Solar 360

• Buy, Loan, Lease, Power Purchasing Agreement
• Warranty for the Long Road

Buy, Loan, Lease, Power Purchasing Agreement

As with most companies you can lease, purchase, or loan the solar equipment through Solar 360. The benefits begin to stack up if you purchase your equipment right up front. Buying makes you eligible for a federal and state tax credit, you gain asset value on the home, and there are many states that offer instant rebates. The downside is you must repair and maintain the panels and other equipment yourself. If you choose to lease or do a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), you miss out on the tax breaks but this is better for those of you who can't afford a down payment. Both are considered leases and all the maintenance is covered by the leasing company and generally requires $0 up front and has a term agreement of around 20 to 25 years, depending on the bank/leasing company. Again, many companies require you at least clean the panels so you aren't dinged with any penalties. The PPA requires almost no money down depending on your credit and the maintenance falls to the leasing company. Unlike leasing, a PPA means you are technically buying the power and not leasing the equipment. A PPA generally has a lower monthly payment but a higher first-year net savings. Payback on the panels and electricity is immediate and since they maintain the panels, they get the tax breaks. A solar loan means you take out a loan to pay for the equipment. The payback time is anywhere from 10 to 20 years but the savings on electricity is nearly immediate. You will pay interest on the loan (like any loan, but even with that you're going to pay less per month than you existing electrical bill. Technically, you own the solar panels so you qualify for the tax benefits and you're also responsible for the maintenance.

Warranty for the Long Road

Solar 360 offers an industry standard 25-year warranty on their products. From what we gathered on the web, this includes the solar panels and the items required to keep them from falling off of your roof. Inverters and other electronics are under a 15-year warranty. Now, we weren't able to find out whether or not this is a full-coverage warranty. Some companies say they offer a warranty, but will find ways to make that warranty void. We recommend asking specifically about this when you contact Solar 360

• No Mobile Monitoring

No Mobile Monitoring

It's a drawback the company hasn't developed a mobile app for energy monitoring, but looking through the reviews it seems most people aren't too angry about it. The company has a reputation of monitoring the services and informing people how the system is performing. But having a mobile app really is the icing on the cake. It benefits customers by giving them to-the-minute updates on energy usage and system issues.