‘Ceiling caved in’: Homeowner says solar panels didn’t agree with her roof

LANCASTER, S.C. — Jill Hinson decided to go solar after hearing of how it saved on her neighbors’ energy bills.

She says she saw a large dip in her power bills after installation.

But she says about a month after installation, the ceiling started leaking. She concedes the company came back multiple times, but says the problem continued.

>>CLICK HERE for more Action 9 reports

“I’ve sent emails. I called. Nothing,” she said. Hinson says about two years went by and that eventually, “the ceiling caved in.”

“We’ve got leaks now that are going throughout our whole downstairs,” she said. “And, recently, my lights quit working here.”

Action 9 emailed the company, EMPWR Solar.

They responded, saying that in 2021 and 2022 they worked on the roof, even replaced it, and made repairs inside the house.

They say in 2023, they “partnered with another solar company” and had a lot of “changes,” including employee turnover.

They acknowledge Hinson got “lost in the shuffle.”

They say her roof goes from a steeper pitch to a much flatter one which leads to water pooling.

They say looking back it probably wasn’t a good candidate for panels at the time but they say there have been “significant advances in the installation and manufacturing techniques over the past few years.”

So they believe they can fix this once and for all. They reached out to Hinson and are planning the next steps.

EMPWR’s first email to Action 9:

I have been brought up to speed on this project, and will be contacting Mrs. Hinson to find a satisfactory resolution for them. In short, this customer’s roof pitch has a drastic change from one slope to another that causes water pooling near some of the roof penetrations on the lower level. EMPWR did replace this homeowner’s roof back in April 2021, but due to the roof design, a similar result came about again. We also did roof and interior repairs again in 2022. Although we have worked to try and find a solution that would work for this home’s design at our cost, the problem has persisted. We do not have any records of the customer reaching out since early 2023 at which time there were some discussions as to what to do next. During 2023 our company went through organizational changes as we partnered with another solar company. During that same time we also switched CRM’s, phone systems, and numerous employees were added and subtracted etc... This customer was lost in the shuffle of those changes, and had not reached out since. Luckily, there have been some significant advances in the installation and manufacturing techniques over the past few years that I believe can now help in this situation. I will be reaching out today to open up a new dialogue with Mrs. Hinson. I will keep you posted on those discussions as they progress.

EMPWR’s second email to Action 9:

Mrs. Hinson has been contacted via email, and a call is being scheduled to discuss the next steps [general discussion roofs that are and are not good candidates for solar omitted]... Issues with Mrs. Hinson’s installation - For this installation, both the roof type and the age were appropriate for solar. The problem in this particular case was a unique design of the roof that was not originally determined to be a problem. Their roof has an area that goes from a steeper pitch to a much flatter pitch. The flatter pitch probably should have not been a shingled roof. Quite often, a roofer would use a “TPO membrane” or some type of different material type for the roof in this flatter area to keep water from pooling or at least to prevent any type of leaks from pooling. Shingles work well on “pitched roofs” allowing for water to run off rather quickly. The issue here has been that panels were installed on this flatter area, and with it being flatter and having shingles instead of some other type of roofing materials, the natural pooling of water in this area has allowed for water to sit in the areas near the penetrations. With the installation techniques available at the time, this just hasn’t been a good situation.

Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke says make sure your roof is a good fit for solar. Most can support panels easily.

Three things to look out for:

- The type of roof (asphalt, metal, tile) - some may need special techniques.

- How old the roof is - be careful if it only has 12 or fewer years left.

- If it has a unique design.

VIDEO: Solar companies shift strategies as incentives expire at end of 2025