Does Solar Panel Leasing Make Sense

J ulie griffiths wanted to reduce her carbon footprint by installing solar panels.

Does solar panel leasing make sense. The payback period to recoup the cost of the system would simply be too lengthy. The steep up front costs for a residential solar system can make a leasing company s sales pitch sound pretty appealing. With a solar lease you won t receive the 30 federal tax credit either because you are not buying the system. In my last article i may have seemed unwaveringly against solar leasing and ppa s but nothing could be further from the truth.

If you have enough to make a purchase in cash you ll save more than with any other option but even with a 0 down solar loan your savings could still be in the tens of thousands. But the finances and ownership of your solar energy system will change depending on whether you decide to own them outright or not. How are you financing your solar panel system. You might think that owning a solar system would ensure 24 7 access to electric power even when the grid goes down from hurricanes or other disasters or accidents.

Leasing solar panels for your home is not a good idea from a financial perspective. It just wouldn t make economic sense assuming you own rather than lease the solar panels. We simply do not recommend it. Whether you decide to buy your solar panels outright or lease them you ll still get the same clean solar electricity powering your home.

But that s not the case. The leasing company will get the tax credit because they will own the system that you ll be making payments on for the next 20 years. The cost would have been a prohibitive 12 000 so she signed a deal to lease part of her roof to a solar power. Should i lease or buy solar panels does it really make a difference.

Solar source technician jason breaux is tethered to the roof of a house in dunedin florida during a solar panel installation. If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan. Like other financing tools solar leasing has its place in the home improvement industry along with same as cash financing helocs home equity lines of. While solar leases and power purchase.

Solar leasing can make sense for certain consumers. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system. 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. Pay little or nothing and save hundreds of dollars per year on average.

The main practical distinction between buying and leasing a solar pv system is in ownership. Whether you choose to buy or lease your solar panels will have a major impact on your system s long term value.