Solar Lease Feedback

I'm looking for any general thoughts or experiences someone might have . . .

I'm considering adding solar power to my home. The company I've dealt with offered a 20 year lease program at a couple of dollars less than I pay now per month. The panels would have to go on the front slopes of my roof. My house is a ranch-style so they'd be easily seen. The company is legit, fully insures and warranties their work, and I've liked their approach so far.

Cons: locking into a 20 year agreement, aesthetics of the panels on the front of the house (future resale issue?), price locked if costs drop

Pros: price guarantee if electricity costs rise, less draw on natural resources, no maintenance for me

One other concern I have is that we have a couple of drywall cracks in room corners and along seams in upstairs bedrooms. They expand during the winter and are not noticeable during the summer. I'm wondering whether the added pressure of the panel weight would cause me further problems. Logically that seems a Yes, but maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks, in advance, for any feedback I receive.

 

Check with your accountant - you may be eligible for some tax breaks / credits. Not sure if they'd apply to a leased system, however.

I don't think the weight would be any worse than the snow your going to see up there in Mass.

 

The cost of the lease goes up yearly too doesn't it? I was quoted $120 a month for a 5.4kw system and each year my payment goes up 3% for 20 years. The small savings doesn't justify the long contract or having ugly panels on my roof. Plus if I were to sell I would have to pay off the lease if the new owner doesn't want to take over the lease. Unless your usage is pretty high solar doesn't make sense even around here where we pay 36 cent per kw at tier 4.

20 years plus tens of thousands to save 20 dollars a month makes as much sense as spending 10k more on a hybrid.

 

I'm all about more efficient ways to power my home.

Not being familiar with how solar is affixed, what happens if you decide to sell your house? Do you pay a penalty for early release from the contract, take the unit(s) with you, hope the buyer wants them...???

The other post seem to be some legit questions as far as escalating cost of the lease, the fact it is an evolving technology & seeking some green tax breaks. Again at least from my very limited knowledge pov.

 

Thanks, guys, for the input. Looks like I should have been more detailed. The system involves no up front money and no installation cost. Right now, my monthly bill is about $79 per month. I'm on a balanced plan, so I pay the same amount all year long. Each of the last few years, my bill has gone up a few dollars. The system I was quoted would cost me $74 a year, is guaranteed to cover my usage 104% and would never go up in price. $5 a month isn't much, but it wouldn't cost be anything to get there and I'd save more if electricity costs continue to rise. I don't believe I'd qualify for any tax breaks due it being a lease.

The system would be part of the sale if I sold my house and the new owners would take on the same price per month. I'm sure there's some financial repercussions if I were to end the lease early but I haven't seen the small print yet.

Beavis, good point about it eventually being outdated. I'm not sure delivery of power will undergo a major transformation but it certainly could. If it became less than effective, they'd address that. But, a buyer might be apprehensive regardless.

I think if the term was less time, I'd be more inclined. A 20 year commitment is making me waver.

 

I wouldn't consider a house where I had to sign an additional lease or pay (in any way) to help get out of a lease.

Don't blame you. What happens at the end of the lease?

 

They don't always go up. It depends on the company. More and more are keeping the payments steady over the 20 year span. There's a installer here in San Diego (Baker Electric Solar) that does. They offer a Sunpower system that's set in price for 20 years. No increase. If I went with them it would cost me $185/month for a 7KWh system and it would cover my electric use (I spend about $240 on electricity).

Another option is the prepaid lease. You pay the cost up front. It works out to about the same cost as buying. We were quoted about $26K for a 7KW system for purchase. After rebates it works out to $18K. The prepaid lease was $18K for the same system. It's advantage over buying is the vendor is responsible for performance and maintenance throughout the 20 year span. Plus if it's prepaid, there's no need to worry about passing the system on to a new owner should you decide to sell your home (since it's paid for, it's free to the new buyer for the rest of the term). It's advantage to the vendor is they get to write off the equipment costs since they own it (depreciation).

The disadvantage to the buyer is that after 20 years, you'll have a residual due. One guy I talked to said to tell the solar company that you don't want the system. They're obligated to remove the equipment and restore your roof. But taking a 20 year old solar system off, restoring the roof, storing the old equipment and trying to sell it is more trouble than it's worth. It'll likely cost them more to remove it than the system is worth. They may just tell you to keep it.

 

You can buy the system for the fair market value at lease end, or have the company remove the system and restore your roof to it's original condition. One company I got a quote from had a residual value on a 5KW system of about $3500. That's more of a guess on their part. I would look for one that states fair market value as determined by a 3rd party assessor.

One thing with a lease, you want a company that's going to be around in 20 years.

 

Never heard of a "lease option" until this thread. First hit when searching for more information.

http://solarleasescams.com/

 

If my electric bill was $79.00 per month I'd be one happy camper.
Also, I wouldn't crap up the front elevation / curb appeal of my home w/ the solar panels.

 

We have a lot of beautifull beachside homes here that are converting to solar and unfortunately the panels are an eye sore, especially on slate/tile roofs. We are keeping up with panel technology here in Hawaii as fast as new innovations come out - still panels are ugly. As for resale, get a leased setup as it is difficult (atleast right now here in hawaii) for home appraisers to factor in a full cost to your home value - especially if other homes in your neighborhood do not have photovaltic.

 

I wish solar was more viable up here

 

A lot of it depends on the company. American Solar Direct was going to try and charge me $175 for a 5KW system, which would have cost me $42000. The panels were 240w Renesolar and used SolarEdge Power Optimizers (which I like).

The prepaid lease I mentioned above would work out to $2.50/watt including lost rebate money. The prepay amount is equal to the purchase amount after rebate. That system uses 26 270 watt LG panels. The sales rep stated that buying a Sunpower system of equal size would cost about 25% more.

The 7KW Sunpower lease is very expensive (About $44K), but they are Sunpower panels. It's not much more expensive than the American Solar Direct 5KW system, though. Better panels for the same cost. Neither company used escalator payments.

You also have to take into account inflation. Money in the future is worth less than money now. If you spent $26000 on a system in 1994, that same money would be worth $41,000 today (you need the $41000 today to buy what $26000 bought in 1992). So even though you're spending $44K over the 20 year period, it's not the same spending $44K today so you can't really compare the two prices.