We’re excited to share that the OneRoof Energy team was recently named the top residential solar contractor by Tenaga Surya World Magazine – a huge honor that reflects our growing customer base and the appeal of our complete solar service offerings including the SolarSelect lease.
OneRoof Energy was also ranked 14th overall in the magazine’s 2013 Top 250 Contractors List, which ranks companies according to influence in utility, commercial and residential markets and represents more than 7.8 gigawatts of solar capacity combined. Our CEO David Field also made it into the magazine to discuss how third-party financing is arguably the single biggest innovation for residential solar.
In the past, installing and maintaining affordable solar energy was a challenge for many homeowners. But when third-party ownership (TPO) and financing models hit the scene a few years ago, solar energy became much more accessible to the middle class across the US. And now in 2013, TPO models will only continue to gain popularity over the next decade as they make solar energy a real option for many Americans.
So why are more and more people going solar – and who are they? As to be expected, the number one decision-making factor for homeowners is immediate savings, particularly because upfront costs for customer-owned systems are so much higher than leased systems, which allow homeowners to install with little to no out-of-pocket costs. Because of this affordable leasing option, two kinds of customers OneRoof Energy sees a lot of are families with young children and seniors preparing for retirement – both groups find the opportunity to immediately save up to 30 percent on their energy bills extremely compelling.
Young families and retirees consider TPO as the best option for a number of reasons. First, younger homeowners typically have little equity built up, and thus are less likely to purchase solar systems outright. And for retired customers, despite being able to use home equity as collateral, or tapping into other assets to purchase solar systems at the onset, these customers are typically more focused on short-term, conservative fiscal strategies – rather than previous 10-year breakeven plans when the only option available was to purchase a system.
As the economy continues to improve, significant changes to zero-down lease models are going to change and become even more attractive to homeowners – ensuring cost stability for families that are looking to make a long-term investment in their home.
Send us your thoughts about solar energy for the home in our comment section
