FAQs

It's better than free! You’ll actually get to keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket. You pay $0 install & start-up fees. With PPA's and Leases you just pay an electric bill like you already do, just at a much better rate. With a loan. you'll pay the same low monthly rate every month for the term of the loan. It never increases! Imagine paying the same amount you’re averaging now in 20 years.

Customers have the option to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA), purchase a system with cash or with a low interest loan.

PPA stands for Power Purchase Agreement. This is a great way to get solar without taking out a loan. With a PPA you don't own the system, you just give us permission to install one on your roof and then agree to purchase the clean electricity it produces instead of the dirty electric from your utility company. 

Pros - You can often save the most money immediately with a PPA. If you really need to save money now, this might be a good choice for you. We guarantee a minimum amount of production over the entire term of the agreement.

Cons - Over the term of the agreement you will save a considerable amount of money, but not nearly as much as if you purchased the system with cash or a loan. Also, when the agreement is up you don't own the panels.

Solar leases are very similar to solar PPAs. Homeowners agree to rent the panels for a set period, usually 20-25 years. Any electricity the panels produce is yours to keep. Some companies even use a Goldilocks approach. You can choose between a small, medium or large system.

Pros -These can sometimes be a little cheaper than PPAs because the solar company is ordering the systems in kits from the manufacturer, like Ikea furniture. Some leases also stay the same price for the length of the term.

Cons - Unlike Goldilocks, one of these systems is unlikely to be "just right." You will have to either settle for a system that doesn't produce enough electricity to meet your needs or end up paying for one that produces more than you will use. Leases often don’t guarantee production for more than a year.

In almost all circumstances, this is the best option. You can purchase a system with cash, but usually we help homeowners get financing with low-interest rates, usually 2.99%. In contrast, home improvement loans usually start around 6% (for those with excellent credit scores and higher incomes) to over 30% for those with lower scores and income. 

Pros - Homeowners will save a lot more money over time. The difference in savings between a loan and a PPA/Lease can be huge. Also, once you are done paying the loan, the solar panels are yours. All the electricity they produce you get to keep at no cost. Most people do 20-25-year loans and solar panels can last 35 years. 

Cons - Homeowners are responsible for all repairs and maintenance, but the truth is that solar panels rarely need any kind of maintenance or repairs. If something does go wrong, all the equipment is guaranteed, but you'd have to pay someone for the labor. Also, similar to a car loan, the solar loan will appear as an account on your credit report compared to a lease/PPA which would only appear if you stopped paying your bills.

Right now, there are some amazing federal and state incentives to go solar, but they won't be around forever. The federal tax credit was already reduced from 30% to 26% on 1/1/2020. Next year that drops to 22% and the following year it vanishes and goes to 0%. State incentives will certainly change as well. For instance, it’s unlikely the state of CT will always allow systems to be exempt from sales tax. There is also a lot of competition in the industry right now. Competition tends to lower rates.

There is no regular maintenance needed. However, there are things you can do to make sure your system is producing as much as possible. While we would never recommend shoveling snow off your solar panels, there are special roof rakes available to purchase that are safe to use. If it hasn't rained in a while it's not a bad idea to hose them down if needed. This could be the case if it's a bad pollen season and there’s been no rain.

This is a common fear people thinking about solar have. While it’s possible that a roof can be damaged or leak, we've yet to have a customer experience this. People tend to be afraid of putting holes in their roof, but most of their roofs already have hundreds if not thousands of holes from the nails holding the shingles down. We also have guarantees against leaks.

There are several ways to overcome this. The most obvious way to resolve this is to cut down any trees that are blocking the sun from reaching your roof. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive fix. Another option is to get a ground mounted system. If there is a part of your yard that does get a lot of sun, this might be a fantastic solution! 

While there are no laws making it illegal to off the grid, most towns and cities have ordinances preventing it.  Also, to go off the grid you would need an energy storage system, namely batteries also referred to as power banks and power walls.  In most cases, this is not cost effective. out there are not really cost effective.  To go off the grid you would also need batteries.   

This is generally not a cost-effective option.  To outfit the average home in our area with the leading brand could easily cost $20,000-$30,000 and would last a max of 12 hours without recharging. These batteries also tend to degrade and most likely will need to be replaced 2-3 times during the lifespan on your panels. The current warranty only states that the battery will work at 70% of its capacity or higher in 10 years.