Rooftop Solar PV

[SHRED]

Ideally is it best to own a system?
Lease to own?
Lease?

I'm thinking it's best to own but I'm not sure if a payment plan is feasible.
My electric bill isn't very high but a Solsr City guy told me $53 per month is the cutoff. I'd need a 8 to 12 panel system I guess.
I live in San Diego country. We have very high rates.

[CentralMass]

1. Here is an article on rhat topic from Consuner Reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/energy-saving/real-cost-of-leasing-vs-buying-solar-panels/

It sounds like the favor buying them as the best long term investment.

[SeattleVet]

2. It really depends on how your local power company handles things.

When we got ours here in Seattle, it was well worth it to buy it. There was a 30% federal tax incentive, plus various state and local incentives, and other benefits. In some areas the market is dominated by entities that make it a better deal overall to lease. See if you can talk with other consumers in the area and see how things penciled out for them.

Do not go just by what any given company is telling you. Remember that they have an interest in having you use their particular method.

[cyclonefence]

3. That was our experience, too

Between state and federal rebates and tax credits, we ended up paying about 40% of the total cost to install our panels. We also were able to sign up for Srecs, which is like carbon credit only for electricity. Every quarter we send in our total KW production and receive $110 for each 1000, or something like that. I know we get a check for $660 every quarter. The way it works is we sell our electricity credits to a broker who then sells them to a utility company, which benefits from having solar provide some of its power.

[Voltaire2]

4. If you have the cash buy it.

Obviously the leasing companies are taking a cut that would otherwise go into your pocket. The payoff on purchase with the fed rebate is typically 7-8 years.

if you are taking a loan - might as well lease. But I don't like the complications with somebody else owning the stuff on top of my house.