1) i don’t think the leasing companies are scamming people — i think they are making money while also providing a useful service to society and their customers. in most situations, i do think solar leasing is smarter than not going solar at all.

2) i do think that, in most situations, going solar yourself has a better payback.

3) that said, logically or not (& i would say not), many people would prefer to earn less in the long run but pay less up front. i wouldn’t, but i’m well aware that many people would. i’ve actually taught English for years on the side, and a question i asked countless times was if people would rather have $1,000 today or $10,000 in 10 years, nearly everyone said the former. is that logical? not for most of them. do they care? apparently not. do i understand it? only theoretically.

4) i do think solar leasing companies have done a lot better marketing their options than most other solar companies. of course, the tantalizing $0 down certainly helps.

I’d love to feature a piece comparing going solar on one’s own vs solar leasing for a specific property or more. Unfort., i don’t have any property
in the U.S. do run such a comparison with. You happen to? Possibly even
into supplying a guest post?

yes, people might be (i mean, are) bad at doing simple math.

yes, solar leasing companies are making a profit on their work.

but i’m certainly not convinced solar leasing is worse than not going solar at all. and if they can convince people to go solar who wouldn’t otherwise, i’m all for it. in some ways, i think it’s a testament to the failure of other solar companies to get people going solar. business isn’t just about what you offer, it’s about ‘selling’ that product.

A simplified example of leasing vs purchasing:
A 6000 Watt solar system designed to negate a $100.00 electric bill in a “nothing down 20 year lease” will cost a homeowner $90.00 a month. Multiply this cost by twenty years = $21,600.00 total cost.
A 6000 Watt solar system of the under a purchase agreement with the all of the present Federal, Arizona State and utility incentives going to the homeowner will cost about $14,300. A savings of $7,300. or about 33%, one third less cost to the homeowner.
This is simple math that the leasing companies are NOT showing anyone. We need to make this clear to as many people as possible so that the scam will be exposed. Do the math for yourself.

The above example does not take into consideration the complications the homeowner will encounter when the home is put on the market for sale and the solar lease becomes an obstacle to close the deal. Nor does the example reflect the fact that after 20 years leasing you still do not own the solar system on your home.
Solar leasing is popular because people can not do simple math! All they hear is the falsely presented “Free” and are easily fooled!

On the subject of PACE;
PACE is really a permanent tax increase to the property. Taxes never go down, they only go up. Once a city has a tax increase on a property, they will never reduce it, the tax will become permanent. Once they get their hands on the money, they will never release it.
All of the tax happy governments only know how to spend the money they collect, they have no clue how to spend it economically. The end result will be the home will have a much diminished resale value due to very high property taxes. A simple bank loan for the solar installation is always the best choice. The present Arizona law states that “a solar installation must be counted as a zero dollar home improvement” to the tax assessor, let’s keep it that way. PACE is simply a way to subvert the existing ruling and collect higher R.E. taxes for perpetuity. I have more thoughts on this subject but I think this sums it up in a shortened version.