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23 Responses to “Leasing Solar Panels”


  1. On November 10th, 2010 at 12:13 pm Kris Said:

    I am a current Sungevity lease customer. Getting solar panels was always something I wanted to do for the environment and using a lease was a low cost up front solution. I’ve only had my panels (4Kw system) for 3 months so need to see how the numbers play out, but on average my panels should generate about 40% of my yearly energy usage, and save me $20-$30 per month.


  2. On November 10th, 2010 at 9:27 pm dan castle Said:

    I love my Sungevity solar panel system. I have had mine for 2 1/2 months and I have generated over 1300 kWh with an average of 22 kWh during September and 18 kWh duirng October. With my 3.7kw system, I am saving 75% of my bill. My blog that shows videos and photos of the whole installation process at dansolar1.wordpress.com. In the meantime, my referring people to Sungevity, my referral income has been $2500 so far. That pays for a lot of electricity or lease payments. It really is a ‘no brainer’ since my new lease payment and new electric bill are less than my old electric bill. Also in the long run I will have paid less for the panels than if I had bought them, with an instant return on my money and no upfront costs. So leasing has been awesome for me.


  3. On November 11th, 2010 at 10:17 pm dan castle Said:

    My friend Robert put Sungevity solar panels on his house which is very efficient a month ago and his bill is zero. He put on 2.9 kw of solar and he is very excited to be at zero so far. He is making 18kWh each day when it is sunny. So with his lease payment he is saving 20-40 dollars a month, so far. He is very excited to finally be using solar and helping the planet and also saving money too.


  4. On November 11th, 2010 at 10:51 pm Robert Hill Said:

    When I bought my current house in 2001 I did a major remodel including full insullation with additional reflectix in the attic. I even insullated the interior walls. I also installed dual pain windows and insulated exterior dorrs. My energy usage was low compared to my neighbors but I was still hitting tier 3 billing. I have wanted to add a solar energy system on my house for some time but the initial cost was too much. When my friend Dan told me about Sungevity I was sold. Just before I got my iQuote SCE lowered the baseline so in effect raised my electricity rates without going to the PUC. I suddenly was in tier 4 for the first time even though my usage from year to year is the same.
    A new meter was installed on October 29 and right now reads 18 for an average of less than 2 KW per day!! Before going solar my average electric bill was $110 per month with a daily average of around 20KW. I cannot say for certain but at this rate by the end of the year I should be getting paid by SCE instead of me paying them. All this with no money out of pocket.


  5. On November 12th, 2010 at 1:41 pm Jorge Rivera Said:

    Sungevity is a company with a very innovative approach to solar energy production. Its two main strengths involve:

    1. Being one of the fist companies to make installation of solar panels affordable for homeowners in California (also in Colorado and Arizona.). Sungevity does this by offering to lease solar panels to homeowners. With the lease, homeowners can enjoy immediate significant energy bill savings without incurring the upfront cost for the installation of a solar panel system in their house. The upfront costs are large and can be between $20,000 and $30,000.

    Sungevity is able to do this by aggressively taking advantage of multiple renewable energy incentives offered by federal and state governments (30% tax credit, accelerated depreciation, sales tax exception, speed up permitting process, etc). It is important to note here, the government incentives for traditional energy generation are much more generous (oil, coal, and nuclear energy companies are much larger -$79 billion between 2002-08- than those offered to renewable energy companies for the same period -$29 billion)

    2. Sungevity also has an excellent record of customer service. Reviews of customer comments in multiple websites (Better Business Bureau, Checkbook, etc.) are almost all positive to very positive in terms of installation, maintenance, and actual energy savings.

    It is important however to be aware of the challenges faced by Sungevity:

    1. The government incentives that make the leasing financially sound for both homeowners and Sungevity are not permanent and have multiple expiration dates. Some start to be phased out next year and most of them end in 2016. This creates a great deal of uncertainty that prevents the long term growth of the renewable energy industry in the U.S. Companies will not make large long term investments if the renewable energy incentives are hostage to politics in Washington and other state capitals. In contrast, it is important to stress that government incentives to oil, gas, coal, and nuclear energy industries are actually written in the U.S. tax code with not expiration date (thus buffered from changes in political preferences of elected officials.

    2. The other challenge faced by Sungevity is the increasing number of new competitors that seek to take advantage of the temporary government incentives offered to generators of solar energy. For example, PG&E is aggressively investing (more than $60 million) in Solarcity a startup company that is replicating Sungevity leasing approach.

    Jorge Rivera

    Associate Professor

    The George Washington University, School of Business

    Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy

    Personal website: http://home.gwu.edu/~jrivera/

    Funger Hall 615, 2201 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20052

    Phone: (202) 994-0163; Fax: (202) 994-8113


  6. On November 12th, 2010 at 4:44 pm dan castle Said:

    Instead of spending billions on solar farms in the deserts, disrupting the environment, why not just spend the money on purchasing solar panels for individual homes. It would be much cheaper and cover tons more homes.

    Also, no need for spending millions on long transmission lines from the desert to the cities that are so far away. Sungevity could get the federal money and just put it on homes throughout the state and we would all benefit.

    Another idea is to copy Germany and put solar panels all along the freeways and run the electricity generated to the homes near by.

    Still, I love my solar panels on my home and watching the meter spin backwards all day, everyday.


  7. On November 15th, 2010 at 2:27 pm Steven Elbogen Said:

    Sungevity’s leasing program is a brilliant way to get tens of thousands of households to produce rooftop solar electricity with no upfront investment. I truly did not believe it would happen, so I applied and waited cautiously. To my surprise, it happened. I have been currently over-producing my normal estimated amount of usage. If this trend continues, I will likely switch gas appliances to electricity, which will increase my energy savings even more. As energy rates take their normal yearly climb, our fixed cost’s will prove even more effective, and compound the savings. All while doing the right thing! Amazing indeed.


  8. On January 28th, 2011 at 5:19 am Jo Said:

    I live in North Carolina. I wish we could get leased solar here. Unfortunately, solar is only for the wealthy on this side of the country.


  9. On January 28th, 2011 at 11:44 am Carrie Winans Said:

    Pricing in solar energy has always been one of the biggest concerns. There is a lot of talk currently about making it cheaper. SunRun and others have focused a great deal of effort into making it more consumer happy. Until then, Climate Central has provided readers with an explanation as to why there is such a break in pricing between the current energy standard and the new clean energy, please enjoy! http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ethical-dilemma-profoundly-sways-economics-of-climate-change/


  10. On January 28th, 2011 at 2:23 pm Jason Said:

    Sungevity is a great company, we shopped around and they have the best deal in solar. While they are very very busy and the installations can take some time to complete, it’s well worth the wait . . . we saving packets, reducing our household footprint, and promoting energy independence. Highly recommend them!


  11. On February 1st, 2011 at 2:35 pm travis richardson Said:

    I used to be a PV installer. Now I’m designing PV systems at Sungevity. I had them put a system on my house and they did a quality job. It’s good to see many of the names on this post are people who’ve I’ve designed systems for their houses.


  12. On February 3rd, 2011 at 6:26 pm Jeff B Said:

    We have a family of four in a normal sized house with good insulation and reasonably conservative habits regarding energy use. I had looked at photovoltaics several times over the years but could never make the ROI work. With Sungevity it was a no-brainer. Our average bill was $163 per month before and with our new 10 kWh system it is under $40. The lease payment is $72 so we are ‘earning’ $600 bucks a year at current rates. I don’t expect electricity rates to do down – ever – so this story should just get better and better.

    When I drive around my neighborhood I see so many expansive south facing roofs with no solar panels and I just wish they would get with the program and start getting their power from the sun shining on all that unused space up there. I highly recommend Sungevity. You owe it to your pocketbook, the planet and your children’s future to check it out.


  13. On February 8th, 2011 at 8:57 pm David Austin Said:

    The numbers don’t add up. Pay nothing now, pay more later. Sort of like buying the cheap couch twice.


  14. On April 11th, 2011 at 7:54 pm Judi Said:

    I live in Florida, the sunshine state. We have solar companies, but none that I’m aware of that use the Sungevity model. Florida & solar energy go hand in hand. It’s a win-win. Hope Sungevity is planning on expanding down here. We need them!


  15. On April 12th, 2011 at 9:07 am DColchi' Said:

    I’ve investigated the possibilities of solar panels in IL in years past and found it to be highly cost-prohibitive at the time. But Sungevity and firms like them are akin to GODs graciousness. I do hope that there is a company like Sungevity Inc. in the state of IL. So glad I listen to the PBS station and caught a broadcast of ‘Planet Forward’!


  16. On April 13th, 2011 at 2:47 am Alan Larson Said:

    As long as it relies on government subsidies, it is not efficient enough to solve any problems. The subsidies are simply forcing someone else to pay part of the cost. It is easy to make something look like a good idea if someone else pays for it.
    When PV solar can work without subsidies, it will be worthwhile, with purchase or lease; in the meantime, we should not force taxpayers to support leasing businesses.


  17. On April 14th, 2011 at 5:06 pm dan castle Said:

    The federal gov’t pays way more to subsidize oil and nuclear than it does solar. And nuclear costs down the road are way more than any other energy source especially if you consider where are you going to store spent fuel rods for the next 100 or 200 years.

    Most countries that are going green are putting part of their funds into solar and wind so why can’t America? Brazil is 50% biofuel and they started going that way over 20 years ago. What if America had gone the same route, just think of the little oil we would be importing.


  18. On April 17th, 2011 at 10:30 pm Dean Said:

    If there isnt anything like this around our town is there a way that we can start it, partner up with sung. or work for the company to promote it in our area?


  19. On April 20th, 2011 at 12:51 pm Sloane Said:

    Hi Dean – we are coming to the Northeast and now taking iQuotes in several states ahead of our imminent launch. Which state are you in? As for working with us, as we come to new jurisdictions, we partner with the excellent local solar installers.


  20. On September 20th, 2011 at 3:11 pm Jessica Kelley Said:

    Personally, I think solar leases have met the needs of many people that wanted to go solar, but couldn’t afford to. But did you all know there’s another option available now? Leo Sunergy is introducing a new financing plan to the solar market.

    Now you can go solar with $0 down (like a solar lease), but own your panels in 7 years. If you’d like details, check out http://leosunergy.com/solar-panels-zero-down.php


  21. On February 11th, 2012 at 12:28 am John Stephens Said:

    We had Sungevity put PV panels on our roof and…Wow! Our bill this month was $4.04 for the electricity. Heck, I think I will put up a flashing neon sign on my roof with a large hand and finger pointing to the new array so the neighbors will get jealous.


  22. On February 12th, 2012 at 4:49 pm Brett Kuntze Said:

    I want to caution any of you about installing solar panels on your rooftop as it will cast a great deal of shadow on the roof .. The attic will not heat up as previously which means that indoors will be colder than ususal.. the gain you get from the solar panels will probably be more than cancelled out by the increase in heating requirement on your furnace that runs on natural gas or heating oil or even electricity and firewood.. You have to be a physicist to understand and realize honeslty that it is probably a dumb place to put your solar panels.. I have nothing against solar panels as long as it is not placed on rooftops.. We favor rooftops simpoly becasue it save real estate which is true but it may prove to be unwise in energy efficiency overall. Same can be said about having trees casting shadows over your rooftops and people can argue about that.. Sure.. also solar panels can keep attics cooler during summertme as the hot sun is higher in the sky.. I have no problem .. maybe solar panels can be readjusted back and forth during wintertime and summertime to maximize advantages , I dont know. Our common goal s is to reduce energy consumption and increasing alternate energy efficiencies without bumping into eachother intelligiently and physically.


  23. On February 12th, 2012 at 7:29 pm Brett Kuntze Said:

    I am also groaning over the energy efficiencies of modern windows with so called Low-E glass panes. It is true that you benefits from Low-E where the sun shines hotly through it but the sun is mostly high up in the sky during summertime except sunset hours that can get really hot as the sun sets downwardly toward the horizon. During wintertime, you miss the benefits of natural sunlight as the sun is much lower in the sky and can contribute greatly toward heating your house thorugh the windows. Low-E windows will block the wintertime sunlgiht from heating up the indoors. I dont think that low-E is necessary for certain sides of homes and apartments except facing the hot sunset angle or west facing sides of homes only.The southern sides should not be installed with low E windows because this is where the wintertime sun is most benefical ! You have to believe how warm wintertime sunlight can be through simple clear double pane windows without any low-E coatings.I would change the west facing windows for wintertime if it can be designed as such. Lets stop being so careless with our energy conservation efforts..

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