FAQs

Most people simply transfer their solar agreement to the new buyers since they will certainly need electricity too. Just as you would transfer your regular electric bill to the new buyer you transfer your solar agreement.

If you are leasing your system, when the person buying your home has signed the transfer agreement, you will be released from your obligations under the PPA.

If you’re leasing your system and the damage was not intentionally caused, the leasing company provides an insurance policy on each solar system that will bear all of risks including damage, loss, destruction, theft or similar occurrence to any or all of the solar system.

If you purchase the system, please make sure to check with your home insurance company about adding the solar system to your existing policy. We usually see insurance costs go up only slightly, usually between $0 to $80 (for larger systems) additional per year.

Yes, simply call your lender and they can remove the fixture filing (UCC-1) that is on the loan, or contact the PPA leasing company and they will temporarily release it, and then it will be put back on the new loan after you have completed the refinance. The PPA leasing company cannot prohibit the sale, conveyance or refinancing of the property. With approximately 4 million installed solar systems across the country and 200,000+ in the DMV, this process has become very standard.

If you are leasing the system, no, this is covered by the leasing company who will obtain insurance against any damage or loss, which includes any damage caused by faulty installation or manufacturing defects, or malfunctioning of the system.

If you are to purchase the system then you need to check with your home insurance company concerning adding extra insurance for the solar system. The annual amount is usually very minimal and sometimes does not add any amount.

If you lease your system, during the entire 25-year PPA leasing term, under normal use and service conditions, the System will be free from defects in workmanship or defects in or a breakdown of materials or components.

During the entire term the leasing company will honor the System Warranty and will repair or replace any defective part, material or component or correct any defective workmanship, at no cost or expense to you which include labor costs.

Roof Warranty: We will warrant all of the system’s roof penetrations to be watertight and the roof warranty will run the longer of (A) ten (10) years following the completion of the System installation; and/or (B) the length of any existing installation warranty or new home builder roof warranty.

If you purchased the home with the solar already on the roof, the warranty will cover you for the remaining balance and term of the existing PPA.

If you are to purchase the system, we now offer a full 25-year bumper to bumper warranty on the solar panels, the inverters and all of the products involved, a full 25-year warranty on the labor in case anything happens to the products, and a 25-year warranty on the performance of the system! Please inquire for full details and ask about our 30-year Solar Insure warranty that we have available which also includes the roof!

No. It is a UCC-1 Fixture Filing which is not a lien nor an encumbrance against the property, and it is intended only to give notice of its rights that relate to the solar system itself.

If the property was to go into foreclosure, the system would just go with the house if you owned it previously and be part of the home foreclosure and can be transferred into a new buyer’s name.

This PPA lease is free of any restrictions that would prevent the homeowner from freely transferring their Property to a new home buyer.

So only in foreclosure is the option to have it removed available, and the bank may choose to not have it removed if the new buyer wants to transfer it into their name which is usually what happens in foreclosure situations.

Simply contact the leasing company before the end of your term, usually within 90-120 days, to remove the system from your home at no cost to you.

The leasing company must create a priority stream of operation and maintenance payments to provide enough cash flow in order to pay for its warranty obligations for the full 25 year term.

Yes, you have the option to renew your PPA for up to ten (10) years in two (2) consecutive five (5) year renewal periods.

You are still hooked up to the grid, so any additional energy needed will be provided by your electric utility company.

Keep in mind net metering. The excess power your system made during those sunny months will get you through the less sunny months. Your electric utility bill will show the rollover kWhs from month to month and list this in the “Excess Generation Summary” on their bill.

Yes, after year 5 you have the option to purchase this system at Fair Market Value. This is one of the reasons why the PPA is such a great option. It allows you to have solar installed on your home without any upfront costs and immediately save money on your electric bill without having any type of obligations of ownership or any type of loan. Then if you decide one day after year 5 that you want to own the system then great, this is an option!

When the electric grid goes down, your solar system will not work. This it to protect utility workers as they work to repair the lines.

Your system’s inverter senses when the grid is not working, it automatically shuts down the solar system at the inverter so it doesn’t back-feed any excess solar energy into the grid.

There is nothing the homeowner needs to do, it will automatically come back on once the grid is up and running again.

Your HOA may still require you to fill out their normal HOA application for solar panels, and typically they are not able to stop anyone from going solar since most states have laws that prevent HOAs from declining solar installation requests. MD, VA, PA, WV, and DE all have strong HOA access rules which prevents an HOA from denying a solar approval. The HOA solar access law does not apply to Historical Districts, typically in a Historic District we can do solar as long as it is a flat roof and they can’t be seen from the ground which makes sense because they want these areas to look like they did hundreds of years ago. We have installed quite a few in downtown Annapolis and all of them are on flat roofs and unseen from the street.

We use the best-looking panels available. Our panels are a modern all-black design including the frame. We also hide the conduit in the attic as long as it is possible. You can check out our picture gallery to see installed systems.

We send out an inspector for a full inspection to check for any existing soft spots, wear and tear, etc.

If the roof is in poor condition and should be replaced before solar installation, we will recommend this to you before proceeding.

If you are unable to pay for a new roof, then we will simply cancel the agreement.

If you decide to have a new roof installed, great, we’ll continue with the project and coordinate installation after the roof is replaced. We have several relationships with roofing companies, contact us for more details

Yes you may cancel or you may continue with the project. We always send the final design prior to submission to make sure you know exactly where the panels are being installed, the number of panels, total cost, and the production from the system on an annual basis. Any change order always needs to be approved by the customer before moving forward.

Yes, just like your utility, your solar system also has a monitor that tracks overall energy production. This information can be accessed via an online portal.

A PPA lease requires a 650 or higher FICO credit score. A PPA lease requires no upfront money. Leasing does not add to your DTI (Debt To Income ratio). You are simply replacing one higher electric bill with a now lower one.

If you want to purchase the solar system, a 640 or higher FICO score is standard for most of our solar loans. Please inquire for more info and to see which program will fit you best.

The average time period from signing to completion is 90-120 days.

Our standard process involves: Inspection of your roof, completion of the final design, application and approval for any local permits needed, HOA application process if necessary, and the interconnection process with the utility.

Once we have all of these items, we schedule your install. After install we receive the final approvals from your county, and then the PTO (Permission To Operate) from the utility. At this point, we then turn on your system, and start working on the available incentives with you.