Is solar leasing right for you? 

A solar lease is when someone else owns the solar energy equipment (usually the leasing company) installed at your home to produce your electricity. You pay a monthly payment to lease the equipment for a period. Those terms usually last 10 to 15 years and often the lease payment increases over time. A solar lease has payments that are usually lower than the electric bill from the utility, and that is why a lot of people lease their solar power. Many people live in situations where they still want to be independent of the utilities, and they want to lower their carbon footprint, but they don’t have the means to budget a solar panel installation. They do, however, pay their bills every month. If they can have solar power installed without the huge upfront cost, they can use all the power they want, and they will still pay less than from the utilities, people will line up for that deal forever. Leasing also makes it easier to upgrade when newer, more efficient panels come on the market. This is a good thing because the industry is changing and improving every day.
 

Leasing disadvantages

When you lease the solar panels, you don’t own them. A solar lease is basically an agreement to rent the panels and pay for that rental every month until they are removed from the home. Because of this, a lease adds no value to your property and may actually reduce property value or become a problem if you try to sell your home. The leasing company also owns the solar panels, so they receive all the federal tax credits, state incentives, and programs. They Increase their bottom line, while you pay them every month.
 

Power purchasing agreements

These are similar to leases, except that in leases you pay for the equipment leased and you get to pocket the power savings. If you have a PPA, then you don’t have to pay for the equipment, you have to pay for the power you use, just like you do with the utility. The difference is that lease payments are about the same every month, and PPAs vary each month based on the amount of energy produced by the system. Under a PPA, a customer pays only for what is produced during a given month, and will, therefore, pay more in summer than in winter.
 
Just like leases, you don’t own the solar panels, and you are providing the leasing company the money for those solar panel payments. You don’t get the tax incentives, and sometimes you don’t even receive the net metering benefits. If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.