How do I get out of a solar contract in San Francisco, California?
Short answer
In San Francisco, two things decide your position: what California law gave you when you signed, and what Pacific Gas & Electric credits you for the power your panels send back. Every California solar contract must open with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document (Business and Professions Code section 7169) stating the total cost and your cancellation right in bold type on the cover page. After the windows close, the routes are the ones in your own paperwork — which is why the workbooks are built from your documents, not from general advice.
The local picture: power and buyback in San Francisco
Pacific Gas & Electric delivers the power in San Francisco, and many San Francisco homes can also buy their electricity through a community choice aggregator. Under California's current net-billing tariff, exported solar is credited at avoided-cost-based rates far below the retail rate — the structural reason so many California solar bills fell short of the sales pitch.
San Francisco is in San Francisco County. California's solar rules are statewide — the same statute covers every city in this list — but the utility facts above are local, and they are the half of the story most sales pitches skipped.
What California law gives San Francisco homeowners
Every California solar contract must open with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document (Business and Professions Code section 7169) stating the total cost and your cancellation right in bold type on the cover page. One warning first: if your deal is PACE financing, it is repaid through your property taxes as a first-position tax lien — not a solar loan at all — and needs different handling.
Complaints about a California solar sale go to the Contractors State License Board and the California Attorney General, in writing, with the contract, the disclosure document, and statements attached.
The full breakdown — the statute, the disclosure document, the enforcement history — is on the California page.
Documents to gather
- The Disclosure Document itself — the cover page of your contract
- Your full signed contract, in the language the sale was conducted in
- The CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide pages, with your initials and signature, if they are in your file
- Your property tax bill — the place a PACE assessment appears
- Loan, lease, or PPA papers naming the lender or owner
- The proposal and savings estimate you were sold from
- Statements, oldest to newest
Questions to ask a licensed attorney
We are not a law firm, and this page is general information, not legal advice. These are the questions your paperwork raises that a licensed attorney in California can answer for your situation:
- My contract has no Disclosure Document on the front — what does that mean under California law?
- Is my financing actually PACE, and what does the first-position tax lien mean for my home?
- I never received my contract until after the cancellation window had passed — what are my options?
Questions people also ask
How do I get out of a solar contract in San Francisco, California?
Every California solar contract must open with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document (Business and Professions Code section 7169) stating the total cost and your cancellation right in bold type on the cover page. One warning first: if your deal is PACE financing, it is repaid through your property taxes as a first-position tax lien — not a solar loan at all — and needs different handling. The full California breakdown — statute, windows, and complaint routes — is on our California page.
Why do I still get an electric bill in San Francisco when I have solar panels?
Pacific Gas & Electric delivers the power in San Francisco, and many San Francisco homes can also buy their electricity through a community choice aggregator. Under California's current net-billing tariff, exported solar is credited at avoided-cost-based rates far below the retail rate — the structural reason so many California solar bills fell short of the sales pitch. A solar loan, lease, or PPA payment is separate from the electric bill in every arrangement: the panels reduce what you buy, they do not erase the bill or the financing.
Do you come to my home in San Francisco?
No. Everything is by phone and online, wherever you live in San Francisco County or anywhere in California. You share photos or scans of your solar contract and loan papers, we show you the main findings first — before you pay anything — and the two workbooks are delivered by email. One package, both books always included.
How the workbooks help
Your Actions is built from your San Francisco contract and loan papers — the contract date, the disclosure statement, the lender, and the export credit on your Pacific Gas & Electric bills — and The In-Depth Version documents every finding in full.
One package — both books always included. Each book is delivered by email within 3–5 business days of purchase; delivery occurs after the 3-day cancellation window closes.
Read a sample workbook (PDF) More homeowner questions
Related guides
Other cities in California
- Get out of a solar contract in Los Angeles, California
- Get out of a solar contract in San Diego, California
- Get out of a solar contract in San Jose, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Fresno, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Sacramento, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Long Beach, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Oakland, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Bakersfield, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Anaheim, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Riverside, California
- Get out of a solar contract in Irvine, California