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Leasing solar panels

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Lo_Volt:
I've been looking around for solar installers in my area.  I had found two very good companies, both of which gave me decent quotes.  Around $40k for 7200 W systems.  Then someone suggested I contact Solar City.  They are the installation company that Google partnered with to boost solar. 

I went ahead and got a quote from them.  It was also around $40k, but they also had another option, leasing the panels racking and inverter.  I haven't gone any further than their initial quote, but it seemed too good to be true.  Cost would be $2000 down and around $180 a month or I could put $16k down and pay nothing each month.  All proceeds from power sold back to the power company would be mine as well as renewable energy credits.  After 20 years, (the warranty on the panels) the system would be mine. 

The only gotcha I can see is that they'll only support the system for free for the first 5 years.  After that they want to sell me a maintenance contract on the equipment.  Seems a little shady to me and if I go further with them, I'll get details first. 

Has anyone else heard of leased solar systems?  Does anyone have experience with it?  Any comments?

dnix71:
Run away. If you put down 16k you still do not own the panels. If the company fails those panels belong to the company's creditors. Two: never lease anything that is not guaranteed for the life of the lease. This applies to cars, too. If it fails you owe money on a non-working item. Such a financial arrangement should be considered a criminal act by the leasing company. There is also nothing at all to prevent the company from raising their lease fees. 20 years is a long long time in any technology business now.

$40K for a 7200 watt system with grid-tie with battery backup would be a good deal, depending on the rebates and tax credits. The solar improvements should be considered part of your home, even though in theory most will tell you that you can take them if you move.

If you 'invested' $40k in stocks or banks you would get absolutely nothing for it. Investing in solar to cut energy costs gets you a real rate of return on your money.

oztules:
in the usa 7200watts is only worth 14000.... why pay 40grand.... try ebay....


.............oztules

DanG:
sunelectric sells a 16000 watts system for $34,000 - but it'd be a chore to find room for eighty 210 watt panels at 1400 square feet total!

dnix71:
oztules You might buy 7200 watts of panel for cheap, but installing them on a roof with grid-tie and battery backup requires racking and permits. I have a coworker who paid $30k for 5500 watts of grid-tie panel with battery backup and got about $10k back in rebates/tax credits.

This isn't something you can do yourself in the suburbs. Out in the country racked on the ground off-grid would be lots cheaper.

7200 watts is a decent size. It might actually run a whole house a/c some of the time. My coworkers' 5.5kw won't. She had to buy a natural gas genset to run the a/c if the grid failed, like after a hurricane.

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