Is Leasing Solar Panels A Good Idea

The steep up front costs for a residential solar system can make a leasing company s sales pitch sound pretty appealing.

Is leasing solar panels a good idea.

Leasing solar panels for your home is not a good idea from a financial perspective. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system. Here s why you might want to lease solar panels instead of buying or financing them. Another benefit of owning versus leasing solar panels is the premium it offers on the value of your home.

Solar leasing provides an economical entrance point for homeowners interested in making the switch to renewable energy. In a lease you pay to rent the solar power system typically for about 20 percent less than you were paying for electricity explained freedom forever solar. The contracts for these leases and ppas are always long and can be difficult to deciper. If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan.

If that sounds like you leasing solar panels or purchasing power through a ppa power purchase agreement could be a good option. A solar lease is a financing option for residential solar panels where the homeowner leases panels from a solar company. Both a solar leaseand ppa are affordable easy ways to enjoy solar power without a large upfront investment. Pay little or nothing and save hundreds of dollars per year on average.

Some companies also offer power purchase agreements or ppas. According to new research sponsored by the u s. Depending on the state anywhere from 50 90 of rooftop solar installations were financed by solar leasing or ppa at the beginning of 2014 according to the seia. In most cases you ll save much more money in the long run by exploring other financing options like an fha title 1 loan or a traditional loan from your personal bank.

We simply do not recommend it. Third party solar leases have proven themselves incredibly popular in recent years playing a key role in propelling rooftop solar panels into the mainstream. It sounds good in theory but in practice the contracts for solar leases and power purchase agreements can and do contain some nasty surprises that consumers often don t know about until it s too late. Installing a solar farm on farmland could cause the land to lose its current agricultural use value status since the land is no longer used exclusively for agriculture.