How to Buy Solar
Solar Financing options for your Bay Area home
How much does a solar power system cost?
Electric rates are going up and solar panel prices are going down. It's now easier and more affordable than ever to go solar, plus Federal Tax Incentives help cover 30% of the cost! SolarCraft offers a variety of purchasing options to suite your needs and budget, including great financing programs where your payments are less than you are currently paying your utility! Start today and save tomorrow with a home solar electric system from SolarCraft.
Cash Purchase
By paying for your residential solar system outright, you will save much more on your electric utility costs than you would with any other financing method. You will avoid the interest charges that would be associated with any sort of financing while achieving the highest return on your investment. Most homeowners who purchase their system outright will recoup their investment within 5 to 8 years, especially after taking advantage of the 30% Federal Tax Credit. The result is 15-25 years of pure savings by harvesting your own electricity instead of buying it from the utility.
Solar Loan
- Solar Loan: A loan, or debt financing, is the next best option to paying outright in cash. Get great flexible 10, 15 or 25-year loan terms. Monthly payments can be setup to reduce your electricity bill from day 1 with a longer term loan or pay a little more than your current electricity bill and own your system free-and-clear sooner. Once paid off, you can get free electricity for the remaining 25+ year life of the system.
- Home Equity Loan: By financing your system with your home equity line of credit (HELOC), you may be able to deduct the interest from your personal income taxes (consult with your tax advisor), thereby further reducing your costs and accelerating ownership of your system. Additionally, you can easily pay the system off at any time with a lump sum payment.
Solar Lease and PPAs
- Solar Lease: Only appropriate for homeowners that cannot use the Tax Credit. Low or no upfront payment required, but finance fees are often very high. Payments may be fixed or may escalate over the 10-20 year term. SolarCraft typically does not recommend a third-party lease due to the significant loss of savings over the lease period compounded with the potential to complicate future home sales or refinancing.
- Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): PPA's for homeowners come with higher risks and minimal savings. Like lease financing, systems financed with a PPA require little or no money down and they are owned by a third-party. The homeowner just pays for the energy generated. The third-party owner has rights to the "renewable credits" which they will sell to industrial facilities to offset their polluting carbon; thus, giving them the right to continue to pollute. Therefore, the homeowner technically is not offsetting their own fossil fuel generation, the industrial facility is. The third-party owner may change hands multiple times over the PPA term. It's complicated so read the fine print. As a course of good, ethical business practices, SolarCraft does not offer PPAs.
Government Sponsored Renewable Energy Loans
- SCEIP (Sonoma County Only): Under the SCEIP program, the county will finance the cost of the system and the homeowner pays the money back through property taxes.
- PACE Program (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing: Similar to SCEIP, participating cities will finance the cost of the system, which is paid back through property taxes.
