Sunrun's business model favors leasing for a structural reason that has nothing to do with what's best for the homeowner. Here's what the math looks like, and why your sales rep frames it the way they do.
The structural reason Sunrun pushes leases. When Sunrun leases you panels, Sunrun keeps the federal Section 48E commercial credit (worth approximately 30 percent of system cost), keeps any state incentives, keeps any utility rebates, and keeps the depreciation tax benefits over the contract term. Sunrun's Wall Street investors and tax equity partners value those tax benefits highly. The customer pays a monthly rate that locks in Sunrun's return on investment. This is why Sunrun's salespeople are trained to pitch lease as "no upfront cost" rather than presenting ownership as the better lifetime economics. The lease is fundamentally more profitable for Sunrun.
What Solar Assure does differently with the same federal credit. The federal residential ITC (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025 under OBBBA. Solar Assure's Midas Wealth structure passes 25 percent of the Section 48E commercial credit through to residential customers as a check. The mechanism: a tax equity investor takes the credit (residential customers cannot directly claim Section 48E, only Section 25D, which no longer exists). The investor uses the credit's value to fund a payment back to the customer via a brief sale-leaseback at closing. After the sale-leaseback period, the customer OWNS the system. Net result: Solar Assure customers capture most of what residential ITC delivered, while Sunrun lease customers receive roughly a 5 to 15 percent monthly discount that represents only a fraction of the credit value Sunrun retains.
Run the math yourself. A typical Sunrun lease on a 10 kW system might start at $150/mo with a 2.5 percent escalator over 25 years. Total payments: approximately $51,400 to $52,900 over the 25-year term. The customer never owns the panels. After 25 years they have paid more than $50,000 in monthly fees and own nothing. They cannot capture home value uplift if they sell. They lost the federal credit value that Sunrun kept.
The same 10 kW system through Solar Assure has a net cost of $20,250 after the Midas Wealth check. If financed via solar loan, total payments over 10 years are approximately $25,000 to $28,000 depending on rate. After year 10, the customer has zero monthly payments and owns the system outright for the remaining 15+ years of warranty life. They captured the home value uplift (approximately $40,000 per Lawrence Berkeley Lab 2024 study). They retain the right to add battery, expand the system, or sell the home with full ownership transfer.
The lifetime delta is approximately $25,000 to $35,000 in favor of ownership for a typical Missouri or Kansas household. This is why the comparison between Solar Assure and Sunrun is not just "different products at similar prices" but "fundamentally different financial outcomes from what looks like the same panels on the roof."
Written by Joshua Hayeslip · Co-Founder, Solar Assure