Is Leasing Solar Panels A Good Idea

Here s why you might want to lease solar panels instead of buying or financing them.

Is leasing solar panels a good idea.

A landowner who enters into a solar lease should expect to have solar panels on his or her farm for 40 to 50 years. Both a solar leaseand ppa are affordable easy ways to enjoy solar power without a large upfront investment. If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system.

The contracts for these leases and ppas are always long and can be difficult to deciper. 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. 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.

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. 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. The steep up front costs for a residential solar system can make a leasing company s sales pitch sound pretty appealing. Leasing solar panels for your home is not a good idea from a financial perspective.

Department of energy s lawrence berkeley. Another benefit of owning versus leasing solar panels is the premium it offers on the value of your home. A solar lease is a financing option for residential solar panels where the homeowner leases panels from a solar company. Some companies also offer power purchase agreements or ppas.

We simply do not recommend it. Pay little or nothing and save hundreds of dollars per year on average. Solar leasing provides an economical entrance point for homeowners interested in making the switch to renewable energy. 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.