Those who cannot afford to purchase a photovoltaic system have the option to rent one. With solar leasing, high front-up costs can be avoided and electricity costs lowered. But leasing also means to be dependent on a solar company and in the long run savings are not typically as high as they would be with a fully owned system.

Solar leasing is an affordable option of going green without huge investment costs. It enables people to produce and use their own solar power without buying a solar system and still save on monthly electricity bills.

How Does Residential Solar Leasing Work? 

Solar companies lease their photovoltaic panels to home owners, who pay a fixed monthly fee or a fixed price per kilowatt hour.

The installation of the solar panels as well as the maintenance throughout the solar lease period will be done by the leasing company.

When the solar lease expires, it can be ended or extended. By the end of a solar lease, the responsible company will then remove the solar panel system.

Disadvantages of Solar Lease

The length of a solar lease contracts are typically 10, 15, or 20 years. This may become problematic when a home owner wants to sell his house, as the solar leasing rate must still be paid.

After years, home owners using solar leasing will still have their monthly bill as the system still belongs to the solar lease company. A purchased photovoltaic system produces free power, once installation costs are covered.

Home owners do not profit directly from financial incentives and solar rebates, as they are not buying the system. It is the solar lease company that profits from federal and state incentives.

PV-Roof-System. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Going off the grid completely without any power costs still requires the purchase of an own solar system and is not possible with solar leasing. Whether you want to buy or solar lease a PV system, both ways have a positive effect on the environment and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide.

 

Advantages of Solar Lease

With solar lease there is no huge up-front investment as there is for home owners who decide to buy a PV system.

A photovoltaic system lowers the monthly electricity bill. In combination with the solar leasing rate, monthly costs are usually still lower than before. During a long solar lease, costs will be locked in and will not rise during the entire solar lease.

Maintenance, monitoring and repair costs are usually covered by the leasing-company.