mts711
Those formus were a bane of my existence, because their "technical explanations" were equally batshit crazy. (And of course none of those people was an actual engineer with knowledge in that field).
I think offgriders belong in the same crazy camp like healing crystals chicks, and antivaxxers.
I actually used to work in a solar & heat pump company.
YES it does attract a huge amount of scummy people on both sides.
Some comments have already answered on the side of sales, but it also attracts a lot of shitty clients.
How? A lot of people get greedy with free energy and/or homesteading/offgird wackos. Usually they're unable to pay the "normal" price so they chase down such scammy companies because the number they have offered fits their budget.
IMHO definitely an industry to avoid working in.
Grew up in rural Eastern Europe.
I have always been considered "eccentric" or a bit "odd". I made my peace with it and lived my life knowing that I'm not mentally ok.
After I emigrated to Germany and befriended new people, I realized that I have always been normal, I just didn't have hillbilly interests like everyone else around me.
I feel you man, it must have been tough.
I'm happy for you that you got away from all that.