Field Notes
Field notes on residential solar economics.
Dealer fees, NEM 3.0 battery math, overstated production estimates. Grounded in 312 real proposals we audited across six states.
Loan structure · stylized
$28,400 systemCash price$24,200
Dealer fee (markup)$6,800
Misc. fees$880
Total financed$31,880
The “0.99% APR” advertised on the loan only makes sense if you ignore the 22% premium baked into the principal. Effective rate: ~8.4%.
Featured · Capital
The dealer fee is the most expensive line item in your solar loan.
Why a "0.99% APR" loan can cost you $12,300 more than the cash equivalent — and how to spot the embedded markup before you sign.
Mar 18, 2026·11 min read
Tariffs
14 minNEM 3.0 didn't kill solar in California. It killed solar without batteries.
Two years of data under California's new solar billing rules show the math is battery-or-bust: export credits shrink on a fixed schedule, so payback hinges on storage.
Feb 28, 2026→
Audit
9 minThe median installer year-1 production estimate runs 8.4% high.
We audited 312 proposals across six states. Median overstatement of first-year kWh: 8.4%. The reasons are mostly structural, not malicious.
Feb 11, 2026→