I'm a relatively eco-conscious person. I'm all about the green economy, I save packing materials like a World War II grandma and I have logged time in the sustainable energy industry. I understand that renewables come with their own challenges and opportunities.

"Home solar is one of the only power plants that will fit on your roof, generate electricity without causing pollution and use fuel that is free and abundant for everyone," said my former colleague Gene Rodrigues, who is now the assistant secretary for electricity for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sunlight is certainly free, and for many, solar power makes sense. But after my run-in with a big solar company, I was horrified to think it might all be a scam. In fact, attorneys general in multiple states have their hands full with deceptive fraud complaints against companies that allegedly prey on people by selling expensive plans with high interest rates, or inappropriately sizing systems. (The Better Business Bureau has a scam tracker that can be a rabbit hole of information but is a good way to gauge if a company is legitimate.)

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My husband, daughter and I moved into a Burbank, Calif., house that came with a logic-defying floor plan, a generous orange tree and a 20-year lease on a rooftop solar array that can produce 2.65 kilowatts of power from the sun — the equivalent amount of electricity, roughly, to run a dishwasher and possibly a........

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