Sunlight Financial rolled out a set of three new interest rates for residential solar customers, including a 0% rate for a 12-year loan, 0.49% for 20 years, and 1.49% for a 25-year term.
Sunlight said its platform offers instant credit decisions and automated loan processing and funding, facilitating the sale of residential solar systems. The company provides loans with rates from 0% to 6.99%, and tenors from 3 months to 25 years.
More than 135,000 solar systems have been financed through the platform through the end of June, the company said. The loan provider also offers an iOS and Android version of its loan platform, which it said is used by many of their 1,500 home improvement and solar installation partners.
Sunlight said these products will help more customers install solar on their home with lower monthly payments.
And, while the rates are low, dealer fees typically are also associated with a lower rate. Solar loan dealer fees often range between 15-25% of the cash value of the solar array. In some cases, the solar installer absorbs some of the cost, and the rest is rolled into the principal of the loan.
(Read “Solar 101: How to pay for your rooftop solar investment.”
This race to the bottom for interest rates has been a trend in recent years, with installers taking note of the fact that when making decisions, homeowners often care more about the rate attached to their loan than the topline cost of the solar system.
Last October, Mosaic, another solar loan provider, released a loan program offering 0.99% APR 20-year and 1.99% for 25-year products.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
“Solar loan dealer fees often range between 15-25% of the cash value of the solar array. In some cases, the solar installer absorbs some of the cost, and the rest is rolled into the principal of the loan.”
Almost had me there…
So, the rates are still very high- the nominal rate is just being bought down by a lump sum added to the principal. At best, that’s deceptive in most cases.