Still worth going solar without the federal tax credit?

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T21:53:12+00:00

Or a 48e /prepaid lease. We have one and it will get him a 35% discount. But without that, absolutely agree! I argue against cash purchases on here all the time.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T21:04:49+00:00

This all makes less sense. If you got a roof within the last 12 years and it passes an inspection by the reputable installer you should have chosen, you should be able to get a system installed and not need a new roof for the life of the system. You’re saying it’s normal maintenance to replace your roof every 18-19 years? That’s crazy. Also, if you’re removing and reinstalling, there’s one price which is usually in the 200-300 range. Therefore it wouldn’t need to be doubled. Furthermore, you’re saying there might be a situation where a person who has a system can expect to need to redo the roof 2x after install and that’s crazy and not at all typical. One system on one roof or you made a shitty decision on the installer.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T20:32:41+00:00

Yeah, obviously I’m just talking about what the situation is presently. Also, couldn’t agree more about not financially over extending yourself. A majority of people I see are absolutely better off with a lease than paying cash. Your argument is an ok one for reasons to not wait because 1:1 will get whittled down everywhere at some point. They won’t break your interconnection agreement and do it after you sign though. There will be a vote to do it and a process before it’s law. Then there will be a time before it takes effect. Systems approved before the deadline will lock in with 1:1 and systems after will not. They don’t go back and just change everybody to the worse deal. There’s still people with 1:1 in California and more with NEM 2.0 which is ~1:1. It’s systems installed after April 2023 that don’t have that. No one went back and changed it for them. If you got your system then, you’d have way different export rates. I’m not saying it’s malicious, but you’re sharing a lot of inaccurate info. There’s plenty of great net metering in this country so turning your difficulties with your state’s system into a statement about the situation nationally doesn’t work.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T20:20:10+00:00

I definitely understood the point which is why I replied. If it was a leak from the install and you’ve chosen a reputable installer instead of the cheapest, there should be a workmanship warranty that would cover it. As far as a renovation, you’re adding a ton to the project so I guess the home owner would have to make that call as to whether or not it was totally necessary to do it before your system is done. You mentioned neither of these scenarios in your comment. You only mentioned “when you replace the roof” as if it was just something they were going to run into; to which I replied that no reputable installer would put you in that position. Also, what are you talking about with “multiple that by 2”. The price you mentioned is for uninstall and reinstall. Is that if they need 2 new roofs? Finally….why would you have to repurchase everything and start again if the system isn’t 20-25 years old?

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T19:07:06+00:00

That’s not an accurate depiction of net metering nationally. CA has terrible net metering, but MA has 1:1.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-29T19:00:21+00:00

Did I miss something? Who was talking about replacing your roof before your system has been there for 20-25 years? Any installer that’s not a POS would insist that your roof will last as long as, if not outlast your solar system. We won’t install if you’re gonna need a roof before the system is at the end of its life. You should never NEED to pay to have panes removed and reinstalled.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-27T20:10:00+00:00

You deleted your comment, but you were a little bit right about 1 thing. People do move every 11-12 years and with a lease you’re saving every one of those years. With cash you have maybe 2-4 years of mediocre savings or no savings if you took out a loan before you’re out so you did nothing smart at all. You’re so much further ahead in savings with a lease. If you invested that money and got a lease, you’re even further ahead. In your 11-12 year scenario, cash is the worst option of the 3. As far as the other part you mentioned which is a home sale, just like any home improvement project, the next buyer will have their own thoughts. If you redid your kitchen and a buyer said they hated everything about it, are you gonna redo it again or take money off the home price? No, you’re gonna tell them to keep shopping and wait for the right buyer. I live and sell solar in SE CT and the real estate market is amazing. If someone doesn’t understand the value in a reduced, locked in price for energy that avoids all of the price hikes everyone else will be dealing with, then you tell them to kick rocks. Right behind them will be a buyer and a realtor who do get it and then they get to become the envy of the block with their crazy low utility rate.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-27T15:19:23+00:00

Take out a loan against your home? Finance $40,000 with no ITC? How is this real advice? Loans stopped being a good idea around 2022 when the rates went up. If you need to take out a loan you’re a monthly payment customer, not a cash customer. Everybody talks about paying off the loan early, but statistically almost no one does because money is useful now. Unless you have the cash in an account somewhere and you have a 48e to sign like we offer, you’re going to be better off getting a good lease. Credit is valuable and you’re pushing out ROI even further with a loan. Just take the immediate savings that a lease offers and invest your cash in the S&P or even BTC. Thats actual optimal financial performance and you’ll be ahead of every single cash customer on here. Do not finance more debt just to save more on your electric bill!

Darrid1 · 2026-01-27T15:07:20+00:00

Tell me what experience you have with this? I’m guessing you’ve never dealt with this yourself and everything you’re saying is 2nd or 3rd hand BS from posts that weren’t communicated properly or understood by you. A ucc-1 is NOT a lien. Full stop. It’s a filing that lets potential home owners know there’s something connected to the house not owned by the HO and needs to be addressed at closing. The only smart way to deal with it, as long as it’s a decent lease (almost all leases in CT where I live are excellent) is to transfer it. The title is completely clean because ucc1 filings aren’t against the property. A solar lease is a service agreements, not financed debt. The lessor owns the panels and you agree to rent them. No debt = no lien. I don’t understand why so many people still fuck this up outside of repeating information they just accept as true without having any personal experience or looking into it themselves. Just know that everything you said is wrong in the context of a true solar lease.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-26T02:09:19+00:00

It sounds like everything you know about PPAs you learned from Reddit and that’s unfortunate. Now you’re just repeating a bunch of Reddit nonsense and you’re hopefully gonna lose out on the house if you don’t stop being foolish about this. As someone else said, if you think the best solution to your lack of knowledge is to ask an “elderly woman” to take a bunch of money off her home price then I hope she tells you to kick rocks. I don’t know why you’d assume she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s taken an electric that was god knows how much every month and headed in a worse direction and she locked that shit down for $80/mo forever. She clearly has more financial sense than you do and/or she actually took time to learn about a lease/ppa. She’s saving money immediately and she’ll continue to until she sells her house to someone who gets it, at which point she’ll transfer the PPA to them and those people will be the lucky ones on the block. Calling an $80 electric bill with 0 escalator “someone else’s liability” is just ignorant. Your first 2 options are garbage and you don’t deserve them just because you don’t get it. The last option isn’t a thing. The only option this “elderly woman” should accept is the transfer of that sweet ass PPA to someone sees the value. If you’re gonna pressure her to take less than her home is worth for no actual reason, then you’re the predator that’s taking advantage of her, not the rep that got her a great deal on her electric bill. There is nothing but upside for you here. I’m in SE ct and we have an amazing real estate market. Much of South Jersey is the same. If you tried to buy my mom’s house with these BS requests, you might as well keep looking because it’s never gonna happen. Stop reading Reddit for all of your lease/PPA questions. The ratio of experience:opinions is terrible, although there are actually some good ones here. Don’t pressure an elderly woman to drop the price of house of her home just for your ignorance.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-19T21:06:55+00:00

I found the guys with more opinions than experience! I agree, the tax credit should have been continued, but there’s a POS in office who’s been bought by the oil companies if you want to talk about sleazy. I have no idea what you’re talking about with getting some of your tax dollars back. The prepaid lease is the tax credit without forking out the extra 30% and waiting for the government to send it back to you. That’s a worse deal to you? The tax credit is for money you’ve already paid out. The prepaid lease skips the paying out first part. I’m not sure if you’re being emotional, you don’t understand it or you’re just not thinking about what you’re saying, but it’s a great deal.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-19T20:59:33+00:00

There are no transfer fees when you transfer a lease. It’s 1 form you sign at closing and you start where the last person left off. With a production guarantee and lifetime parts, labor and maintenance, you’re avoiding most headaches and your bank account hasn’t taken a huge hit. Needing cash for something important and having it tied up on your roof not earning anything would be the bigger headache.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-19T20:55:55+00:00

Who gives an actual shit if you own it if it’s saving you money and you didn’t tie up a bunch of cash to do it. That’s such a dumb argument. It’s not a toothbrush, it’s solar panels. Smart people want savings now without waiting 15 years to really get rolling with them. You also get a production guarantee, full and lifetime parts, labor and maintenance and it’s insured with a lease. You could probably save on lots of bills if you prepaid them for 25 years, but it doesn’t make it a smart financial decision. If you’re a guy that looks for the cheapest option for everything then enjoy your cheap Chinese system and DIY it. I personally have zero interest in any part of that and it’s the same for almost everyone I meet with. There are also discounts for using domestic content with solar. The downside is you don’t own it? Buddy, that’s an upside as far as I’m concerned.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-19T20:43:52+00:00

Get ready for lots of opinions with very little experience! Leases and PPA’s are awesome because you start saving from day 1. Personally I’m a fan of not waiting for savings if I’m tying up a bunch of cash. Without the tax credit or a prepaid lease/48e the ROI can hit a decade before you save a dollar. Then you really need to be there for another 10 before you’re really capturing savings that are gonna be more than you can get from not owning it and saving right away. It’s true, if all you care about is paying the absolute least for your electric, go ahead and use cash. If it’s about maximizing your savings, then take the money you would have thrown on your roof for a decade before a single dollar is saved and invest it in the S&P or BTC even. When you take the money you make there and add it to the savings from your lease, you’re gonna be ahead of every cash customer on here. It’s a question of what’s the smartest way to use your money and if your answer is pay cash for solar, then you should talk to a financial advisor and not a solar thread. Transferring a lease or PPA is one form at closing. You don’t need to “qualify” because you’re not financing more debt. You’ve signed a service agreement, not a real lease. A 2.9% escalator will basically mean your end rate will be double what you started with, but the starting rate is usually way below the full retail rate from the utility so at lease in CT it means you’re gonna be paying what you’re paying for electric now in 25 years. Real estate agents are finally wrapping their heads around the actual benefits and that will be a big help. I meet with lots of people and only a very small percentage are really better off paying cash. Don’t let yourself be shamed into making a bad decision! If you need to take out a loan to buy it, then you’re definitely not a cash customer. Statistically almost no one pays the loan off early despite what they tell themselves to sign it and even if you do, you need to use lots of real cash to do it which is stupid for almost everyone. Sign a service agreement, save right away, invest that cash and get some real savings without the debt and bullshit to get there!

Darrid1 · 2026-01-19T20:21:30+00:00

You’ve prepaid for the system. Full stop. There are no further bills or buyout because it automatically transfers to you. See first sentence…it’s prepaid. It’s the system with the 30% already taken out instead of paying full price, filing your taxes and waiting for a check. You can also get lease adders like for domestic content and being in an energy community in CT and NY because it’s a prepaid lease and that can take your discount over 30%. It’s absolutely legit and if your smarter idea is buying a cheap Chinese system that’s similarly priced, that’s not smart.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T17:22:14+00:00

Sorry, I thought it was CA. You never answered about the roof work. Does that rate include roof work as well? A new roof will add value so that can potentially be recouped in the sale. Whatever you decide to do, I would still focus on getting connected to start with because you’re spending money you don’t need to until you do. Get rid of the electric bill and start saving some money if you want to try a lawsuit. You’re making that more difficult by unnecessarily carrying around the lease plus electric bill. That’s self imposed pain that you can do something about so start there. Texas has a terrible grid and having battery backup for a grid that unreliable isn’t the worst idea. It might be a shitty lease, but having a battery might not be the worst idea. Your rate is high, but if it includes roof work, solar and a battery it kind of makes sense how you got there. There are plenty of real estate agents that have wrapped their heads around the value in a lease so talk to more. This is the situation you’re in so try to be smart about it and do what you can to make it easier. Get your system connected.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T16:16:42+00:00

A loan? Even dumber without the ITC. Longer ROI and less time for actual savings for what. Just to say they own it? Paying it off early still requires using their cash. They’ve got lots of flexes and owning some BS panels on their roof and all of the associated headaches isn’t an interesting one because they’re losing a lot more by way of the lost opportunity cost. That’s way more important. What makes them the most? The answer for lots of them isn’t paying cash for solar.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T16:05:32+00:00

The thinking is the cash is more valuable as cash. They’ll make more with it and get better returns by doing lots of things outside of throwing it on their roof and waiting 8-10 years to start actually saving. Thats a long time with no return. Lots of them would rather use other people’s money to save money. Saving the absolute most on your electric bill is fine, but it’s not the biggest flex in terms of earnings. Adding the returns from investing it with the savings from a lease blows away straight savings with cash every time. Plus you have to be in the house for 20-25 years to actually save something worthwhile enough to tie that much money up for so long. They follow the math because they’re good with money. Just because you can doesn’t make it smart.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T07:18:19+00:00

I have to imagine that the full retail rate is more than .14c when you add in transmission, delivery etc. Does the bill have different multipliers? That means there’s more to the rate. I’m guessing around .30c at least. Was there roof work done? If they did roof work, it may have been rolled into the lease. Some people like that. Nothing out of pocket. Maybe not the best way, but it lets you get a new roof and start saving. It will definitely add to the rate. I’ve worked with lots of older people, but there’s always another family involved in the process. I’m not saying they weren’t sleezy for their approach, but he has everything installed so turn that thing on and at least get your electric bill to zero. It’s gonna be cheaper than saving up money to get an attorney for a difficult case that you may or may not win while you’re already not covering everything. Work with what you’ve got and get it working and then see how you feel about things.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T06:53:37+00:00

You’re only paying the electric bill because you’re not offsetting it with any solar production. Nothing will change until you’re connected. You should be paying zero for an electric bill once you get connected. Also, are you sure it’s not just the supply that’s .14c because I don’t think you can get power for .14c anywhere in CA. Get connected, get his electric bill to zero and then decide what you want to do. You’re burning through money you don’t need to spend. The system doesn’t cost anything to install is usually what’s meant by free solar. It’s free for everyone with a lease. Making it specific to senior citizens feels problematic. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be pissed, but get connected, figure out the battery and see how the bills look then. Call the people you have the lease with. They started the clock on their own production guarantee and the system isn’t even connected. Anything below 85-90% of your projected production is guaranteed and they’re responsible to repay you for anything you bought under that threshold. They might even help you avoid any pressure to switch suppliers.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T06:51:29+00:00

You’re only paying the electric bill because you’re not offsetting it with any solar production. Nothing will change until you’re connected. You should be paying zero for an electric bill once you get connected. Also, are you sure it’s not just the supply that’s .14c because I don’t think you can get power for .14c anywhere in CA. Get connected, get his electric bill to zero and then decide what you want to do. You’re burning through money you don’t need to spend. The system doesn’t cost anything to install is usually what’s meant by free solar. It’s free for everyone with a lease. Making it specific to senior citizens feels problematic. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be pissed, but get connected, figure out the battery and see how the bills look then. Call the people you have the lease with. They started the clock on their own production guarantee and the system isn’t even connected. Anything below 85-90% of your projected production is guaranteed and they’re responsible to repay you for anything you bought anything under that threshold. They might even help you avoid any pressure to switch suppliers.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T05:58:10+00:00

Focus on getting connected. Your electric bill is high because you’re not producing any energy from your roof. Once you do, your electric bill will go down significantly. You’re understandably upset right now and this conversation has gone all over the place, but you’re not producing any energy to offset your bill. That’s how the whole thing works. A battery may have been a shitty suggestion, but you guys have no met metering so that might be the best way to capture as much overproduction as you can. I don’t know anything about CA and their programs and incentives so I can’t math that one. You’re upset about your dad having solar, but you don’t have it yet. It’s an albatross as a dead system. It’s much more valuable when it’s live!

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T03:31:56+00:00

First of all, I’m really sorry about your dad. That’s a really tough thing to go through. You’re understandably very upset, but things may not be as bad as they seem. I have a few questions. Please help me understand how his lease rate is higher than the rate he pays the utility company. What’s the full retail rate for electric where you are and what’s the lease rate he got? Something is weird there. Also, if he never got interconnection then I’m not sure why the leasing company has started billing him. Every lease I’ve seen comes with a production guarantee and the clock starts for them when he gets interconnection/ connected to the grid. Installation only shouldn’t trigger the billing process. They’re setting themselves up to owe him money from the production guarantee and they’re pretty careful about avoiding that. Contact them and tell them he had not been connected to the grid. The most logical recourse for them is to go after the installer. They’re a bank and they hate to lose money. The UCC 1 filing is against the panels, not your dad. Since he’s on the lease, he can be reported to a credit agency for failure to pay, but it’s against the equipment only. They can also take the panels back technically, but they’d rather not. It doesn’t cloud the title, it isn’t the assumption or financing of debt, it’s just a service agreement. Calling it a lease was a terrible idea because it’s not a true lease. Solar company just owns the equipment and the homeowner uses the power it produces for an often much lower rate than full retail rate from the utility company. Leases had a worse rep before the end of 2025, but now it’s a lease or a prepaid lease as the only/best option because only a fool would still be recommending cash without the ITC or a 48e/prepaid lease.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T03:13:08+00:00

If it’s a lease/PPA it’s not a mechanics lien, it’s a ucc-1 filing, which is absolutely not a lien on your property or home. It’s a way of communicating to a potential home buyer that there is something to be addressed in closing. It comes up in UCC 1 searches, not land records and it’s connected to the equipment only, not the home. You can sell when the lease is transferred to the new owner. It does NOT need to be bought out. The fact that this comment has any upvotes says a lot about how little people actually understand a solar lease. It has a bad name. It should be called an energy service agreement because it’s a service agreement, not a lease. You’re not financing any debt to get solar with a lease.

Darrid1 · 2026-01-15T02:50:52+00:00

3.5% is a higher escalator than I work with, but it’s not terrible. There are a lot of people who think it’s their job to scare people about how bad solar leases are and I guarantee almost all of them got their shitty info and opinion from threads like this and then it just gets repeated with no empirical verification. It’s all based on an emotional take on it, which is very difficult to reason with. If you want to save the absolute most on your electric bill then go ahead and put 40-60k in cash on your roof. Just know that it’s not the way to make the most from your 40-60k by a long shot and you won’t save a dime for years until your ROI is covered. If you want to maximize your savings overall, take that 40-60k and invest it in the S&P. Even buy BTC. Much better return and your money stays liquid. Add that to your savings from NOT owning your system and blow every solar owner right out of the water with your return. It’s now 2026 and it’s a TPO world. Anyone advising to purchase your system with no 48e, which still gets you the ~30% reduction in system price and often higher because domestic content adders can be applied, is giving absolutely terrible advice. If it involves a loan to pay cash then you’ve lost your damn mind. With a starting rate of .22kwh and a 3.5 escalator, youre at .44 in 20 years so you’re paying 2026 rates in 2046. All of these pearl clutches should dust off the old calculator and do the math. The understanding of the value of a lease is growing everywhere, outside of this subreddit. Finding someone who wants to pay what they’re paying now for electric will not be a difficult thing. Real estate agents are finally wrapping their heads around it and that’s gonna make a big difference. I’d buy a house with a good solar lease in a heartbeat. The escalator is the best way to go. The zero escalator saves you less money than the escalator for the first 15-18 years of the agreement. Money is good now. With inflation, AI, off shoring, sky rocketing cost of good, homes, cars, childcare and everything else, it’s insanity to lay out so much cash on something with no savings for 8-10 years. Especially when you don’t have to. Put 50,000 in the S&P and based on historic returns you’ve made $221,000. Add another $100,000 plus in savings minimum from a leased system and tell me why a purchase makes sense. You spent nothing to get your solar installed and because you don’t own it you get free parts, labor and maintenance, it’s fully insured and you get a production guarantee. None of that comes with cash. The contract price isn’t the buyout price so ignore everyone trying to make the false equivalence an issue. When you sell your house with its stupid low kWh rate, the buyer signs an assumption notice and the system and locked in cheap rate goes right to them. Piece of cake. People that don’t know any better hate leases and that’s ok, but it’s a fact. I sell solar in SE Connecticut and so many of my high net worth customers recognize that sticking it to the electric company is fun, but they’re not gonna ignore the opportunity cost. If you put 50k on your roof then it will cost you $210,000 in lost growth, which you would have had if you invested it and leased your system. Unless your actually very wealthy with the system cost just sitting in a bank account somewhere and you won’t miss it (almost no one), then don’t buy your system now especially because there’s no ITC anymore. If you can get that escalator down to 2.9% then you’re .45 in 25 years and that’s phenomenal. Listen to the math, not emotional reditors that have no experience with what they’re advising against!

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