Solar Leases and Buyouts Cost More Than Expected

“Hello Solar friends. Our 1500sq ft home uses mini splits alone to heat and cool our place. We have started investigating adding solar to the house, but are very budget conscious and looking to make sure we leave no stone unturned. Our mini splits, by far, utilize the major amount of electric in our place. Currently, those mini splits are on our electric panel. Question is: how would we take those off of our panel and have them run solely off of solar/battery? Is this even possible? Thanks for an”

“i was going to do the same thing since I have solar and a solar battery the electricity would be effectively free but people are putting in offers so low to recoup any money from it even just buying the card would take years to make a dent into I assume people also have solar or some sort of cheap electricity setup and have the cards for video games and this is an easy way to make money, bit like how people with expensive cards could mine ethereum in the background for a while there”

“If you read my last post I asked Gemini to help me start the process of getting what I need to run my new house fully off grid. But after more research and people's suggestions here's my new setup. House 2300 sq ft plus a basement. • Solar panels 30 atles 550 watt panels • 2 eg4 powerpro wall batteries • eg4 18k inverter heat sources: •wood pellet stove (can't get natural gas or I would go with that) with the electric furnace set to fan only mode to help with circulation • mini split”

“Hey all - curious if there’s a good way to tell whether a self build solar or wind asset goes over budget. In doing some research for a grad class of mine - I believe I understand that most utilities (aside from BTAs and PPAs) will file for ex parte approval, under an already approved IRP. They may file an estimate $/kW figure with this. Once that project commissions, the final budget gets rolled up into a reconciliation filing. I’ve found it is hard to impossible to deduce the final cost on a p”

“I’m in NYC (Queens) and currently pay Con Edison roughly $200–$300/month for electricity, averaging around $250 . I received this ownership/financing proposal and wanted to get opinions on the pricing, equipment, and overall deal. The proposal is: 5.4 kW system / 12 panels 12 × SEG Solar 450W panels 12 × Enphase IQ8MC microinverters Estimated production: 6,678 kWh/year Estimated offset: 104% System price: $18,900 ($3.50/W) Financing: 4% APR / 15 years About $139/month initially Estimated $4,725”

“As title says. I don’t know where to start. Everything just doesn’t make sense. I’m located in northwest Indiana and have gotten 3 quotes for panels with and without battery. My electric bill for 2100 sq ft is around $400-650 a month. (Gas not included even though bill is combined) Typical quotes are coming in at 70-90k from 3 different installers. I just don’t see how it makes sense at that price. My monthly payment for the panels/install for 15+ years is about $400 a month when calculated and”

“Check out your payoff for your current lease, loan or outright owned solar system in Texas for free. Let me know your results! submitted by /u/Key-Run-7042 [link] [comments]”

“22 panels fully paid off installed back in 2020, NEM 2.0. Out of curiosity checking on Tesla site, saw that I can lease a battery+expansion for $116/month ($122 with tax) for 12 years with 3% annual escalation. I've heard all the horror stories with solar leases, but I don't see much of a down side here. just want to get a sanity check here and hear what you guys think. submitted by /u/Andre625 [link] [comments]”

“We have had our system since 2019, producing well for years until an outage last year that we didn't catch for a few months (new converter installed under warranty). Of course, they still wanted to charge the $700 site visit charge then and over $1,000 for an updated communications tool (which we declined). Now that the system has gone out again, they want another $700. Since we completely own the system, what advice do you all have so I can stop working with this crappy company. submi”

Last June my SCE true up came in at $994! Since getting solar in 2022 I have not have a bill because my system over produces and it carries credits every year.…

“I had a 17.94kw solar system installed in August and it was up and running on 8/1/26 producing energy for our home. However, I did not have pto yet so nothing extra was getting exported. I have the tesla pw3 and was able to use the tesla app to review every days production though and even though we don't have pto I was still covering almost all our use with solar and the battery was covering all the use at night. My app showed that we imported about 1-3kw daily compared to 40-50kw daily befo”

“I have been through 4 different solar companies in our area. They all have this huge meeting where for an hour, sometimes longer, they go over this massive presentation with all these slides and all the bs. Only to at the end try to get me into a lease or offer some ridiculous financing. Then when I look into what they are supplying it seems so over priced its crazy. I believe solar energy is good. Why do all these companies have to make it so hard to just get a legitimate system at a decent pri”

“Pacific northwest here. I'm interested in increasing the resiliency to outages. I have two different solar arrays. Both are micro inverter based. ( APS and Enphase) Im interested in installing a battery system that would allow me to generate electricity when the grid was down and charge batteries. Can I use any batteries (ac) wired into the panel to provide that capability or do I have to go with emphase? submitted by /u/lascholl [link] [comments]”

“This is with 42kw of solar, 2xEG4 Flexboss and 60kwh batteries. I also have the inverters limited to outputting a combined total of 22kw to the grid. I may increase or even unthrottle at some point. My first set of inverters didn’t last two months and it turned out to be the gridboss being the issue. The production was 6.1MW and on a very rainy and cloudy day I was able to produce over 50kw. It is also located in SD submitted by /u/Fuzzy_Necessary_3211 [link] [comments]”

“Does anyone here have the same deal? As in your roof is leased to a solar company that prohibits battery installation into their system? submitted by /u/TheHonn19 [link] [comments]”

“Looking to get some advice from this sub. I recently bought and moved into a home (single story 2000 sqft) that was built in 2021. I'm in CA and Socal Edison is my service provider and and I confirmed with them that I'm on NEM 2.0. In December 2025-January 2026, I received a credit on my bills. But the last couple months, my bills have been on the order of $350-400. I'm planning to retire in 15-20 years and will be promptly be selling this home & moving my family out of Californi”

“I know a con artist-type guy whose friends are constantly starting solar businesses and employing him. Cannot stress enough how much I want to avoid guys like him! Who are the trusted professionals I should call in the Frederick area of Maryland? And what are some guidelines I should look for to know who to trust? Just looked up Ion Solar and saw they've business 13 years, then I completed a form to be contacted by them. But there are reviews on this subreddit saying the company went drastic”

“So, I learned Xcel will charge you for excess generation without an interconnect agreement. It's just the way their billing is setup apparently. This may change in the future. It is an interesting issue especially considering Colorado will allow up to 1920w of inverter capacity. There is one balcony solar inverter that has a zero export device option. I'm guessing this will be more and more common as the equipment rolls out. What have you learned on this topic? submitted by /”

“Hi all. I've been trying to do some research but presently it seems that solar companies spam google to get their ads to the front page of the algorithm with the impending changes to rebates in Australia. It's difficult to find information without So I'm doing this to try and ensure my mum (76yo) gets a good deal. She rushed out and got a local company to install an inverter which actually seems to have good reviews. It's 6 Fronious Primo gen 24 8kw. She's got 27 panels on th”

Doesn’t matter after all is said and done it’s not worth it.

“hi all, i am getting solar. had to get my electrical panel upgraded (im in Los Angeles) and they (without us knowing ahead of time) installed the new breakers on the front/side of the house and it looks sooo awful to me. there are a bunch of pipes running in the back of my house now too with another two boxes and the original meter placement back there too. just wanted to know if this is usually how things look? ugh so excited for solar but this is such an eye sore in the front of the house. &#3”

“I've had my solar panels for about a year now and today I noticed some dark circles on them. I'm wondering is this just dirt or something else? submitted by /u/DrawerElectronic7935 [link] [comments]”

“Here are some night shots. Also screen grab of some the the solar app data. submitted by /u/tlee2000 [link] [comments]”

“With all the talk of balcony solar coming, I’m curious about adding it to an existing system. I have solar and a single PowerWall, but could use more capacity now that the family has grown. Would adding a balcony solar system confuse the Tesla gateway since it’s not programmed to see power coming from the house’s outlets? Would the auto-shutoff on the balcony system cause issues with the auto shutoff in the Tesla system? submitted by /u/winkyj00 [link] [comments]”

“Solar Billing Plan (aka NEM 3.0 aka NBT) Strategy for CPUC (PG&E, SCE, SDB&E) Notes on differences PG&E and SCE reduce net export credits at the "utility's average real-world retail export compensation rates for all NBT customers" SDG&E reduce net export credits at "Average Delivery Export Amount: The average amount you were compensated for delivery exports over the previous 12 months" Without confirmation, this would imply that PG&E and SCE reduce you”

“Didn’t want to buy the battery back up at the time of the contract signing due to cost. But now I have some extra money and wondered if I had to get the solar company or an electrician involved or if I can DIY. I’m talking about buy the official battery that normally comes with the ocean pro. submitted by /u/Herdnerfer [link] [comments]”

“I expected it to take almost a year to understand my 10 kWh 1 PW3 system after I got it in Apr 25. In Feb I thought I had it down, then I got a letter saying that I had been billed on the NEM 2.0 plan since the new Solar Plan wasn't ready. So I was back to ground zero, everything I had learned was for a different plan In April PG&E dropped hundreds of dollars in credit on me. I called to ask what happened and when I called back the rep said it was because of the change to the new plan bu”

“I've been kicking around the idea of solar lately for the following reasons: Generally going green and helping to offset our carbon footprint. Helping mitigate rising cost of electricity which I expect to continue at rates that make it a generally positive financial decision. Providing us the ability to power our home in the event of a grid down situation, especially for long periods of time. Obviously solar "on its own" addresses the first two goals, but the third is where I'm”

“I downloaded this 27 page PDF from Solar United Neighbors, a national nonprofit. It's fairly basic, but from many of the questions I see posted, this might have useful information for people interested in solar, people talking to installers, and even folks who need to sell their solar-equipped house. I looks helpful to me, you're welcome to to give it a review. Misspelling "maintenance" is making me a little crazy, though. https://solarunitedneighbors.org/wp-content/uploads/202”

“I have a long time friend who has a farm, is looking at doing an array. He also knows another farmer that did an array, but thinks the land lease rates are not good. Now someone asked me a question about leasing as well and that got me thinking more about the economics of large land leases, something I have never seen discussed here. This is the poster said is: I have been approached by a company, GreenGoEnergy, LLC, to lease my farm land for a solar field. (+25-year lease.) They offer $91,000 p”

“I’m considering working with SolarITC.org. I was told they can help set up an LLC, place my home solar system under the LLC, and potentially claim the solar tax credit through the business. Has anyone actually used this company or this type of structure? I’m specifically trying to understand: Is SolarITC.org legitimate, and has anyone successfully worked with them? How does putting a residential solar system under an LLC affect eligibility for the federal solar tax credit? Does the LLC actually”

“Hello, I live in SoCal Edison territory and I want solar. I’m curious if I could have a professional installer do the panels, inverter, grid shut off, and do everything except install batteries? I would want batteries at a later date when it makes more financial sense for me to. After watching some videos and reading documentation, especially for the Sol-Ark inverter, I’m confident I could install the batteries myself, just not sure about the permitting aspect related to this. submitted by”

“We do receive credits for exported solar under our existing SCE arrangement. You’re right that I shouldn’t have treated daytime solar as free—the relevant comparison is peak imports avoided minus the export credit given up at midday, after battery losses. I didn’t explain that clearly in the post.”

“Only in certain cases. I already had 7 kW of rooftop solar, so mine isn’t really a battery-only example. The reason it pencils out here is the roughly $0.34/kWh TOU spread. If I were on a flat rate, I wouldn’t expect it to work purely as a bill-savings purchase.”

“It's because he has a large solar system, high usage during peak hours, a high energy rate and demand based pricing. I remember how mad my dad got at me for running my gaming PC in the afternoon.”

“I'm looking at April year over year and that tells me that $200 per month is a good average. Biggest savings during summer but the average seems like $200 per month is close enough.”

“If you can offset your usage to a sufficiently cheaper time of day (if your utility offers variable rates), then sure. If you pay $200/mo in electricity, but shifting your usage would cut your rate in half, then you could save $100/mo (well, almost... <100% efficiency, of course) just by getting an appropriate battery. If the battery cost, say, $4.8k all-in, that's paying itself back in just 4 years. In most cases where a battery saves you money, though, solar is probably likely to save y”

“Yes. Hawaii ranks #1 in the entire United States for the fastest solar payback period. A standard bought system pays for itself in just 4.5 years, leaving you with over two decades of virtually free electricity. ​The Numbers at a Glance (Standard 6 kW System): System Size : 6 kW Annual Production ~9,730 kWh Installed Cost : $25,500 State Rebates & Incentives -$5,000 Net Out-of-Pocket Cost $20,500 Year-One Savings $4,544 Payback Period (Break-Even) 4.5 Years Estimated 25-Year Gain $128,845 Wh”

“Orange county here, SCE TOU-D-Prime. Peak is $0.58/kWh from 4-9pm, off peak $0.24. Family of 5 so everything happens during peak... cooking, AC, kids on screens, laundry, all of it between 4 and 9. Summer bills were running $380-430 every month. Put in a home battery system back in march. Single unit + smart inlet box + 3 battery packs (18kWh). Already had 7kW on the roof from 2022. We actually got quotes for another popular home battery system in january first, but the install was rigid & c”

“Purchased a house with Sunrun solar ( I know they suck) it was right next door to my parents and great for childcare so we went with it. The issue now is we have a 9.6kh system with 37 panels. We have 2 EVS and a growing family and it's not making the cut. The system is from 2016. So I've been looking around for options and everyone keeps telling me to add on an additional 10 panels which will give move me to about a 13.5-14kh system for around 12,500. My original thought was to pay off”

“Hi! Me and my partner are first-time homeowners moving to Florida and solar panels were just installed on our new place. Does homeowners insurance normally cover the panels, or did you need extra coverage for them? Trying to figure out what's normal here before we get everything finalized. Thanks! submitted by /u/StrawberryMelodic719 [link] [comments]”

“We just had solar installed, final inspection this weekend. And my Tesla MY should arrive at the end of next month. I am trying to figure out what is my best way to charge mostly off of solar, particularly in the summer when we would be selling/buying at peak rates. I can charge during the day currently. I have 100amp service with heavy load.(hot tub,AC, etc) Electrician said he can run a separate feed to the garage specifically for the charger. But what are my options for utilizing solar as a p”

“I am in Louisville, KY and contemplating having solar PV installed on my 3 YO roof in a relatively upscale suburb. (Current market prices are in the $600k range for my neighborhood.) I plan to pay up front for the install (NOT LEASING). If I were to sell my home with a PV system installed (predicted install cost ~$32-35k), how much value would this add, on average, in my market? I found this thread , but many people seemed confused in that post about leased systems, which definitely detract from”

“Early morning minimal sun and minimal consumption by home. Why is grid intake so high? Looks like the excess is going to battery but it isn't charging higher. Appreciate your insight. submitted by /u/realityGrtrThanUs [link] [comments]”

“Hey everyone, I’m currently budgeting for a home battery setup to go along with my rooftop solar, but the upfront capital cost is insane (looking at €8k–€14k depending on the setup). I was talking with an installer recently who mentioned that some places in Europe/US are testing a "Hardware-as-a-Service" model: you pay a flat monthly fee (say, €40–€70/mo), they handle the installation, maintenance, inverter replacement, and swap the modules when degradation hits a certain point. Would”

“Hey everyone, I’m currently budgeting for a home battery setup to go along with my rooftop solar, but the upfront capital cost is insane (looking at €8k–€14k depending on the setup). I was talking with an installer recently who mentioned that some places in Europe/US are testing a "Hardware-as-a-Service" model: you pay a flat monthly fee (say, €40–€70/mo), they handle the installation, maintenance, inverter replacement, and swap the modules when degradation hits a certain point. Would”

“I got solar panels and a battery 18 months ago. I'm curious to know how much I would have paid the utility (PG&E) had I not had solar. In other words, I want to compare the amount I've paid PG&E over the past 18 months with how much I would have paid if I didn't get solar/battery. Is this possible? submitted by /u/homespun-literati [link] [comments]”

“Pretty lost at this point and am looking for answers. House currently has 36 panels and generates around 33kWh daily. Last month saw a 400 dollar bill all of a sudden and the month before was 200 dollars and now Edison has an estimated bill of 400 for this month. Now my largest concern is that the same months last year I had a bill of less than $5.00 each month. Nothing has changed in my home. AC set same as last year, I still work from home. Legit nothing has changed. Looked at my Edison bill a”

“Installed solar this year. Location is Northern California, high elevation. Have a substantial battery back up. electrical bill has been reduced to almost nothing, $50 a month. PG&E here runs .49 KwH. submitted by /u/snowyoda5150 [link] [comments]”

“When I moved in to this house last year I thought I would have enough solar panel for my energy consumption. It is a old system but has 32 panels and 8kW total. I run the pool pump most of the time during day and have the AC turned on for 14-15 hours every day this month. I think I will use AC this way at least until October. I also have EV so I used quite a lot of electricity. Yesterday I have used ~43kWh from SDGE and have produced ~41kWh energy from solar. I check the estimate bill and it sai”

“Good morning, If my solar panels produce 1 KWh at a time when electricity costs €0.20/kWh they have saved me €0.20 Can you add to the solar panels the possibility of valuing the savings via a cost entity as for the pur…”

“I track energy consumption and production since I have solar panels. I always had entities tracking the energy price over time (even if the entities names changed over time). In particular, since a year and a half I ha…”

“I think it would be great if the energy dashboard could calculate the savings from a solar panel system or battery on the electricity bill. The calculation would essentially be: ‘How much is the electricity I’ve used fr…”

“Mods, I promise this is a solar question. Anybody install 20amp 110v outlet on their solar microgrid, so that they can trickle charge their EVs in an extended grid failure? submitted by /u/GoingOffRoading [link] [comments]”

“This is not spam! I am a real person lol. I have a new-build home in Western Iowa. My provider is MidAmerican Energy, and their average energy cost is 10.75 to 11.01 cents per kWh. MidAmerican offers net metering (if users enroll now- this is probably going away next year), but any excess produced is used as a future credit; it cannot be cashed out. My house is fully electric. Since I just moved in I have yet to receive a utility bill, but I'm guessing that my electric bill would probably be”

“our power use jumps around enough that one bill can make the panels look either great or disappointing. workshop use and whatever else was running that month can change the number a lot. i was getting too hung up on whether each individual bill looked low enough. now i'm keeping the production totals next to what we actually paid the utility. after a full year, is comparing those totals against the year before the system went in the fairest way to tell what it really saved? submitted b”

“In Maryland getting several solar quotes. 100% intent on owning, but one company, SEW (owned by Comcast), has a new type of leasing that had me crunching numbers (integrates 30% 3rd party rebate, can prepay the lease to have zero payments, zero escalation, SEW takes care of system for length of lease, table of buyout values over life of lease if want to switch to owning). Does anyone else have experience with this program? (understanding it is fairly new) submitted by /u/JPNess11 [li”

“I have been interested in solar since we moved into our house. The front roof isn't perfect but based on the below quotes we can get some good coverage. It's south facing. On top of this, I had the roof inspected once (I plan to get a 2nd opinion) and the inspector who is form a well known/well respected company said our front has 2-3 years and back has 3-4 years in their opinion. It's shorter than we thought and wonder if the former owners fudged their roof age. Anyway, now we'r”

“Hi, To preface this by saying I am a first time homeowner and very unfamiliar with electricity billing and solar in general, and may very well be misreading/misunderstanding my electric bill/s. In July we used 404kWh, of which 56% was directly from the solar panels, 42% from the powerwall which gets charged solely from our solar panels, and then only 2% has come from the grid. The billing period for the latest bill is 07/06 to 08/03 so the numbers do not directly match what we see on pur Tesla a”