buying solar panels vs renting panels.

[Samsolar]

Does this factor in the 20% loss in production over time? I have been crunching the numbers hard. And to be honest the 3.5/kW install is difficult to find around here. Does it exist? Yes it does, after like 6 quotes but only found it with an independent electrician, not a company so I'm trying to figure out how important is warrenty?

And Solar City now has fixed rate leasing, quoted to me at 16.9cents/W with current utility company charging a total of 19.5cents/W. I'm in Connecticut. The Utility Co. are going to lower their rate for the rest of the year in July to be 15.5cents/W. I'd be interested to see if Solar City lowers their fixed rate in fall of this year.

Renting is a better option than buying if you don't have the money up front, or you think you can get a 10% return on the cash in the stock market. The federal tax break basically is quashed by the interest over time for any loan for solar (unless you can show me something in the 3% APR range).

I got 3.5%/10yr home equity loan through my local credit union. Probably could have shopped around and done better. I plan to pay it off in 5 years.

[Amy@altE]

Does this factor in the 20% loss in production over time? I have been crunching the numbers hard. And to be honest the 3.5/kW install is difficult to find around here. Does it exist? Yes it does, after like 6 quotes but only found it with an independent electrician, not a company so I'm trying to figure out how important is warrenty?

And Solar City now has fixed rate leasing, quoted to me at 16.9cents/W with current utility company charging a total of 19.5cents/W. I'm in Connecticut. The Utility Co. are going to lower their rate for the rest of the year in July to be 15.5cents/W. I'd be interested to see if Solar City lowers their fixed rate in fall of this year AP

I did initially include a 1% drop in production annually in my numbers, and it was still the same basic results, obviously a little less savings. However, I removed that variable thinking it over complicated things when I looked at PV Output at a house in CA that had about a 3% drop in 10 years(diederi). That doesn't take into account the variabilities of weather, so it just seemed to get the point across and still be accurate without that variable.

[Amy@altE]

I got 3.5%/10yr home equity loan through my local credit union. Probably could have shopped around and done better. I plan to pay it off in 5 years.

Sweet! Nice deal. We found a lot of folks lost a bunch of equity from the crash, so plan B has been a solar loan.

[J.P.M.]

Losing the 25% local rebate did hurt the results. You are paying $12.6k for a purchased system now instead of $9.4k (still replacing the inverter year 15).
20 years:
Lease: costs $20.7k saved: $7.4k
Finance: costs $21.9k saved: $6.2k (worse savings than leasing)
Cash: costs: $14.6k saved: $14.5k (still quite nice)

But after 30 years, you're still good:
Lease: Savings -$16.9k
Finance: Savings $30.5k
Cash: Savings $38.8k

I'll update my blog to reflect this, thanks for the input.

Thanx much. Looks like cash rules.

J.P.M.

[Ian S]

If you payed cash upfront, you've spent $11.4k and saved $17.6k.

Are you accounting for the lost opportunity cost when paying with cash? That $11.4k could be providing a significant amount of income over 20 years.

[Ian S]

at the end of the lease.. the leased system is gone

That's not at all certain. It probably will not be worth the lessor's while to pay for system removal and repair of the roof penetrations. IIRC, some early solar leases had a $1 buyout option at the end. While that runs afoul of IRS guidelines regarding leases and is no longer done, it certainly shows the intent of the lessor having no interest in removing the system after 20 years.

[Alisobob]

That $11.4k could be providing a significant amount of income over 20 years.

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...or not.

[Ian S]

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...or not.

Two years is not 20 years.

[Alisobob]

So your crystal ball can pick winning investments, 20 years into the future?

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[Ian S]

So your crystal ball can pick winning investments, 20 years into the future?

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You can cherry-pick until the cows come home but it's hard to find a twenty year period where a broad based US stock portfolio (such as the SPY etf which tracks the S&P 500 index) didn't post a healthy gain. But you can see for yourself.

[Amy@altE]

Are you accounting for the lost opportunity cost when paying with cash? That $11.4k could be providing a significant amount of income over 20 years.

With my 30 year history in the market, this is a heck of a lot better payback. I somehow manage to put every business I had stock in out of business.

[J.P.M.]

If you folks are looking to guarantee any return or the future at all, your on the errand of a fool. There ain't no guarantees in life. - bank dep., the market, the economy, health (and BTW, WEATHER).

Maybe a set of probabilities for non chaotic systems, but that may be the best attainable. Life is a crap shoot. Fortune favors the bold and strikes down the foolish. Get/stay informed, take your best shot, adjust if you can and live with the consequences.

[Alisobob]

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It doesnt take a genius to see that your 20 year theory is in total freefall....

Guys like you borrow against your house to invest in the market, and loose it all, because investing is soooooooooooooo easy.

I've lost 3 neighbors like that.

I specifically cashed in some stock to buy my solar, not the other way around.

My system pays a "dividend" of aprox $266 a month... month after month.... hands free.... for the rest of my life.

I'll take that.

[oilerlord]

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My system pays a "dividend" of aprox $266 a month... month after month.... hands free.... for the rest of my life.

I'll take that.

I believe that solar power leases are a sales racket with little benefit to the homeowner - especially if / when you decide to move and are hit with a lease buyout or lien against your mortgage. We bought our system outright in a combination of new & used components. I was able to snap up some 5 year old SunPower SPR-225's at $0.44 per watt, and going with 41 (new) ABB micros at $120 each. With some of my own DIY, it's a 9.2kW system going up next month for under $15K. I'm banking on that "dividend" too. There will be a time in the not-so-distant future that we'll be on a fixed income; living off pension & investments. Having one less utility bill is a good thing.

[Alisobob]

I'm banking on that "dividend" too. There will be a time in the not-so-distant future that we'll be on a fixed income; living off pension & investments. Having one less utility bill is a good thing.

Being debt free rulz....