When NOT to install solar: 8 honest reasons it might not be right for you.

When solar likely doesn't make sense.

Each of these eight situations is a real reason we've turned customers away. None of them is permanent; circumstances change. If one applies to you today, that's useful information for your timing, not a final answer. Read each carefully because the details matter.

1. 01

   You plan to move within 5 years

   Financial
   Solar payback periods in Missouri and Kansas run 9 to 13 years. If you sell before payback, the home value premium of 3 to 4 percent for owned solar may not fully offset what you spent.

   The math is more nuanced than it first appears. Owned solar systems do add value to homes at sale time. According to Berkeley Lab's 2015 nationwide assessment and subsequent Zillow research, owned solar adds roughly 3 to 4 percent to home sale value. For a 400,000 dollar Missouri or Kansas home, that's 12,000 to 16,000 dollars added value at sale.

   But your typical net-of-incentive system cost is around $18K to $30K. So if you sell at year 4 with a 12K to 16K value bump, you're still 6K to 14K short of breakeven (excluding the electricity savings you collected during the 4 years of ownership, which run roughly 5K to 8K depending on usage).

   The honest threshold: if you might sell within 5 years, solar typically loses you money even with the home value premium. Between 5 and 7 years it gets close to breakeven. Above 7 years, you're typically ahead. If your timing is uncertain, ask yourself: am I planning to move because of a job change, school, or family situation that could realistically force a sale within 5 years?

   One important caveat: this only applies to owned solar (cash purchase or paid-off loan). Leased solar and PPAs typically don't add home value and can actively complicate the sale because the buyer has to assume the lease. Solar Assure does not sell leases for this reason.

2. 02

   Your roof needs replacement within 10 years

   Physical
   Solar systems last 25 to 30 years. If your asphalt shingle roof is 15+ years old or showing wear, replace it before solar. Removing and reinstalling solar later costs 1,500 to 3,000 dollars or more.

   Solar panels are mounted directly to the roof structure. When the roof needs replacement, the solar system has to come down, then go back up. That removal and reinstall is not free. We typically see $1,500 to $3,000 for a residential system, more if the array is large or complicated.

   Asphalt shingle roofs in Missouri and Kansas typically last 20 to 25 years (architectural shingles last longer; 3-tab shingles wear faster). Metal roofs last 40 to 70 years. Tile lasts 50+ years. If your asphalt shingle roof is 15 years old today, you're looking at a likely roof replacement in roughly 5 to 10 years, well within the solar system's life.

   The honest sequence: if your roof is 15+ years old or shows visible wear (curling shingles, granule loss in gutters, sagging, leaks), replace the roof first, then install solar. Some homeowners coordinate the two together as one project, which lets them install longer-lasting roofing materials at the same time. Solar Assure doesn't perform roof replacement, but we coordinate with reputable local roofers we've worked with for years.

   One workaround: if you have a relatively new roof but the shingles are reaching mid-life, you can do a partial roof replacement only on the slopes that won't have solar on them. Most homes have south, southwest, and west-facing roof slopes for solar; north slopes typically don't host panels and can be replaced separately on a different schedule.

3. 03

   Heavy shade or poor roof orientation

   Physical
   Solar production drops 50 to 80 percent in shaded conditions. South, southwest, and west-facing roofs work well at Missouri and Kansas latitudes (37 to 40 degrees north). North-facing roofs and roofs with mature tree shading often cannot generate enough power to justify the cost.

   Solar panels need direct sunlight to produce well. The two factors that matter most are orientation (which direction the roof slope faces) and shading (whether trees, taller buildings, or other obstructions block the sun during peak production hours).

   Orientation: at Missouri and Kansas latitudes, south-facing roofs produce the most. Southwest and west-facing roofs produce 90 to 95 percent of south-facing baseline. East-facing roofs produce 85 to 90 percent. North-facing roofs produce 30 to 50 percent less than south-facing roofs at the same latitude. Pure north-facing solar in Missouri or Kansas usually doesn't pay back within the system's economic life.

   Shading: a single mature tree to the south or west of the roof can drop production 30 to 50 percent depending on the time of day the shadow falls. The challenge is that trees grow. A roof that gets full sun today might be heavily shaded in 10 years if neighboring trees aren't pruned. Solar Assure uses a tool called Aurora Solar that models exact shading throughout the year using satellite imagery, lidar elevation data, and a tree growth projection. We give you the production estimate including expected tree growth.

   The honest threshold: if shading or orientation reduces the projected first-year production below 80 percent of what an unshaded south-facing roof would produce, the math gets difficult. We'll tell you specifically what your roof's percentage is, what production it implies in kWh per year, and what payback period that implies given your utility rates.

4. 04

   Very low electricity bills

   Financial
   If your average monthly electricity bill is under 80 dollars, your usage may be too low to justify solar. The minimum monthly grid charges still apply regardless of solar production.

   Solar's economic value comes from offsetting the variable kWh portion of your electricity bill. Every utility bill in Missouri and Kansas has two components: fixed charges (the customer charge, sometimes called the basic service charge, usually 8 to 15 dollars per month) and variable charges (the per-kWh cost of energy, plus various riders).

   Solar offsets the variable part. The fixed part stays the same whether you have solar or not. So if your bill is mostly fixed charges with very little variable kWh consumption, your solar payback math gets stretched.

   The threshold: if your average bill across the year is under $80 per month, you're typically using less than 600 kWh per month, and a small solar system (3 to 4 kW) is the most you'd want. Even then, the system cost divided by your annual savings often produces a payback period that runs longer than the system's economic life.

   The honest alternative: if your usage is low because you've already done the easy efficiency work (LED bulbs, reasonable thermostat settings, modern appliances), great. If your usage is low because you don't have AC, don't have an electric water heater, or are otherwise underutilizing electricity, consider energy efficiency upgrades first: a heat pump can replace fossil heating, an electric water heater (or heat pump water heater) can replace gas, an EV can replace gas commuting. After those changes raise your electricity usage to 1,000+ kWh per month, solar economics work better.

5. 05

   You rent your home

   Situational
   Renters do not have the legal right to install solar without landlord permission. Even with permission, the renter rarely owns the underlying property and the system value transfers to the property owner over time.

   Residential solar requires installing physical equipment (panels, inverters, conduit, racking, often a new electrical panel or breaker work) on the home's structure. As a renter, you don't own the structure. Most leases prohibit modifications without written landlord permission, and even with permission, the installed equipment legally becomes a fixture attached to the property, owned by the property owner.

   The honest math: if you're a renter and you pay for and install solar yourself, you're effectively giving the system to your landlord at the end of your tenancy. Unless you have a long-term lease (5+ years) and a written agreement assigning system ownership and the production credits to you, the math doesn't work.

   Better options for renters:

   (1) Community solar if available in your utility territory. Several Missouri utilities including Independence Power and Light, Columbia Water and Light, and Springfield City Utilities run community solar programs where you subscribe to a share of an offsite solar facility and receive a credit on your bill. No equipment on your home. No landlord permission needed.

   (2) Convince your landlord to install solar. Many landlords are open to it because the home value premium of 3 to 4 percent is meaningful. Some larger landlords have policies. Some smaller landlords will entertain it if you bring them a quote.

   (3) Wait until you own. If you're planning to buy within 1 to 2 years, the wait is worth it. Solar makes sense on owned homes. Solar Assure works with a few real estate agents in the Missouri and Kansas markets we serve who specialize in homes pre-positioned for solar. We can refer if useful.

6. 06

   Higher-priority high-interest debt

   Financial
   Credit card debt at 22 percent APR creates compounding losses faster than solar pays back. Pay off high-interest consumer debt before investing in solar.

   This is a financial planning point, not a solar point. Solar in Missouri or Kansas typically returns 7 to 11 percent annualized over 25 years (depending on utility, system size, and incentives captured). That's a respectable return. But it's not a great return when compared to paying off high-interest consumer debt:

   Credit card APRs in 2026 average around 22 to 26 percent. If you pay off a 5,000 dollar credit card balance, you're effectively earning that 22 to 26 percent APR by avoiding the interest. That's a much better use of capital than solar's 7 to 11 percent.

   Personal loans and payday loans run higher (often 18 to 36 percent APR). Auto loans at 8 to 12 percent are in the same range as solar's return; mortgage debt at 6 to 7 percent is typically lower-priority than solar.

   The honest sequence:

   (1) Pay off credit card debt and any debt above 15 percent APR.

   (2) Build an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months expenses.

   (3) Max your employer 401k match (this is typically a 50 to 100 percent immediate return).

   (4) Then consider solar (along with other 7 to 11 percent return options like Roth IRA index investing).

   We're not financial advisors, and your specific situation may differ. But selling solar to someone who would benefit more from paying down a credit card is something we won't do. If your finances are tight, work on the basics first; we'll be here when you're ready.

7. 07

   Kansas coop or municipal utility without good net metering

   Situational
   K.S.A. 66-1263 only mandates net metering for Evergy and Liberty Utilities. Kansas electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are not required to offer net metering. Some do voluntarily; some do not.

   This one is specific to Kansas because of how Kansas net metering law is structured. Under K.S.A. 66-1263, only the state's investor-owned utilities (Evergy Kansas Metro, Evergy Kansas Central, and Liberty Utilities) are mandated by statute to offer net metering. Electric cooperatives like FreeState Electric Cooperative, Bluestem Electric Cooperative, and Kaw Valley Electric Cooperative, plus municipal utilities like Kansas City BPU, are not legally required to offer net metering.

   Many Kansas coops and municipals have voluntarily adopted some form of distributed generation policy. Terms vary widely. Some offer reasonable net metering; some offer parallel generation contracts (which are typically less favorable); some offer nothing at all.

   The honest reality: if your Kansas utility is a coop or municipal that doesn't offer good net metering, residential solar economics often don't work. The system produces electricity, but you don't get full retail credit for excess production sent to the grid. The parallel generation contract under K.S.A. 66-1184 is a fallback option that ALL Kansas utilities must offer if requested in writing, but it sells your exported electricity at 150 percent of the utility's avoided cost rate, which is typically much lower than retail.

   Before you commit to solar in Kansas: contact your specific utility (not us) and ask three direct questions. Do you offer net metering? If yes, what's the credit rate for excess generation? If no, do you offer a parallel generation contract under K.S.A. 66-1184 and at what export rate? Solar Assure can help you interpret the answers and decide whether to proceed, but the utility itself is the authoritative source on its policies.

   This concern doesn't apply to Missouri customers because RSMo 386.890 mandates net metering for all Missouri retail electric suppliers, including municipal utilities and cooperatives.

8. 08

   Major upgrades planned within 1 to 2 years

   Timing
   Adding a pool, EV charger, heat pump, or other significant electrical load changes the appropriate solar system size. Wait until after major upgrades to size correctly, or you'll end up undersized and re-quoting.

   Solar systems are sized to your projected electricity use, not your current use. Common upgrades that notably change electricity usage:

   Adding a pool: a typical residential pool adds 2,000 to 4,000 kWh per year (heater, pump, lights). For a 1,500 kWh/month household, that's a 10 to 20 percent increase.

   Buying an EV: a single EV adds roughly 3,000 to 5,000 kWh per year for typical commuters. A two-EV household adds 6,000 to 10,000 kWh per year. This is one of the largest possible increases.

   Heat pump retrofit: if you currently have natural gas heating and switch to a heat pump, your electricity use can rise 3,000 to 6,000 kWh per year (with corresponding savings on the gas bill). Net household energy cost typically goes down, but the electricity allocation goes way up.

   Basement finish with electric heat or AC: adds 1,000 to 2,500 kWh per year typically.

   The honest recommendation: if you're planning any of these upgrades within 12 to 24 months, wait. Install the upgrade first, accumulate 6 to 12 months of post-upgrade usage data, then quote solar based on the new load profile. The cost of getting solar sizing wrong is significant: undersized means you under-produce and re-quote a panel addition (which has its own per-kW economics that are worse than the original install). Oversized means under HB 2527's January 2026 50 percent rule in Kansas you may not be allowed to install all the panels you wanted.

   If your upgrade timeline is more than 24 months out, the math is more nuanced. We'll talk through it during your free quote.

A 10-question checklist before you call any installer.

Before you talk to Solar Assure or any other solar installer, answer these ten questions about your specific situation. Truthful responses tell you whether to call us, wait, or skip solar entirely. We recommend writing the answers down so you can ask informed questions during the quote.