Despite the known benefits of domestic solar panels, sometimes neighbors and local entities can prevent the money-saving upgrade.
One homeowner took to Reddit to describe how their local historic district — what they jokingly called the "local hysterical district" — is stopping residents from installing street-facing solar panels in their neighborhood.
According to the original poster, once they began considering solar panels for their home, they had to go through an arduous approval process.
"We paid $50 and attended the board meeting, knowing we might have to appeal," the homeowner expressed on the subreddit r/solar.
Their initial request was rejected, even after half of the board voted in favor, with the chairperson casting the deciding vote against it.
Following a $200 appeal to the city that also proved unsuccessful, the homeowner's aspirations were dashed. Compounding the OP's frustrations, the head of the historical district showed up at the appeal hearing to note, "You're not entitled to solar, and that's that."
Luckily, situations like this are rare, and if you do run into something similar, the solar experts at EnergySage can help. They can also provide quick estimates for solar installations.
Unfortunately for this homeowner, they noted that they live in Georgia, a state with no laws preventing entities such as historic districts from restricting solar.
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Commenters under the post shared their opinions on the situation.
"Time to run for the position of head of the historical district," one wrote.
"Only hope is to get the state legislature on your side to pass solar access laws or find a group that will fund your lawsuit to help create case law to back solar install rights," another mentioned.
Despite this unfortunate situation, many states have laws in place that protect homeowners' rights to install solar, limiting the ability of local non-government entities to block installations.
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If you're curious about how installing solar panels can reshape your energy costs, connect with EnergySage.
Homeowners who utilize EnergySage's free tools can save up to $10,000 on installations and purchases.
EnergySage even has a helpful mapping tool to show you the average cost of solar in your area, as well as details on local incentives. It can ensure you snag the best price possible for solar.
To make your home's energy secure from blackouts and dodge peak electricity rates, consider pairing solar with a whole-home battery. To get started, check out EnergySage's battery resources.
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