Leasing solar panels are much different than buying your own system. When leasing a solar panel system, you allow a third-party supplier to install their panels on your rooftop, typically for 20-25 years. The third-party owns the solar panels and thus receives all government subsidies and tax benefits, and you pay them a monthly fee. After a certain amount of time, you would usually have the option of purchasing the solar panels yourself.
You receive none of the incentives or credits, you would just buy solar panels. And usually, it’s a 20-25 year-long lease, which means that if you ever need to move you either have to find someone willing to take over the solar lease when they move into the house, or you have to pay a break fee to the leasing company. However, because you didn’t take out a solar loan, or use up a chunk of your savings, you still save overall by going solar. You get the benefits of reducing your electric bill while having a single lease payment that will not increase over time.
We’ve put together this handy chart that highlights the biggest differences between buying solar panels and leasing solar panels: