Q: In December, my wife and I signed a contract with Florida Solar to install a hot-water system for our house and a salt purification system for our pool. We put down a $4,500 deposit. Since then, no work has been done, and our calls and letters go unanswered. Can Action Line help?”
The answer from Action Line was “nope.” And “go file a complaint.” I looked, and there aren’t any filed with Florida DBPR yet.
What the Herald should have also said was what anyone should do before hiring a company to do expensive work on your home. 1) Get references 2) Get references 3) Get references. After that, it’s wise to look into the track record of the company to see how long they’ve been in business doing that TYPE OF WORK.
In the world of solar, it’s becoming the “wild west” again because there is a growing interest from the public with little knowledge of what they actually want, how it works, what permits are needed, you name it. Now realize that there is a very small contingent of experienced solar contractors, and couple that with the horde of pool service companies that think they can install solar panels. It’s a recipe for disaster.
I want to take a quick detour for a second to complain about another thing with this Herald story. $4500 is enough to pay for an expensive solar water heater - the whole thing, not a down payment. Now the story talks about a “salt purification system” too. I have no earthly idea what that is since I don’t own a pool, but I’m guessing it is an alternative to nasty ol’ chlorine. So why was the story about “solar installations” and not about a “pool filter?” Could it be that the word “solar” gets our attention?
Now that I’ve had my rant, here are a couple additional tips when hunting for a qualified solar contractor:
- Look for company professional affiliations. This company does not show up on the list of members for the industry trade group, the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association.
- Another good way to see if you’re hiring someone with knowledge and expertise is to ask if they are registered with the State of Florida (DBPR again) as a “Certified Solar Contractor.” Now you don’t have to be a “Certified Solar Contractor” to do installations in Florida, but it is certainly a plus. This info is also online through myfloridalicense.com. “Certified Solar Contractor” is a license type within the “Construction” category.
For the case of Florida Solar, based out of Sanford (about 40 minutes north of Orlando – thank you Google Earth), they were actually in the pool business as Olympian Pool Services according to the Florida Division of Corporations. As best I can tell from the info from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the company tapped into the solar business about four years ago.
Multiple searches on DBPR’s license info site revealed nothing. The only record I can find of the company seems to be on sunbiz.org, so probably wouldn’t have been my first choice to do this job. None of this isn't to say that there was some ill-will on the part of the business. I'm not sure what caused them to fold, but based on the info I could find (or really lack-of) it didn't seem like a safe bet.
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