The one question that sorts the pile
Who owns the equipment on the roof? If the answer is you — cash or a loan — the file reads one way. If the answer is a third party — a lease or a power purchase agreement — it reads another.
Ownership drives who claims any tax benefit described in the file, what happens when you sell, who is named on a public filing, and which payment you are actually looking at. We do not tell you which arrangement is “better.” We tell you which one the pages appear to be.
The three arrangements
Almost every residential system is paid for in one of these ways. A fourth path — paid in cash with no ongoing agreement — leaves little for us to review.
In ordinary words
- A loan: you borrowed money, you own the system, you repay a lender. Look for an APR, a finance charge, or the words loan agreement.
- A lease: someone else owns the system. You pay a monthly amount to have it on the roof. Look for “solar lease” and a term of years.
- A power purchase agreement, usually shortened to PPA: someone else owns the system and you buy the power it makes, billed by the kilowatt-hour. Look for a rate written as dollars per kWh.
- Paid in cash: you bought it outright. There is no ongoing agreement, which is also why there is often nothing for us to review.
How to tell from a page you already have
You do not need the whole binder. One signed first page, or one recent statement, usually settles it.
Look for these
- A payoff balance or remaining principal points toward a loan. Leases and PPAs do not talk that way.
- A price per kilowatt-hour points toward a PPA.
- A flat monthly figure can be a lease or a loan — then look for an interest rate.
- Wording that the system is “owned by” or “provided by” the other party points toward a lease or a PPA.
- A sales proposal is not the signed agreement. If that is all you have, start there and get the signed copy next.
Why the distinction shows up later
Selling the house, an escalator, a silent installer, two bills in one month — each of those situations reads differently once you know which of the three you signed.
If you are not sure, that is the situation page “Not sure if you own, lease, or buy the power?” This guide is the concept. That page is the mess.
What to photograph
Page one of the signed file. The payment page. The page that names the parties. A recent statement if the name you pay today is different from the name on the truck.