Vision Solar Hit with Class Action Over Allegedly Shoddy Solar Panel Installation Practices

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Vision Solar faces a proposed class action wherein a Florida consumer claims the solar energy company installed a photovoltaic (PV) system on his home that has failed two electrical inspections and remained inoperable for over two years.

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The 55-page lawsuit says that despite their contractual promises, Vision Solar, LLC and Vision Solar FL, LLC—which operate together as Vision Solar—have “systematically” failed to install operable solar energy systems that produce energy and follow electrical codes. The suit alleges that the companies have also failed to obtain the necessary permits for installation of their PV systems.

In July 2021, Vision Solar—a New Jersey-based company which installs solar panels on residential homes in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas and New Jersey—set up an 8.16 kW solar energy system with 23 PV panels on the plaintiff’s house, the case describes. Five months after the installation, in January 2022, an electrical inspector informed the plaintiff that his PV system had failed inspection, the complaint relays.

Though Vision Solar returned to the plaintiff’s home to address the issue, the solar energy system remained inoperable and failed a second inspection later that month, the filing shares.

As the lawsuit tells it, the plaintiff repeatedly tried to contact Vision Solar throughout 2022 and 2023, but the company was “unresponsive.” In July 2023, an independent solar energy contractor inspected the man’s PV system and reported that it violated electrical codes, was not producing energy and had been installed without the proper permit, the suit says.

As a result of Vision Solar’s “wrongful conduct,” the plaintiff has been forced to pay $158.83 per month for his inoperable PV system, on top of the full amount of his electric bills each period, the case claims. In addition, only a passed inspection would enable the man’s electric utility company to install a bi-directional meter to allow for “net metering,” a billing process whereby the homeowner could be credited by his electric company for energy produced by his PV system, the complaint adds.

“Over the last two (2) years, [the plaintiff] has paid over $5,000 for energy that would have been produced by the PV system if it had functioned as [Vision Solar] represented,” the filing contends. “To date and over two (2) years after executing the [sales agreement], [the plaintiff’s] system has not passed inspection, is inoperable, and a bi-directional meter has not been installed that will allow [him] the benefits of net metering.”

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff is not alone in his experiences with the company. In June of this year, USA Today reported that Vision Solar had “defrauded thousands” by failing to get the proper permits before installing PV systems, “resulting in homeowners paying for solar energy systems that are not connected to the power grid,” the suit shares.

In addition, the Better Business Bureau website has given Vision Solar 1.2 stars out of five and gives it an “F” rating, the case states. What’s more, the website hosts over 600 consumer complaints from the last three years that bemoan Vision Solar’s allegedly inoperable PV systems, improper installation and unresponsive customer service, the complaint describes.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who contracted with Vision Solar for the installation of PV systems where the company failed to install them according to electrical codes, obtain the necessary permits for installation and/or install operable PV systems that produce energy.

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