Full Breakdown
No Upfront Cost Solar & Battery: How the PPA Actually Works
The simplest way to think about it: you're not buying solar equipment — you're changing who your main power provider is. Instead of buying power from SCE or SDG&E, you buy it from your own roof and battery at a lower, more predictable rate. No money down, everything warrantied for 25 years, and a production guarantee behind the whole thing.
The core idea: change your power provider, not your budget
Under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), a third-party owner installs the solar panels and battery on your home at no cost to you. They own and maintain the equipment. You pay a fixed per-kWh rate for the clean power your roof produces and your battery delivers — typically well below what SCE or SDG&E charge during peak hours.
- Down payment: none.
- Install cost to you: $0.
- Ongoing cost: a lower per-kWh rate on the power your roof and battery deliver.
- Typical savings: 20–40% on your energy costs depending on how much power you use.
Produced on your roof. Stored locally. Used first.
Your panels produce clean power during the day. The battery stores what you don't use in real time and delivers it back to your home during the expensive 4–9 PM peak window — the exact hours SCE and SDG&E charge the most under NEM 3.0. That local storage is what puts you in control of your power instead of the utility.
When the grid goes down, your battery keeps essential loads running. No scrambling for a generator, no spoiled food, no dark house during a public safety power shutoff.
Everything warrantied for 25 years
Because you don't own the system, you also don't own the risk. For the full 25-year term, the following are covered:
- Solar panels
- Inverters
- Battery storage system
- Roof penetrations and mounting
- Monitoring and communications
- All labor and service calls
If something fails, it gets repaired or replaced. You don't get a bill for it.
Backed by a production guarantee
Every system we install is modeled against your actual 12-month usage and comes with a production guarantee. If the system produces less than promised in any given year, you're made whole for the difference. You get the power that was quoted — or you get compensated for the shortfall. That's the whole reason no upfront cost solar works: the risk sits with the owner of the equipment, not with you.
What this looks like on your bill
Today, a typical Orange County or San Diego household pays SCE or SDG&E $0.55–$0.75 per kWh during peak hours. A PPA replaces most of those expensive kWh with roof-produced solar and battery power at a fixed lower rate. You'll still see a small connection charge from your utility, but the bulk of your usage shifts to the lower solar rate — which is where the 20–40% savings come from.
Why we do it this way
We're local to Orange County and San Diego County. We don't sell or share your information, and we shop every major installer and financing partner behind the scenes so you get the lowest per-kWh rate available on your roof. One appointment, straight numbers, and real control over your power.