Solar lease versus buying the system

Buying means you own the equipment. A lease or a power-purchase agreement means a company owns it and you pay for the use or for the kilowatt-hours. That split matters more than the year-one payment.

What you are comparing

A cash purchase has one price. Berkeley Lab found lower up-front prices for cash systems than for loan-financed systems in its 2025 data, partly because dealer fees can be rolled into a financed price. A loan still means you own the system. You repay interest on top of the price. Put the monthly payment next to a realistic bill offset. If the payment is larger than the bill reduction, you did not save money.

A lease has a schedule, often with an escalator. A PPA has a price per kilowatt-hour, often with an escalator. You typically do not claim a homeowner energy credit on either, because you did not buy the system. For installations completed after December 31, 2025, section 25D would not apply to a purchase either. Do not let a lease be sold as the way to "still get" that credit.

The house sale

Owned solar transfers with the house if the buyer and the lender accept it. A lease or PPA has to be assumed, bought out, or renegotiated. Read the transfer clause before you sign. "Fair market value" without a formula is an argument.

A fair test

Ask every company for the cash price of the same equipment, even if you might lease. Then ask for the full payment schedule of the lease or PPA. Compare those documents. The financing page walks through the same four structures without a preferred product.