PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing is one way for home and business owners can pay for their solar power systems.

HERO is a program which several cities in California participate in. The city pays for the solar system and the building owner pays back to the city through his/her property taxes. The debt is tied to the property; therefore, the personal credit score is not a factor in approval of the loan and if the building is sold, the loan goes to the new owner as a part of their property tax payment. The term of the loan can be 5, 10, 15 and 20 years.

Most of the residential PACE program is implemented by HERO, while commercial PACE program implementers are HERO and Figtree Financing.

As Vaha Energy, we provide the information on how much a business can borrow and what the payment terms and amount would be, so that the clients can see if PACE is a viable option for their specific project.

For most of the home and business owners, especially for those that have a tax appetite, buying the system provides the back financial return. Typically a business can see a 15-20% return on their investment due to the 30% tax credit as well as the accelerated depreciation benefits. The typical paybacks we see with our commercial clients is 4-5 years, with some exceptional cases of 2-3 years in Anaheim. As for the homeowners, the pay-packs are typically 4-6 years with a return of 12-18%.

There are numerous factors that fall into the equation of whether a lease or purchase of a solar system most makes sense for you.  Some considerations are:

1. How long do you plan on keeping the house?
2. Do you have access to cash or cheap money and you want to make a good investment with a solid return?
3. Do you want to offset some of what you pay in federal income taxes?
4. How much do you want to reduce your utility bills?
5. How important is it to increase the value of your home?
6. Do you pay federal income taxes?

Yes, it is. We handle all the utility interconnection and rebate paperwork as well as all the design and engineering, city permit processes, all equipment procurement, system installation and city inspection. It is truly a turn-key process that gives you no headaches but a lot of savings after all is said and done. Through our best practices, there will be no disruption in your day-to-day life or work.

Yes, you can but it will be likely to cost you the same as buying from a full-service solar installation company and a lot of work.  There is a lot that goes into solar installations and since it is directly related to electrical, there are also safety issues.