Is “Free Solar” A Real Thing?
If you are a homeowner in California, chances are you’ve had at least one person stop at your door and excitedly tell you about the great “Free Solar Program” in your zip code that you “might qualify for.”
This happens so often that one of the most frequent questions people ask me is: “Is this Free Solar Thing Real?”
Many people are understandably skeptical and rightly so since there is no such thing as “free solar.”**
So what are all the YouTube ads, flyers, and the door knockers talking about? When they say ”free solar” what they are referring to is a Power Purchase Agreement.
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is an agreement between the homeowner and a third-party company. The third party owns the system, and you just purchase the electricity the system produces at rates far below what you are paying to PG&E. (See my detailed blog post here)
The “free” part simply means that there are no out-of-pocket costs for the customer– which is great, but it doesn’t mean you’ll never pay for your electricity again which is what “free” implies. With a PPA (or a financed purchase), you are swapping a high utility bill for a substantially lower fixed monthly solar payment with no up front costs.
If a sales rep uses the “free solar”, it is typically this is a red-flag that they are not being straight-forward- a bad sign which may mean there are other things they are being misleading about. Unfortunately, this approach just erodes trust.
Solar can be very beneficial, and working with an ethical and knowledgeable sales rep who presents you with options and explains the pros and cons of each and makes sure your home is a good fit, allows you to make an informed decision. This can make all the difference between a great experience and a not so great experience.
If you are interested in looking into your options or have questions about whether or not solar is right for you, please reach out, I would be happy to help.
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**Technically, there is a free solar program in California, but this is NOT what the door knockers are talking about. The actual free program is based on an extremely low household income, so the grand majority of homeowners do not qualify for it. In my ten years, I’ve only had one customer qualify.
