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Mosaic Loan: Is It A Good Solar Financing Option? (2024 Guide)
In this EcoWatch guide on Mosaic Loans, you’ll learn:
- What a Mosaic loan is and what it can cover
- Common Mosaic loan terms and average amounts
- Various projects in Mosaic’s financing platform
- Mosaic loan alternatives
This guide has helped many homeowners understand the options available through Mosaic Loan and can assist you in making the right choice for your home improvement financing provider. Let’s get started!
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Is a Mosaic Solar Loan a Good Financing Option?
Mosaic is one of the largest home improvement financing providers in the country, especially in the solar market. For context, the company has helped over 220,000 homeowners and just surpassed $7 billion in loans funded in April 2022.1
Passing that mark is not much of a shock considering the growing popularity of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In a recent press release, Billy Parish, CEO of Mosaic, said “The urgency to deliver affordable financing options for our partners and homeowners is growing, and Mosaic is uniquely positioned to help lead this charge.”2
While Mosaic is a popular solar financing option, it’s not your only one. We’ve found the company has mixed reviews online, so if you’re asking yourself “Should I get a Mosaic loan?” you’re not alone.
In this review, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Mosaic loans and how it fares against other financial services.
SunPower
Best National Provider
Pros
- Most efficient panels on the market
- National coverage
- Cradle to Cradle sustainability certification
- Great warranty coverage
Cons
- Expensive
- Customer service varies by local dealer
SunPower designs and installs industry-leading residential solar and storage solutions across all 50 states. With a storied history of innovation dating back to 1985, no other company on this list can match SunPower’s experience and expertise.
SunPower earns its position as the top national installer on our list for a handful of reasons: It installs the most efficient solar technology on the residential market, offers the most expansive service area and backs its installations with a warranty well above the industry standard. All the while, SunPower pioneers sustainability efforts within the industry.
If that weren’t enough, SunPower systems come packaged with products all manufactured in-house by its sister company, Maxeon. This means that your panels, solar cells, inverters, battery and EV chargers are designed to work together and are all covered under the same warranty.
SunPower’s biggest downside? Its high-efficiency panels are considerably more expensive than most of its competitors’ products. However, its powerful panels are workhorses that make up for the initial cost with more backend production (think about this like spending more money for a car that gets more miles per gallon).
Facts and Figures: SunPower
| EcoWatch Rating |
|---|
| Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rating |
| Year Founded |
| Average Cost ($-$$$$$) |
| Solar Services |
| Brands of Solar Equipment Offered |
| Warranty Coverage |
| 5 |
| A+ |
| 1985 |
| $$$$ |
| Solar Panels, Solar Batteries, EV Chargers, System Monitoring |
| SunPower Panels |
| 25-year all-inclusive warranty |
Blue Raven Solar
Best Solar Financing
Pros
- Industry-leading in-house financing
- Competitive pricing
- Excellent reputation
Cons
- Doesn't offer solar batteries (coming 2022)
We like Blue Raven Solar because it understands that, for most homeowners, the cost of solar presents the biggest barrier to entry.
For that reason, Blue Raven Solar developed an innovative solar financing plan that offers in-house, flexible, zero-money-down options. The results speak for themselves, as Blue Raven Solar is now one of the fastest-growing solar companies in the nation and was recently acquired by SunPower. Its BluePower Plus+ plan (exclusive to Blue Raven) mimics the flexible structure of a lease while still providing the greatest benefits of owning your system.
Eligible homeowners enjoy 18 months of solar power before having to pay their first bill. When coupled with the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC), the initial energy savings can offset more than a third of the overall cost of a system before requiring a dollar down.
In contrast, other installers can only offer similar financing through solar leases, PPAs or third-party providers (such as Mosaic or Sunlight). Third-party loan providers can complicate the process, while opting for a loan or PPA will disqualify you from some of solar’s biggest benefits (additional property value, federal solar tax credit and local solar incentives).
Facts and Figures: Blue Raven Solar
| EcoWatch Rating |
|---|
| Better Business Bureau (BBB) Rating |
| Year Founded |
| Average Cost ($-$$$$$) |
| Solar Services |
| Brands of Solar Equipment Offered |
| Warranty Coverage |
| 4.5 |
| A+ |
| 2014 |
| $$ |
| Solar Panels, System Monitoring |
| Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, SolarEdge, Silfab, SunPower |
| 25-year manufacturer warranty; 10-year workmanship warranty, 2-year production guarantee |
What Is a Mosaic Loan?
Mosaic is a lender for residential solar and energy-efficient home improvement projects. The finance company works with a wide network of solar installers who offer Mosaic’s loan products to solar energy customers.
Because each solar installation is different depending on factors unique to the home and homeowner, Mosaic offers different loan structures that can be customized with different pricing options.
According to its website, Mosaic has three loan structures for residential solar power systems — PowerSwitch ZERO, PowerSwitch CHOICE and PowerSwitch PLUS — which we’ve outlined below.
| PowerSwitch ZERO3 | PowerSwitch CHOICE4 | PowerSwitch PLUS5 |
|
|
|
Source: Joinmosaic.com
What Can a Mosaic Loan Cover?
While Mosaic is the largest solar loan underwriting company, it also provides financing for other sustainable home improvements, including energy efficiency upgrades and solar batteries for energy storage. Here’s a look at the projects covered under the financing platform:
- Solar Panels
- Home Remodeling
- HVAC
- Roofing
- Windows and Doors
- Battery storage
Mosaic Loan Terms
The terms of Mosaic solar loans are pretty lengthy — ranging from 10 to 25 years. Borrowers can make payments on their loans ahead of schedule if they choose — there’s no prepayment penalty.
Many homeowners like to use the savings they achieve from their solar energy systems to pay off their loans. With an average solar payback period of between eight and 15 years, the terms of solar Mosaic loans may not seem so long after all.
What’s the Average Amount of a Mosaic Loan?
According to a 2016 Reuters article, Mosaic’s average loan amount is $30,000 with interest rates ranging from 2.49 to 7.99 percent.6 These figures may have changed in the interim but give you an idea of what to expect.
Mosaic does offer loans between $10,001 and $100,000, which is plenty to cover your home solar system. According to our solar calculator, the average cost of a nine-kilowatt solar panel system in the U.S. is roughly $29,970 ($20,979 after applying the federal solar tax credit).
Learn More About Purchasing Solar Panels
Should You Get a Mosaic Loan?
It’s hard to give a general answer to this question, because the process of going solar is unique to each individual. For instance, some homeowners are okay with signing a solar lease because they want to switch to renewable energy to combat climate change and don’t care much about the financial incentives. Others choose to get a loan to enjoy the cost savings without having to shell out thousands up front.
The best way to maximize your solar benefits is to own your system outright, so we typically advise against going for a solar lease or PPA. Paying in cash is great if you can afford it, but we recognize that’s not feasible for many homeowners.
Mosaic Loan Pros
If you’re looking to secure a solar loan, Mosaic is a good option. Because it specializes in solar loans, it’s more knowledgeable about solar than most banks or financial institutions. Plus, Mosaic is known for its quick approval process.
Another Mosaic pro — the company has years of experience and hundreds of thousands of customers to back them up, according to CEO Billy Parish:
“We have been offering residential solar financing options longer than anyone else, which gives us more data with which to underwrite and price our loans. We’ve established ourselves as a leader in cost of funds through our disciplined approach and consistent performance, and we are passing the benefit of that advantage through to our customers.”7
Read Also: $7 Billion in Solar Power Loans Surpassed by Mosaic
Mosaic Loans Cons
A quick internet search will reveal negative customer experience reviews for Mosaic. We’ve found some less-than-ideal feedback on sites like Google and Yelp, with complaints about customer service or lack of transparency. However, there aren’t many positive reviews for most home improvement lenders, so that’s something to keep in mind.
In most cases, Mosaic loans are handed out through solar installers. That means lack of transparency or incorrect information could be the fault of the installer and not Mosaic. However, if quick and reliable customer service is important to you, this might be a reason to choose a traditional bank over Mosaic for a solar loan.
We’d advise you read the fine print on any solar loan contract and do your homework before signing on the dotted line. To start, check out our solar loan guide, where we outline how solar loans work and how to choose the best one for you.
Mosaic Solar Loan Alternatives
Check out this quick video to see some alternative solar financing options:
As we’ve mentioned, Mosaic is not your only solar financing option. If you choose to get a solar loan, you can typically choose between the following:
- Unsecured personal loan
- Home equity loan or line of credit
- Solar financing through your solar company.
Some solar installers work with financial companies like Mosaic or with banks, while bigger solar companies like SunRun and SunPower have their own in-house solar financing options.
We also recommend checking in with your state and local governments. Some governments offer low-interest loan programs for clean energy systems that you can take advantage of, such as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. On the federal level, you have Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle® Energy mortgage.
If you’re interested in paying for a solar installation via a loan, make sure you research all low-interest financing options available to you. But whichever loan option you choose, be sure to pay special attention to your annual percentage rate (APR), origination fees and loan terms. How much you pay in interest, fees, and your repayment period will often increase the overall cost of your renewable energy system.
The cost information presented in this article is derived from a comprehensive analysis, incorporating data from multiple industry sources. The average cost per watt per state was calculated based on figures from Consumer Affairs, Energy Sage, and Berkeley Lab’s Electricity Markets & Policy Department. Additionally, monthly energy consumption and the average monthly cost of electricity were sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, ensuring a well-rounded and accurate representation of the information presented.
Comparing authorized solar partners
Average cost
Pros
Cons
BBB Rating
Year founded
Service Area
Brands of Solar Equipment Offered
Warranty Coverage
-
- Most efficient panels on the market
- National coverage
- Cradle to Cradle sustainability certification
- Great warranty coverage
- Expensive
- Customer service varies by local dealer
A+Best National Provider1985SunPower Panels25-year all-inclusive warranty
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