Frequently Asked Questions

Sungevity designs, finances, installs, and maintains residential roof top solar electric (PV) systems.

Sungevity's service area is growing fast.  We currently serve most parts of California, Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.  

A photovoltaic (PV) system is a set of panels made of semiconductor material (silicon) that captures sunlight and converts it into a direct electric current (DC) and then transmits that current to an inverter which turns the current into an alternating current (AC) that can be used in your home.

This depends on how big a system you want. Every string of eight panels requires 21 x 5 feet of roof space (a typical home solar system has between 16 and 32 panels). When you request an iQuote, Sungevity will use satellite imagery to look at your roof and determine how many panels it can accommodate. Limited roof size, however, is rarely an issue.

Sungevity will calculate how many panels you need based on your electricity usage patterns over the past year.

South-facing panels are ideal but not necessary. Panels facing East or West will still produce a significant amount of power.

Sungevity's panels and inverters are made in Canada, China, Germany, and the USA.  We always source hardware that offers the greatest value to our customers.

Yes. Our inverters have a 10-year warranty and you can expect to replace your inverter every twelve to fifteen years. If you're leasing a Sungevity system, we will replace your inverter for free when it reaches the end of its life. If you own your system, you’ll be responsible for replacing it. A new inverter typically costs about 50 cents per watt installed, so if you have an average 4kw (4000 watt) system, the inverter would cost about $2000 to replace.

Yes. Our panels have a 25-year factory warranty which applies whether you choose to lease or buy your home solar system. If you lease, you'll also receive complimentary and proactive solar system monitoring and maintenance.

Yes. Sungevity will monitor your system’s power output and, in the unlikely event that falls short, we will either add more panels or pay you the difference every year.

It’s not usually necessary to upgrade your roof before installing solar, however, if your roof is in poor condition or older than 15 years, it is advisable to reroof first. Solar panels can last up to 40 years so it makes sense to avoid having to remove and reinstall them. Once the panels are installed, they may extend the life of your roof by shielding it from the elements.

Shade reduces the amount of electricity your system can produce. Our remote solar design team will work to position your panels where they can get maximum sun exposure but, on occasion, a roof may be too shady to make solar feasible.

Home solar systems generally require very little maintenance. Spraying them down with water once or twice a year to remove excessive dirt and debris is typically all that is needed.

In the event of a blackout, the inverter will automatically shut down for safety reasons, so you will not have electricity until power is restored to the grid.

No. Sungevity systems are grid-tied, meaning they’re connected to the public utility grid that currently supplies electricity to your home.

Solar panels are designed to withstand winds of up to 125 miles per hour.

Because we believe that the Sungevity Solar Lease can bring the power of the sun to everyone. Purchasing a solar home system, out of pocket, simply isn’t a reality for many homeowners who want the benefits of solar energy.

No catch, but we can give you an explanation of how we can offer this great deal:

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvest Act (a.k.a. the Stimulus Package) the government extended its tax credit on renewable energy systems.  When you lease a system, about 1/3 of the cost is covered by Uncle Sam, with state governments kicking in another 10-30%.  So, we get paid by the incentives in addition to your lease payments, you get low cost energy, and the world gets a cleaner future.  Everyone wins - no catches.

Depending on where you live, the Sungevity Solar Lease is a 15-20 year commitment to solar-powered living and financial savings. After 15-20 years, you can choose to renew for additional 5 year periods (up to 25 years) or have us remove the system from your roof.

Your options include:

• Assigning the Sungevity Solar Lease to the new homeowner (subject to credit check).
• Prepaying the remaining lease payments and assigning the benefits and non-financial obligations (e.g., roof access) to the new owner.
• Purchasing the Sungevity solar home system at fair market value. *
• Terminating the lease and asking us to remove the system. *

* Subject to renewable energy incentive holding periods and recapture payments.

For most homeowners, the $0 down lease will be the best option because they can go solar with no out-of-pocket expense. For homeowners with money to put towards solar, or someone considering purchasing a system, the fully prepaid lease can help increase savings while at the same time enable the homeowner to get a complete home solar system as well as complimentary monitoring, maintenance, repairs, and insurance.

Utilities typically don’t charge the same price for every unit of energy they sell.  In some places, utilities charge more for energy consumed at certain times of day or in certain months of the year.  In other places, utilities gives customers a certain allocation of cheap energy, and once you’ve surpassed that allocation, you must pay higher rates for your remaining energy.

Our goal is to give you access to the best savings possible.  That means knowing how much expensive energy you have and how much cheap energy.  Once we know that, we can design the system that maximizes your savings.

The Sungevity Solar Lease allows you to go solar with no down payment. We’re committed to being flexible to accommodate your personal financial situation, however, so if you have some money in the bank and are looking for a good investment, you can certainly put that into a down payment. Speak to your Sungevity Solar Sales Consultant about your down payment options.

Yes, we are committed to being as fair and transparent as possible, so we show you the “all-in” cost of going solar, including taxes, in your iQuote payments.  If you’re curious what tax rate we assumed for your particular location, ask your Solar Consultant!

Savings will vary depending on how much energy you use, where you live and your utility company. A typical customer will save about 15% on electricity in their first year, and the savings will increase every year as grid electricity rates rise. Your iQuote will tell you what savings you can expect based on your historic energy usage and custom-designed home solar system.

You can go solar with no down payment and you’ll save money from Day 1. With the Sungevity Solar Lease, the reduction in your monthly energy bill will usually be greater than your Solar Lease payment and on top of the financial benefits, we guarantee the performance of the system, provide proactive monitoring and maintenance, and insure your system against accidental damage.

Sungevity files a UCC-1 Financing Statement and Fixture filing as a notification that Sungevity owns the PV System attached to your property.  To ensure that these filings do not interfere with your refinancing process, please contact us one week prior to starting the refinance process so that we can terminate these filings. Once the refinance is complete, we will re-file these notices. Please email compliance@sungevity.com or call the Compliance Hotline 510-496-5606.

At this point we are not able to install solar on modular homes. But we appreciate your enthusiasm to go solar and  recommend that you take a look at Solar Mosaic! This is an organisation that lets you purchase a "tile" in a large solar system somewhere else and make an investment in going solar even without having a roof that is appropriate for solar!

Sungevity guarantees your system’s output in writing. The Sungevity Lease program includes FREE monitoring and maintenance. If your system underperforms, Sungevity will pay you the difference and come out and fix your system at no cost. The surplus production is yours for FREE.

You’ll have four options at the end of your lease:

1. Renew in five year increments

2. Upgrade to the latest technology with a new lease

3. Purchase the system at fair market value

4. Have the system removed at no cost to you

Savings will vary depending on how much energy you use. This is influenced by roof potential, where you live and your electric utility provider. A typical homeowner will save about 15% net with the $0 down lease in their first year, and savings will increase every year as grid energy rates rise. Our proprietary Sungvevity iQuote will detail the savings you can expect. 

A FICO credit score of 700 is required.

Sungevity will lower your energy costs from day 1, so every year you wait is another year of lost savings. State and federal rebates are on the decline, so even as the technology gets cheaper, the net price will remain relatively flat. 

Real estate studies have found that, by reducing electricity costs, solar increases a home’s value. According to the Appraisal Journal, for every $1000 saved in annual energy costs, $20,000 is added to the value of the home. Other home improvements, like kitchen and bathroom renovations and decks, are only worth about 75-100% of the cost, making solar 20 times more valuable than other home improvements.

If you lease a system and take advantage of our $0 down offer, you can start saving on your first electricity bill. If you buy a system, the payback period depends on the size of your system and how much electricity it is offsetting. A typical customer saves enough money in 8-10 years to make up for the initial cost of their system.

You can either lease or buy a system from Sungevity. Please visit our Lease or Buy page for more information about these options.

Tons. But don’t worry, Sungevity takes care of all of the paperwork for you, so you get all of the benefits with none of the headaches.

There are lots of government incentives to take advantage of right now, and they're detailed on our Solar Incentives page. Many incentive programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis and could run out of funding at any point so, if you’re thinking about going solar, better to do it sooner than later.

If your system generates more power than your home uses during one billing cycle, you’ll get credit for that excess juice during another billing cycle. For example, if you generate more power than you use in July, you can use the credit toward your December bill. But, at the end of the year, if you’ve generated more than you’ve used, some utilities will not compensate you. Beginning in 2011, all California utilities except LADWP are required to pay you for all of your surplus electricity. Please check with your utility to find out how the Net Metering or Solar Bank program in your area works.