ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Lease Solar Panels

Updated on August 8, 2020
stephhicks68 profile image

Stephanie is always looking for ways to lighten her carbon footprint. She is enthusiastic about solar power and solar gadgets.

You Can Lease Solar Panels Instead of Investing in Owning Solar Panels

Purchasing a solar panel system upfront is often the primary reason that stops many people from converting to renewable energy. Today, however, you can lease solar panels, and often save a bundle.

Leasing solar panels is one of several ways to help finance solar power. But it may be one of the most lucrative. Even CBS News had a featured story on the subject. When you enter into a solar power lease, you don't own the system, but the terms of the lease agreement could save you significant funds that can help you with your monthly budget.

Don't believe me? Ask Kathy Nalty. She was profiled on CBS Evening News, sharing her story about going solar.

In her typical suburban house, which she shares with kids and grandma, five TVs and four computers, her electric bill went from $200-$300 a month to just $59 a month.

Nalty's solar panels are "free," due to a solar panel lease program. The company charges her $100 a month for the 15-year lease. Generous state and federal solar rebates - worth a couple thousand dollars - go to the company. Yet, with her electricity usage down, Nalty says she saves so much on electric bills that she comes out ahead about $100 each month.

How to Lease Solar Panels

Should You Consider a Solar Panel Lease?

There are basic considerations any property owner should review before deciding whether to purchase, lease or otherwise finance solar panels:

  • What are your monthly electricity bills?
  • What would the monthly payments be (under a lease or a loan)?
  • Make sure that the payments are less than your average electricity bills
  • Do you have equity in your home?
  • Are you planning on staying in your home for at least the next 12-24 months?
  • Would you prefer maintenance or repair of the solar panels to be done by professionals, or yourself?
  • How much liquidity do you have (available cash?)
  • What is your credit score? (should be at least 640)

When you lease solar panels, the upfront cost is reduced
When you lease solar panels, the upfront cost is reduced | Source

What Should You Look for in a Solar Panel Lease?

Today, a number of companies are getting into the solar lease business. But what can you expect as a consumer?

Definitely check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure that the company with which you are dealing is reputable. Review its website and even make a call to your local Chamber of Commerce to find out as much information as possible.

When you enter a solar panel lease, it is a binding contract. Both sides to the agreement must fulfill their promises, or risk legal action. Be sure to review every single provision in the agreement carefully. Given the value of solar panels, you may want to consider retaining a lawyer to help you make sure that all potential concerns are addressed and there are no overly restrictive terms.

The type of terms you will want to see in a solar panel lease include:

  1. Lease term: How long will you be leasing the panels (usually at least 5 years)
  2. Lease payments: How much will you pay, how often? Is there an escalation clause that gives the solar company the right to raise the rent?
  3. Early termination: Do you have the right to terminate the lease before the end of the term without penalty? If there is a penalty, how much?
  4. Lease renewal: Can you renew the lease? How? Under what terms?
  5. Maintenance of the solar panels: This should be the solar company's responsibility. Contact information should be spelled out specifically. Ideally, there should be a time stated within which a response must be made in case of damage or failure.
  6. Insurance: This should be the solar company's responsibility - to insure the solar panels.
  7. End of lease: What happens when the term is over? Removal of the panels, or will you as a consumer have the right to purchase the panels at a reduced cost? How will that cost be determined?

Solar panels for home or business
Solar panels for home or business | Source

What Other Ownership Options Are There if you Want Solar Panels?

If you would prefer to purchase your own solar panels, instead of leasing them, you can still minimize the upfront cost by financing solar panels.

Options may include: direct vendor financing (through companies like Sharp Solar or BP Solar), power purchase agreements (the provider finances, installs and owns your solar panels, and you pay them instead of a utility company for power), local government loans (residents within the district borrow money from the municipality and pay it back through property tax increases) or Energy-Efficient Mortgages (financing for energy-efficient installations are secured by equity in your home).

The bottom line is that it's time to stop thinking about solar power as prohibitively expensive. You can go solar through a solar panel lease, or other financing options. And, like Kathy Nalty in the beginning of this article, you'll both save money and reduce your use of carbon-emitting, non-renewable resources.

That's a win all-around!


Solar panels for energy efficiency
Solar panels for energy efficiency | Source

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

© 2009 Stephanie Marshall

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)