Don't Buy Solar in California Without Reading This
A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE
FOUNDER & CEO OF SOLARSESAME
My name is Manan Singh, and I'm the founder and CEO of SolarSesame, a California solar company headquartered in Hayward, CA. But before I started SolarSesame, I was just another California homeowner trying to make a smart decision for my family. At the time, I worked in the financial services industry. I had a stable career, a good job, and like many homeowners in California, I decided to install solar on my own home to reduce my electricity bills and make a smart investment for my family. I genuinely believed I was doing the right thing. The salesperson made everything sound simple. The proposal looked beautiful. The savings projections looked incredible. The system was supposedly going to cover all of my electricity usage. I remember feeling excited and optimistic. But after installation, reality hit hard.
MY SOLAR EXPERIENCE BECAME A NIGHTMARE
The problems started almost immediately. The system didn't perform the way it was explained to me. The utility bills were still showing up. The savings didn't match the promises. But honestly, the financial disappointment wasn't even the worst part. The installation experience itself became a nightmare. The company kept sending different crews to my house over and over again. Different people. Different explanations every time. In total, they came back to my house around 9 separate times. Nine. Every visit disrupted our daily life. Power shutoffs. Scheduling issues. People walking in and out of the house. Missed timelines. Confusing answers. It felt like nobody truly owned the project.
That experience opened my eyes to something most homeowners don't realize: Solar and battery installation is extremely complicated. Especially today under California's NEM 3.0 rules.
MOST HOMEOWNERS THINK SOLAR IS ABOUT PANELS. IT'S NOT.
Most people shopping for solar compare:
- Price
- Equipment brands
- Number of panels
But very few ask the most important question:
"Who is actually responsible for making sure this system works properly years from now?"
The truth is:
Workmanship matters more than most homeowners realize. In fact, a properly installed system using average equipment can often outperform a poorly installed system using premium expensive equipment. That's how important installation quality is. Battery systems especially are not simple.
A modern battery installation involves:
- Advanced electrical work
- Main panel integration
- Backup load calculations
- Utility coordination
- Safety systems
- Software configuration
- Critical electrical planning
Good electricians are expensive. And today, because of massive demand from AI data centers and infrastructure projects, experienced electricians are harder to find than ever. But good electricians make all the difference. A skilled crew comes in prepared, installs the system properly, minimizes disruption to your family, and gets the work done correctly the first time. A poorly trained crew can turn your home into an ongoing construction project for weeks. Unfortunately, many companies focus so heavily on reducing costs that installation quality suffers. That's how homeowners end up with multiple visits, poor communication, delays, and long-term performance issues. I experienced it personally. And it frustrated me deeply.
THEN CALIFORNIA CHANGED EVERYTHING
Around the same time, California transitioned into NEM 3.0. Most homeowners still do not fully understand how dramatic this change was. On April 15, 2023, California utilities like PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E started paying homeowners almost nothing for excess solar energy exported back to the grid. In many cases, utilities now pay homeowners around $0.02 per kWh for electricity sent back during the day.
Then later that same evening, homeowners may buy electricity back from the utility for:
- $0.40
- $0.50
- Sometimes even $0.74 per kWh during peak hours
Think about how crazy that is. You generate electricity on your roof. The utility takes it during the day for pennies. Then sells electricity back to you at night for dramatically higher prices. That completely changed how solar systems need to be designed in California.
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THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I SEE HOMEOWNERS MAKING
Most homeowners are still being sold solar systems as if we are living under the old rules. They are being sold large solar systems with inadequate battery storage.
Why?
Because many salespeople are financially incentivized to sell more solar panels. Their commissions are often tied to system size. More panels usually means more commission. But under NEM 3.0, battery sizing is often more important than the number of solar panels. This is where many homeowners unknowingly get trapped.
THE "20% MORE PRODUCTION" TRAP
Many proposal tools show homeowners that their new solar system will supposedly produce:
- 20%
- 30%
- Sometimes even 50% more energy than they used last year
Naturally, homeowners think:
"Perfect. My electric bill should disappear." But under NEM 3.0, total production is not the main issue anymore.
Timing matters more. If your household uses most electricity after sunset — which is common for working couples and families — then battery storage becomes critical.
Imagine this:
You leave for work during the day. Your home is mostly empty while the sun is shining.
Meanwhile:
- Your solar panels are producing lots of electricity
- Your battery gets fully charged by late morning
- Extra solar energy gets exported to the utility for almost nothing
Then you come home after sunset.
Now your energy usage begins:
- Air conditioning
- Cooking
- Laundry
- TVs
- Appliances
- EV charging
If your battery is undersized, it may drain within a few hours. After that, your home starts buying expensive electricity from the utility for the rest of the night. That's why many homeowners still receive large utility bills despite buying large solar systems. The issue often isn't the solar panels. The issue is battery sizing and system design.
THE DEALER PROBLEM NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Another issue I discovered is how many homeowners are unknowingly buying from out-of-state sales organizations and door-knocking dealers. The salesperson promises everything.
But later the homeowner realizes:
- The salesperson was never actually employed by the installer
- The installation company says those promises were never approved
- Nobody takes accountability when problems happen
Sadly, this is becoming very common across California. And homeowners are the ones stuck dealing with the consequences.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SOLAR WARRANTIES NOBODY EXPLAINS
Another thing I learned the hard way is that many homeowners misunderstand what a "25-year warranty" actually means.
A lot of salespeople throw warranty numbers around very casually:
- 25-year panel warranty
- 25-year performance warranty
- 10-year battery warranty
- 25-year workmanship warranty
It sounds reassuring during the sales process.
But what homeowners often discover later is this: When something actually goes wrong, nobody wants to take responsibility.
The sales dealer says: "Talk to the installer."
The installer says: "Talk to the equipment manufacturer."
The equipment company says: "Prove that our equipment is defective." Meanwhile, the homeowner is stuck in the middle trying to figure out why their system stopped working.
And the reality is: Modern solar and battery systems are extremely complex electrical systems. When a system fails, it is not always obvious what the problem is.
Is it:
- A panel?
- The inverter?
- The battery?
- A breaker?
- A monitoring issue?
- A burnt wire hidden inside conduit?
- A software communication problem?
Most homeowners have no way of knowing. And unlike regular home electrical work, solar and battery systems cannot simply be repaired by any electrician you find on Yelp. Proper troubleshooting requires specialized expertise. Unfortunately, many homeowners only realize this after installation. I learned it the hard way myself. After my original system continued having issues, I eventually had to spend additional money correcting and fixing the installation. It was frustrating. It was expensive. And honestly, it should never have happened in the first place. But once the system was finally designed and installed correctly, everything changed. Now my system performs flawlessly. The savings are real.
And that experience reinforced something I strongly believe today: The company standing behind the system matters just as much as the equipment itself. Because when problems happen years later, what truly matters is whether there is a real company that will actually answer the phone, take ownership, and solve the issue.
WHY I STARTED SOLARSESAME
After everything I experienced, I reached a point where I asked myself:
Why does solar have to be this painful for homeowners?
Because the truth is:
Solar itself is an incredible product. When designed correctly and installed correctly, it can absolutely transform a homeowner's financial future. But homeowners deserve honesty. They deserve transparency. They deserve systems designed for real-world usage — not sales commissions. That frustration eventually led me to make one of the biggest decisions of my life. I left my career in financial services and started SolarSesame.
My mission was simple:
Build a California solar company that homeowners can genuinely trust.
WHAT MAKES SOLARSESAME DIFFERENT
SolarSesame is headquartered in Hayward, California. You can visit our office. You can meet our team. You can walk into our showroom. Our energy consultants are trained directly by us and we are extremely selective about the installation professionals we work with.
We focus on:
- Proper battery sizing
- Real usage analysis
- Honest savings expectations
- High-quality installation workmanship
- Long-term customer support
Because in my experience, the true cost of a bad installation is much higher than the savings from choosing the cheapest quote. A properly designed and properly installed system should bring peace of mind — not stress.
MY ADVICE TO CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS
Before signing any solar agreement, ask these questions:
- How long will my battery last after sunset?
- What happens when the battery runs out?
- How much electricity will I still buy from the utility?
- Is this proposal realistic under NEM 3.0?
- Who is actually responsible for servicing my system years later?
- Can I visit the company's office?
- Will the same company support me after installation?
- Who will actually help me if something goes wrong years later?
If those answers are unclear, you should slow down and ask more questions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I did not leave my previous career to become "just another solar company." I started SolarSesame because I personally experienced how stressful and confusing solar can become when homeowners are sold systems incorrectly.
My goal is simple:
Help California homeowners avoid the mistakes I went through. Solar done correctly is still one of the best investments a homeowner can make. But under NEM 3.0, it must be designed intelligently, installed properly, and backed by a company that truly cares about the homeowner experience. I hope this article helps you make a more informed decision for your family.
Sincerely,
Manan Singh
Founder & CEO
SolarSesame
Hayward, California
CSLB License #1116168
