3-or-5-year solar subscription: how it works, who qualifies and when to skip it

A solar subscription is a 3-or-5-year contract where you pay a fixed monthly amount for the energy from a system that our subscription partner, Sunlarus Energy, installs, maintains and continues to own. The contract guarantees your total annual cost is at least 30% lower than what you would pay the utility alone. No credit check, no debt, no lien. It exists only in Central Florida and it is not for every house.

What exactly is a solar subscription?

Think of it like internet service or a membership: you pay for the service, not the equipment. The partner designs the system at 115% of your historical usage, installs it with no upfront cost, insures it and repairs it. You pay a monthly amount that does not change for the whole term: no escalator, no inflation adjustment.

Legally it is a “true lease” on the equipment. The partner files a UCC-1 on the panels only (a notice that the equipment is theirs). On your house there is nothing: zero lien, zero debt on your credit report.

You are right to distrust anything that sounds like “free panels”. Read free solar panels: the myth. This is not free. It is a monthly payment in exchange for contract-guaranteed savings and not committing for 25 years.

How does the 30% guarantee work?

The price is set so that your total annual cost (subscription + whatever you keep paying the utility, including the minimum charge) is at least 30% lower than your cost with the utility alone, calculated on your last 12 months of usage.

The minimum-charge detail matters: with FPL, for example, there is a $30 minimum base bill that solar does not eliminate, per FPL’s net metering FAQs. Many traditional solar proposals calculate “savings” without counting that charge. This guarantee includes it. How the energy credit works is in net metering in Florida.

Heads up: the 30% is on your baseline usage. If after signing you install an EV charger, pool heater or hot tub, that new load is outside the guarantee. It is not hidden fine print; it is the only way the number can be guaranteed at all.

What happens at the end of the term and when you sell?

End of contract. If you do not renew, the partner removes the system at its own cost within 30 days, leaves the roof watertight, replaces damaged shingles, releases all filings and guarantees the roof and structural repairs for 10 years after removal. If you renew, it is in blocks of the same length (3 to 3, 5 to 5) and the price is recalculated with your utility’s accumulated rate change, never below the current rent.

New roof during the term. One free removal and reinstall per term if you have to replace the roof. You keep paying the monthly amount and the 30% guarantee is suspended for that year only.

Selling the house. Transferable to the buyer with no fee on 30 days’ notice. If the buyer declines in writing, it cancels with no fees or liability. Compared with a 25-year lease, it is the cleanest exit there is. Read selling a home with solar.

Tax credit. The partner, as system owner, is the one with access to the federal 48E credit that remains in force for third-party systems through the end of 2027. You do not claim it. Confirm your situation with your tax preparer.

Who qualifies and who does not?

Qualifies: owner of a single-family home in Central Florida (Orlando, Kissimmee, Tampa area) on FPL, Duke Energy or TECO; roof with at least 4 years of life left; good sun exposure; a healthy electric bill; no active bankruptcy; mortgage current. No credit score requirement.

When the subscription does NOT make sense

• When your bill is high, your roof has 15+ years left and you have good credit or cash. A purchased system can save more in total over 10-15 years because you are not paying anyone for the energy. We tell you that in the appointment when it is the case.
• When you need a battery for backup or an electrical panel upgrade. The subscription does not cover it.
• When you live outside Central Florida or on a municipal utility.
• When you want to own an asset in your house. Here you never do.

Compare all six options in ways to get solar compared.

What to check before you decide

• Your 12 bills: the guarantee is calculated on them, so the baseline has to be right.
• The roof’s remaining life. Under 4 years disqualifies; under 8 deserves a roof-first conversation.
• Whether you will add new load (EV, pool) in the next 3-5 years.
• Exhibit A of the contract: guaranteed minimum kWh and the exact monthly amount.
• A traditional solar proposal for the same roof. If buying wins, we tell you.