaints against Radiant Solar
More than two dozen New Yorkers have filed complaints against Radiant Solar, according to the state and city consumer protection departments. Customers claim that the panels are ‘not working’, ‘inspections have failed’ or that the company is ‘unresponsive’.
The city says it cannot respond in detail, but has started an investigation. The city says it has a large number of complaints, from at least 28 customers, and is therefore investigating.
Radiant Solar said any company that has been in business for a long time is bound to have complaints.
To date, the city has not issued a violation against the company, and there has been no neutral finding that Williams’ system was improperly installed.
The next step for Williams is small claims court.
Radiant Solar responds
Mahsa Saeidi of CBS News from New York stopped by the address Williams had for Radiant Solar. The doorman said they had moved. That’s why she left a voicemail.
“The insurance company says the installation was not done correctly,” Saeidi said in the message.
In an email, Radiant Solar’s attorneys told Saeidi State Farm’s findings are “self-serving and conducted by a non-neutral third party that pays State Farm for thousands of cases – to conclude that a party other than the insurer is responsible is.”
Radiant Solar claims their technician discovered water had entered from an area far from the panels. The company says they have installed panels in the front and back of the house.
“The leak is only occurring in the back… where there also happens to be rotting exposed wood,” Radiant Solar said. “If our workmanship were defective, both roof surfaces would leak. Instead, the leak only occurs on the lean-to roof, reinforcing our professional assessment that the leak is caused by the rotting, exposed wood on the side of that roof surface. We came reached this conclusion by conducting two separate on-site inspections (on 03-25-2024 and 08-09-2024) after we were notified of the leak. Both times We pointed out the area above the gutter to Mr Williams and warned that a bigger problem could arise if this area was left untreated. We also resealed all our own roof penetrations as a courtesy and other areas on both roof surfaces repaired.’
Radiant Solar says they are committed to providing the best possible service to customers and that their “methods of mounting panels to the roof are in accordance with industry standards, as is our 5-year roof penetration warranty, which covers all potential covers leaks caused by defects in workmanship.”
Advice before installing solar panels
“Our recommendation is to talk to your insurance agent before installing,” says Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute.
Friedlander says that with proper installation of solar panels, roof damage would typically be covered by a standard homeowner’s policy. There’s one problem: you need to let your insurance company know about the panels as soon as possible.
“If you don’t disclose it, your claim could be denied,” Friedlander said.
Before going solar, consumer experts say:
- Get quotes from three companies on a website such as energysage.com.
- Your installer must be licensed by an organization such as the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
- Know your warranty and remember that with a New York contract you have three days to cancel
In addition, consumers can also access the following resources:
Has Williams’ electric bill gone down and are the panels working? In July his electric bill was about $350. The last bill was $180.
Williams says he hopes it goes to zero.
Mahsa Saeidi
