Florida Solar Quote Review
Get a real Florida solar owner to check your quote before you sign.
I’m Rick. I bought a 24.65 kW Tesla solar system with two Powerwalls for my St. Augustine home, installed in November 2023, and I’ve tracked every kWh and every FPL bill since. Before that, I spent more than 30 years in electronics, in the US Navy and then for the federal government, working on radar and communications systems and troubleshooting them down to the component level. That background let me check my own system’s configuration before I agreed to it. Send me your quote, and I’ll tell you what I’d want to know before signing it.
Independent
No installer, lender, or solar company pays me anything. I don’t take commissions, and I have nothing to sell you except this review.
Florida and FPL-specific
FPL’s net metering, minimum bill, rate tiers, Florida summers, and hurricane backup. The things national calculators gloss over.
Real owner numbers
I compare your quote with what my own system actually cost and made. You can read it all on this site, starting with production vs. Tesla’s estimate.
Prices
Two ways to get your quote reviewed
One quote for one home. Extra quotes for the same home are $20 each.
Written review
$49 one time
- A written review emailed to you as a PDF
- Every check listed below, with sources
- My own take on your quote, written by me
- A clear verdict: good deal, negotiate, or walk away
Written review + 30-minute call
$99 one time
- A written review emailed to you as a PDF
- Every check listed below, with sources
- My own take on your quote, written by me
- A 30-minute phone or video call with me to go over it and answer your questions
Already filled in the order form but didn’t get to checkout? Pay here: $49 written review · $99 review + call.
What I check
What I look at in your quote
Price per watt
Your cost per watt against current Florida market pricing, with the battery priced separately so it can’t hide a high solar price.
System size vs. your bill
Whether the system fits the power you actually use, or is oversized to raise the price. Extra kWh left at year-end aren’t paid at retail.
Production estimate
Whether the installer’s kWh promise is realistic for your roof directions, checked month by month. Mine made 15% more than Tesla estimated, but summer came in under.
Savings assumptions
Rate escalators, the FPL minimum bill, and whether the payback still counts the 30% federal credit. That credit ended for systems installed after 2025 (IRS).
Dealer fees and the loan
Hidden dealer fees built into the loan amount, and what the monthly payment really is without a tax-credit prepayment.
Is the battery worth it?
What batteries do and don’t save under FPL’s 1:1 net metering, and when they’re mainly hurricane backup.
Equipment, inverter sizing, warranty
Panel and inverter brands, the DC/AC ratio and clipping, workmanship and roof-leak warranties, and who services it.
Roof timing
Whether you should replace an aging roof first, and what taking the panels off and putting them back would cost later.
Questions to ask the installer
A short list of specific questions for your quote, so you can negotiate in writing.
A clear verdict
Good deal, negotiate, or walk away, with the reasons in plain language.
How it works
Three steps, about five minutes on your end
Fill in the short order form
Your email, your quote (PDF or photos), a recent FPL bill, and which review you want. Open the order form.
Pay securely by card
After you submit the form, you’re taken to Stripe’s secure checkout. Pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Link. Stripe processes the payment, and I never see your card number.
Get your review by email
I email your review from [email protected] within 3 business days. For the $99 review, we set up the call after you’ve read it.
See what you’d get
Here’s a full sample review of a made-up Jacksonville-area quote: 10 kW of solar plus a Powerwall 3 for $48,500. The homeowner, installer, and quote figures are fictional; the market data and my own system numbers are real and sourced.
The fine print
Refunds, advice, and your files
Full refund
If I don’t deliver your review within 3 business days, or if I can’t review your quote (say it’s unreadable, or the home isn’t in Florida), I refund you in full.
Opinion, not advice
The review is my educational opinion as a homeowner. It isn’t legal, tax, or financial advice, and I can’t guarantee any savings. I’m not an installer, an engineer, or a financial advisor. For tax or legal questions, talk to a qualified professional.
Your files
I use what you upload only for your review. I delete your files within 30 days after I deliver it, and I never share them with installers or anyone else. More on the privacy page.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How do I pay?
By debit or credit card, or with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Link, on Stripe’s secure checkout page. You don’t need an account. Stripe processes the payment, and I never see your card number.
What if I have more than one quote?
Upload them all in the order form. Each extra quote for the same home is $20 more, and I’ll compare them side by side. I’ll email you a Stripe invoice for the extra quotes before I start, and you can pay it by card online.
I’m outside Florida, or not on FPL. Can you still help?
The review is built around Florida and FPL. Other Florida utilities are fine; I’ll look up your utility’s net metering rules, which can differ for city-owned utilities and co-ops. If you’re outside Florida, I’m not the right person, so please don’t order.
I already signed. Is it too late?
Maybe not. If a salesperson sold you the system in your home, Florida law generally lets you cancel a “home solicitation sale” in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign (Fla. Stat. §501.025). Sundays and federal holidays don’t count, and some sales don’t qualify, such as ones that came from your own request for the visit (§501.021). Check the cancellation notice in your contract. If you’re still inside that window, tell me your deadline in the form, but I can’t promise to finish before it.
Will you recommend an installer?
No. No installer pays me, and the review is about your quote, not about sending you somewhere else.
Other questions? Email [email protected].