Comments on: Solar Panel Leasing, The Wave Of The Future?

By: Drbeats

Drbeats — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:37:50 +0000

@Scott – I just read the SolarCity lease and the warranty looks good to me. It is now included in the lease and SolarCity is defined as including successors and assigns, meaning if another company or bank assumes the lessor position, the warranty carries over. They must have improved it since 2009.

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:01:41 +0000

This is a useful article though… And you know, John Rogers, professor of science and materials engineering at the University of Illinois and his team have created a new method to produce flexible solar cells, transparent and extremely thin.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:32:54 +0000

Please also note that all of the bill has not been offset with Solar City’s lease. These monies will continue to escalate with inflation. Removal for reroofing is important because removing and replacing solar is Very Expensive. Be sure to check out Solar City’s yearly lease increase. Also check out their buyout at the end of the lease.
Gary

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:09:09 +0000

Now is the time for a social democracy to take hold and give regulation and tax breaks for a fair and reasonable profit by the capitalists who will indeed drive the solar power movement to a productive fruition. A quite apparent opening for legitimate capitalist gains, since the average home owner can’t afford an elaborate installation, and the capitalist does not have the location! This sharing of assets for a profit makes good sense, but in light of the damages that unregulated vulture capitalism, living by the “buyer beware” credo have done to the American people, a good dose of government regulation is going to be required to make this a fair exchange.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:48:03 +0000

DON’T BE FOOLED read the lease and warranty documents before signing up. I was going to sign up w/ Solar City and I received all their paperwork. After reading the lease and the warranty I noticed that the lease said that I had to pay the monthly payments regardless of whether or not the panels work. The lease and the warranty are completely separate documents and therefore all of the guarantees the salesperson gave me about maintaining the equipment during the life of the lease are useless. Basically if Solar City goes out of business during the 15 year lease period and can’t or won’t maintain the equipment the bank they sell the lease to is still going to insist on being paid. You will have no recourse but to pay them. Imagine if your roof leaks after the installation, and Solar City isn’t around to fix it, how expensive it would be to pull the panels off and fix the roof and put the panels back. The bank who owns the lease has no obligation to fix your roof but you will still be obliged to pay the monthly rent. I chose not to do business with Solar City because they wouldn’t put in writing that whoever I have to pay the monthly rent to must also be obligated to maintain the solar system. What if Solar City isn’t around to remove the panels at the end of the lease? You will still have to pay the bank until you return the panels. This just isn’t a good deal with a company that has only been around for two years and has no track record. I really wanted to do this deal but I wasn’t going to let emotion override my realization that this is a bad and unfair deal for the homeowner. I am now looking for a company that would be willing to write any warranty obligation into the lease so that I am obliged to pay them and they are obliged to maintain the system. If anyone knows of such a company please let me know.
Thanks

By: Tips For Keeping Your House Cool And Saving Energy This Summer. | AzSustainably.com

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:52:16 +0000

[...] a lot up front if you buy them outright, but after a few years they’ll pay themselves off. Leasing panels is another option. Your electric bill will be much lower for the life of the panels which is up to 30 years or [...]

By: Tracy Perkins

Tracy Perkins — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:06:22 +0000

This is a great concept. It is such a huge investment to get the panels in the first place but then with technology hopefully getting better and better within several years you may need to start all over. Hmmm… where do I sign?