Context is everything. My family’s own suburban rambler in southern Maine is perched on a gentle slope, complemented by a generous front lawn and a densely vegetated backyard that I can only describe as squirrel heaven. We purchased the house just a year ago from an elderly shut-in, so the property needs a lot of work (heat pumps were installed last month, new flashing on the chimney, basement dehumidifier is working overtime), but it’s our home and we love it. One thing the home is not, however, is solar ready.

It faces due north, for starters; the asphalt shingles will need replacing in the next 5 to 10 years (metal is ideal); and the backyard, with a footprint almost double that of the house, is a veritable forest of old growth oaks, maples, and pines. Sunlight, you shall not pass!

The obvious workaround was for us to enroll in a community solar program, aka net energy billing, which will begin generating credits sometime this fall, based on the amount of energy that is produced by our allotted portion of the farm we’re assigned to. Of course, I would have preferred south-facing rooftop panels, but that would require extensive landscaping, clear cutting, and re-roofing. And that’s with the assumption that our 40-year-old roof could bear the weight of a dozen-plus PV panels. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder, had the context been different, how might my family and I approach financing such an endeavor.

Cash, loans, and leases

“Obviously the way you finance your solar panels is going to depend on your personal financial situation,” says Alix Langone, a senior researcher in financing for EnergySage, an online marketplace for clean energy products. Langone says cash purchases are the best and “cheapest option” at the end of the day.…