Sunrun vs Palmetto LightReach: Leases, PPAs, Guarantees and Coverage Compared

Sunrun vs Palmetto LightReach is mostly a choice between two similar $0-down solar subscriptions: both companies own the panels on your roof and charge you a monthly lease payment or a per-kWh PPA rate for about 25 years, with maintenance and a 90% production guarantee included. The biggest practical differences are how you buy (Sunrun sells directly, LightReach is sold through partner installers), which utilities each serves, and the exact escalator, buyout and coverage terms written into your contract.

All details below were checked against company pages and recent reviews in November 2026. Plans change, so treat this as a checklist, not a quote.

Key takeaways

• Both are third-party ownership (TPO) offers: you never own the system unless you buy it out.
• Sunrun covers maintenance and repairs for 25 years and guarantees at least 90% of estimated production on its monthly lease and PPA plans, except in Florida.
• LightReach includes a 25-year workmanship warranty, 10-year roof penetration warranty and a 90% performance guarantee with three-year true-ups.
• LightReach states an annual escalator range of 0% to 3.5%; Sunrun lists every year's rate in your contract.
• The federal 25D credit is not available for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 (for solar, installations completed after that date), and homeowners with a lease or PPA could not claim it anyway.

Sunrun vs Palmetto LightReach at a glance

Feature	Sunrun	Palmetto LightReach
How you buy	Directly from Sunrun	Through LightReach partner installers
Plan types	Monthly lease, PPA, Flex, prepaid, purchase	Lease or PPA, depending on state and utility
Typical term	25 years (15 years in Illinois and Puerto Rico)	20 to 25 years, with 25 years of service and support
Upfront cost	$0 for monthly subscription and Flex	$0
Annual escalator	Set in your contract; none on prepaid plans	0% to 3.5%, set in your agreement
Production guarantee	At least 90% of estimate (not in Florida)	90%, reviewed every three years
Roof penetration warranty	Up to 10 years	10 years
Buyout	At times set in your agreement and at end of term	Option at year 5, per Palmetto

How each company sells solar

Sunrun is a large residential solar company founded in 2007. EnergySage reported in June 2026 that it has about 1.1 million customers, that about 95% choose a subscription instead of buying, and that about 73% add battery storage. You deal with Sunrun for the sale, the installation and the service.

LightReach is the financing arm of Palmetto, a company that has installed solar for about 15 years and added LightReach in 2023, according to EnergySage. LightReach is not a crew that shows up at your house. Instead, independent Certified Installers sell and build the system, and Palmetto owns and services it afterward. That means your sales experience depends heavily on which local installer you meet.

EnergySage describes some built-in consumer protections. Customers complete a "clear facts" disclosure on their own, without a salesperson present, with extra checks for customers over 70 and those whose first language is not English. EnergySage also notes that LightReach caps the price so a contract cannot be sold above the home's avoided cost of power.

Lease, PPA and prepaid options compared

With a lease you pay a set monthly amount. With a PPA you pay for each kWh the panels produce. Our guide on how a solar PPA works explains the difference in more detail.

Sunrun plans

• Subscription (lease or PPA): fixed payments over a 25-year term, with Sunrun owning and maintaining the system.
• Flex: a lease sized for future energy needs, offered in Texas, Illinois and California per EnergySage.
• Prepaid: one upfront payment covers 25 years of solar, with no escalator and no monthly Sunrun bill.
• Purchase: available, but EnergySage says only about 5% of customers choose it.

LightReach plans

• Lease or PPA: which one you get depends on your state and utility. For example, LightReach's partner help center lists lease-only utilities in Florida, North Carolina and New York, and PPA in Oregon and Vermont.
• Battery and HVAC leases: also offered, per EnergySage.
• Palmetto loans: Palmetto separately lists loans of 7 to 24 years at 4.49% to 11.99% APR, with a 2.9% processing fee, for buyers who want to own (as shown on its site in November 2026).

LightReach says payments may rise each year by a pre-set escalator of 0% to 3.5%. Sunrun says every year's rate is written into your agreement, so ask both for the full 25-year payment schedule. Our page on solar lease escalator clauses shows how a few percent a year adds up.

Warranties and production guarantees

This is where the two are closest. Both own the equipment, so both are responsible for fixing it.

Sunrun: The Sunrun Guarantee promises 25 years of maintenance and repairs, including replacement parts and labor, plus 24/7 monitoring. It guarantees at least 90% of estimated lifetime production on monthly lease and PPA agreements. Sunrun says the guarantee is not available in Florida and that Illinois terms differ. EnergySage adds that there is no performance guarantee in Hawaii and the figure is 85% in Puerto Rico. Sunrun's annual report for 2025 says customers receive up to a ten-year warranty for roof penetrations.

LightReach: Every LightReach Energy Plan includes the "Protect" package. Per LightReach's help center, that means:

• A 25-year, 90% performance guarantee with three-year true-ups (force majeure, remodels and customer-caused damage excluded)
• 25-year workmanship coverage
• 10-year roof penetration coverage
• 25-year coverage on panels, inverters and storage unless otherwise specified
• Monitoring three times a day using inverter data

One cost to note: if you need the panels removed for a roof job, LightReach bills you for removal and reinstallation, and your plan payments are not paused. LightReach gives its installers a rough reference of $200 to $500 per panel, but says that is not a firm quote and costs vary by site.

Where Sunrun and LightReach are available

Sunrun says it operates in more than 5,000 cities in 20 states. Its state page names California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Texas, plus Washington, D.C.

LightReach's partner help center lists active utilities in about 31 states plus Puerto Rico, from Arizona and California to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Availability is set utility by utility, so two towns in the same state can get different answers. Ask the installer to confirm in writing that your utility is on the current list.

Owner reviews and complaints

We do not rank installers. You can read owner reviews on our Sunrun page and Palmetto LightReach page. When you read any review, look for patterns about service response times, billing errors and how production guarantee claims were handled, not just star ratings.

For LightReach, remember that installation quality comes from the local partner. LightReach's own service rules say installers can be liable for workmanship errors such as roof leaks, while Palmetto handles routine service. As of 2024, LightReach reported a median service resolution time of about 14 days.

Sunrun vs LightReach: which is better for you?

Neither is "better" for everyone. Use these questions to decide:

• Is either offered for your utility? Start here. If only one is, the choice is made.
• What is the escalator? A 0% escalator and a 2.9% or 3.5% escalator produce very different year-25 payments.
• Do you want to prepay? Sunrun offers a prepaid plan with no escalator; Palmetto describes LightReach as a fixed monthly payment plan.
• Do you live in Florida? Sunrun says its production guarantee is not available there. LightReach's partner list shows lease-only service in 14 Florida utilities, and its Protect package lists a 90% performance guarantee.
• Do you plan to sell? Sunrun describes a transfer process with a soft credit check for the buyer, and Palmetto says LightReach transfers can take time, so contact it early. Ask each what the buyer must qualify for.

Also compare both against buying. A lease or PPA can lower your bill with no upfront cost, but you give up ownership. Since the federal residential credit ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, run the numbers both ways.

Next steps

Get written quotes from both, with the full 25-year payment table, the escalator and the buyout schedule. Then upload them to our solar quote checker to see how the price per kWh compares, and browse other providers in our solar company directory.