There's no single best way to pay for solar — only the best way for your situation. For Southern California homeowners weighing rising SCE, LADWP, and PG&E bills under NEM 3.0, the way you finance also shapes how quickly the system pays for itself. Here's a quick, honest comparison of the four most common paths.
Cash purchase
You pay once and own the system outright. This delivers the lowest lifetime cost and the highest long-term savings, because there's no interest or third-party margin. It's the right fit if you have the funds available and want maximum return. You're also free to do whatever you like with the system since it's fully yours.
$0-down solar loan
A loan lets you own the system with little or nothing out of pocket. In many cases the monthly payment is lower than the electric bill it replaces, so you can be cash-flow positive from the start. You still own the system and capture its full long-term value — you're just spreading the cost over time.
Solar lease
With a lease you pay a predictable monthly amount to use the system, often for as little as $0 down. Maintenance and repairs are typically included, which makes it genuinely hands-off. The trade-off is that you don't own the equipment, so you give up some of the long-term upside.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
A PPA is a contract to buy the solar power your system produces at a low, fixed rate — typically less than your utility charges, and shielded from the steady SCE and LADWP rate increases SoCal homeowners have seen year after year. Our prepaid PPA program currently offers a limited-time discount of up to 40%. It's a simple way to lock in lower energy costs without owning the hardware.
So which should you choose?
If your priority is maximum lifetime savings and you can pay up front, cash wins. If you want ownership without the upfront hit, a $0-down loan is hard to beat. If you'd rather keep things simple and predictable, a lease or PPA does that. The best move is to compare your actual numbers across options, modeled against your specific SCE, LADWP, or PG&E rate plan and NEM 3.0 export credits. ACS has designed solar and battery systems across Southern California — the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties — since 1983, and your ACS specialist will lay all of this out for you, free.