Total Purchase or Plan Costs

Difference 1: Total Purchase or Plan Costs

With a cash purchase, you pay your investment in full, upfront, without any loan fees or interest payments to consider. This results in the highest upfront costs and lowest total costs.

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With a loan, your investment includes loan fees and interest payments. Costs are spread out across the terms of your loan, resulting in low monthly payments but higher total costs.


With a lease, you pay a low, monthly fee for the installation and usage of solar panels, allowing you to benefit from low monthly payments without the debt.

Difference 2: Eligibility for Tax Credits and Incentives

With a cash or loan purchase, you may be eligible for tax credits and incentives, including the 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit (RCEC), that can help you recoup some of your investment costs.

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The RCEC, like many solar tax credits, is designed to incentivize the purchase of residential solar. If you do not own your solar energy system—as with a lease or power purchase agreement, you are not eligible for the incentives.

Tax credits and incentives available.

Electricity Savings.


  • Who decides my utility rate and net metering policy?
  • How do electricity bills change with solar?
  • How does 1-1 net metering work?
  • How does monthly net metering work?
  • How net billing works (export credits).
  • How does buy all sell all works.
  • What if you have net metering and time-of-use rates?
  • Residential solar explained.
  • How solar works
  • Solar installation process
  • Solar Utility requirements

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