Both buying and leasing solar panels have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Buying vs leasing solar panel.
The only real con of buying solar panels is the required upfront costs.
It will take you twenty years to pay off the loan for your solar panels.
Buying solar panels requires an investment and more decision making than leasing but over the long term the benefits of owning your system are hard to beat.
With solar loans tax credits and state incentives you can get your solar panels for 0 down.
If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan.
The main practical distinction between buying and leasing a solar pv system is in ownership.
If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system.
Buying solar panels.
However although an outright solar panel purchase requires a substantial amount of out of pocket cash you do have the option of financing through a zero down loan.
Because you aren t buying the system yourself the leasing company pays all the costs of installation instead of you.
In most cases that means the price of the home also factors in the cost of the installed solar panel system a fair price to pay for the long term benefits solar provides.
The cons of buying solar panels.
Climate change is affecting us all in both domestic and business environments.
If you are ruminating on leasing vs buying solar panels consider this scenario.
In exchange for using solar energy you pay a monthly lease payment to the solar company.
The pros and cons of leasing solar panels.
Power costs have spiraled and reliability and availability have decreased in.
You are twenty seven years old and making 30 000 at your first job out of college.