Free Solar! Does such a thing even exist?

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Free Solar! Does such a thing even exist?

The one thing you can always count on in the Solar Industry, there are some very interesting marketing techniques out there.

We see the words “free solar” popping up more regularly these days and also, we hear prospective customers who make inquiries with us asking about it. Usually, it is followed with the question: Is there such a thing as Free Solar? Clearly, the answer is no. There is no free anything in life and certainly, there is no such thing as Free Solar.

Some companies are using some rather interesting language to describe how you can finance your solar purchase by using the savings that you make from it to cover the cost. What they are really saying is that it doesn’t cost you anything upfront and over a period of time (usually 3-4 years) the solar system you buy will pay back the loan that you take out to buy the solar system.

Yes, it’s a loan and even if it is called “Interest-Free” there is and always will be a financial cost associated with buying solar.

The problem is that there is no single way to purchase a solar system using finance. But there are some methods that are more complicated than others. As a rule; if it sounds complicated then you should be very concerned about what you are signing up for.

Recently we tackled the issue of Cheap Solar because this is important as part of your solar buying decision….

If you want a quality system and are worried about paying a little bit more for a lot more quality, service, and peace of mind then the simplest way to do it is by financing the purchase. It’s very rare that a solar system purchase will not receive approval for finance and the simplest way is to use a solar loan through a company such as Brighte. There are other good finance companies around but we recommend Brighte because they are quick, competitive and simple.

Brighte are very professional and use the regulated loan market to fund customers. Again, we simply say to our customers: Don’t use dodgy solar companies or use dodgy lenders to fund your solar purchase. It often ends badly.

An Example of Financing a Solar System

A basic purchase would be a 6.6kw system which, as we have already discussed in other articles, will return approximately $450 per quarter in savings/profit. Let’s say that today’s solar system will last 15 years. Probably longer but let’s use this as a guide and a system cost of $5000.

If your average quarterly bill is $400 then you are paying $1600 per year in electricity and if you spend $5000 on a new solar system then it will take a little over 3 years to “pay for itself”. In other words to save you $5000 which is the cost of the system.

Let’s say you didn’t want to spend the total amount upfront to fund the purchase but rather you want to finance the entire purchase. Using a 4-year term from the Brighte Rate Card would mean a fortnightly repayment of $62.53 or $1625.78 per annum. If you are saving approximately $1800 from the system then essentially the savings are paying for your solar system. Even with the financing.

The system pays for itself in 4 years but then still pays you a profit of $1800 for the next 10+ years. So with no upfront investment, you are setting yourself up for a profit of approximately $18000 without having to outlay any capital for the initial purchase.

You can download the Brighter rate card here.

Now, this isn’t free solar. But this is how the marketers “spin” cost-neutral into free. The bottom line is it’s simply a smart way to make an investment with money you don’t have.

It all starts with your current bill. If you own your own home and have an electricity bill of over $350 a quarter then there is no reason to deny yourself solar because of the up-front cost. Nor do you have to go with a cheap and nasty option. Financing is still profitable in the long term.

If you want solar but are not sure about how you are going to pay for it then please give us a call. We will be more than happy to provide you with a complimentary assessment of your home and your bill and provide a simple financing solution to get you on your solar journey. You will never look back.