All about whether you should buy, finance, or lease solar panels

Posted by Steve Martin on May 22nd, 2019

When getting your panels from any reliable California solar panels supplier, you can finance, buy, or lease them. Deciding the best option for you depends completely on your individual needs. Ownership is the major difference between leasing and buying. When you purchase your PV system outright or through financing, it becomes yours. Nevertheless, when you lease it, it still belongs to another party.

This is a truly crucial distinction as it impacts potential savings and ROI, terms and conditions, financial offsets, overall cost, and maintenance costs. In addition, lease options aren’t always available, which means before you can even decide the option you will choose, you must ensure its availability.

Choosing between financing, buying, and leasing

There are several and varying pros as well as cons that must be taken into consideration when you finance, purchase, or lease any solar system. Choosing to purchase the system either through a financing option or outright cash buying, will turn out to be the best option for you when;

• You desire to obtain the greatest possible benefits that are associated with the installation of PV systems, instead of just enjoying the (quite crucial) environmental benefits.
• You desire to utilize the federal investment tax credit to decrease your federal as well as your state tax liability.
• You are the owner of a business and are capable of obtaining more tax benefits by viewing the installation of wholesale solar panels as some kind of asset that is capable of depreciating.
• You want to enhance the market value of your home by adding a solar panel system to its resume.

Conversely, a lease could turn out to be more ideal for you when;

• You are more interested in using a solar panel system for its renewable energy than as a means of obtaining the highest financial returns possible.
• You do not like to be responsible for maintaining and repairing your system.
• You can’t access any federal and state tax credits related to the system
• You do not desire to wait for a whole year before being able to access and benefit from tax credits.

A contrast and comparison of the options

There are a couple of major practical differences between the savings and ROI, terms and conditions, chances for financial offsets, maintenance, and several other costs that are associated with these kinds of systems. You should know them so you can make a truly informed decision. Vital considerations include;

1. Costs of installation – If you buy, your costs can be decreased by as much as 50% via rebates. Normally, the firm adjusts the price and handles all rebate-related paperwork.
2. Maintenance – If you buy, you are responsible for all maintenance while the owner is responsible when you lease.
3. Terms and conditions – Leases lasts for between 20 and 25 years after which you can renew while financing lets you pay for and get to own it within a 10 to 20 year period.

These are the major options you have as means of acquisition when getting your panels from any of the foremost commercial solar panels suppliers. Your best possible option will depend on your individual needs.