Solar finance for South African homes and businesses
Compare cash, rent to own, lease and PPA (for businesses) side by side, so you know who owns the system and who claims Section 12B before you choose.
Start my free energy assessment Try the finance calculatorSolar makes sense. Paying for it all upfront is the hard part.
Does this sound familiar?
A finance decision made without the full picture is one you will want to revisit later. Here is the full picture, in one place.
We help South African homes and businesses pay for solar in the way that fits their cash flow.
ZenSolar designs every system, then works with major funders to offer four ways to pay: cash, rent to own, a lease, or a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) if you are a business. None of these is automatically the best route. The right one depends on your cash flow, your tax position, and how long you plan to stay in the property.
Every finance conversation starts with the same free energy assessment as any other ZenSolar job. We review your bill and your usage, including demand charges, and for bigger sites we can log your usage on site before anything is sized. You get a report with your recommended system size, the equipment list, and how long the system is likely to take to pay for itself.
If your own roof or land cannot carry the system your bill needs, wheeling lets you buy solar power made at a different site and delivered to you over the existing grid, with no panels on your own property. See wheeling for how that works.
We have done this before. EFJS Printing, with a 30 kW FoxESS inverter, paid back its investment in 2.5 years.
And we can do the same for you.
Services
Cash, rent to own, lease or PPA: side by side, no Rand attached
These are the shapes of the four deals, not a quote. Your own numbers come from a free energy assessment. The biggest difference is ownership: with rent to own you own the system once the final payment is made, with a PPA you never do. That also affects who can claim Section 12B, so ask about it before you sign.
| Cash | Rent to own | Lease | PPA (businesses only) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital needed | The full cost, paid upfront | No big upfront payment, though this depends on the deal | No big upfront payment | No upfront cost for the system |
| Who owns it | You, from day one | The funder, until the last payment, then it is yours | The funder | The funder |
| You pay for | The system | The system, in instalments | The use of the system | The solar power you use, per kWh, at a price that goes up each year |
| Who claims Section 12B | You can normally claim it, if your business owns and uses the system. Ask your tax adviser | Depends on how the agreement is written. Ask your tax adviser | Not you, because you do not own it. Ask your tax adviser | Normally the funder, not your business. Ask your tax adviser |
| Term | No term | 3 years up to 15 years, depending on the deal size and your company's history | Set out in the agreement with the funder | Usually 10 years or more, can be shorter |
| End of term | You own it already | You own it | Owning it, or buying it out, is possible with some funders, not with others | Buying it out, or owning it at the end, depends on the funder |
Section 12B is a tax matter, not something ZenSolar can decide for you. It always depends on your own tax position, so ask your tax adviser before you choose. More on Section 12B below, and a fuller explainer on finance and project enablement.
Which bill is yours, and what usually fits
Every site is different, and a free energy assessment gives you your own numbers. These are the general bands we see, in words, so you can find your own starting point.
A household bill
Homes usually need a system from about 6 to 16 kW. Cash, rent to own or a lease can all suit a home this size. A PPA is a business-only option, so it does not apply here.
A small business bill
A smaller business usually fits at the lower end of the business range. Cash, rent to own or a lease usually suit. Whether a PPA fits depends on the size of the site and the funder.
A business bill with demand charges
Many business bills carry demand charges on top of the energy you use, and businesses usually need a system from about 30 kW up to 300 kW. Our free energy assessment reviews your demand charges specifically. All four routes can suit; a PPA can appeal if you would rather not put capital into equipment at all. More on demand charges and time of use tariffs on finance and project enablement.
A big site with high monthly spend
Bigger sites are quoted after the assessment, since the system and the numbers are specific to that site. All four routes still apply. If the site does not have enough roof or land space for what it needs, wheeling is worth a look alongside, or instead of, an on-site system.
Section 12B, in plain words
Under Section 12B, the owner of a solar system, who brings it into use in their own business, can normally write off the cost. Only the owner can claim it, not a tenant or a customer who is simply using someone else's equipment. Ask your tax adviser how this applies to your contract.
For most business systems (there is a size limit, ask your tax adviser), the full cost can normally be written off in the year the system is brought into use. There was also an enhanced 125% allowance, Section 12BA, for new and unused systems; it ended on 28 February 2025 and was not renewed. Any system brought into use after that date uses the ordinary allowance above.
Example only. South African company tax is currently 27%. A 100% Section 12B allowance can reduce a company's taxable income by the full cost of a qualifying system in year one. At 27% company tax, that can cut the tax bill by up to 27% of the qualifying cost. This only applies if the business owns the system, uses it in its own trade, and has enough taxable profit that year to use the deduction against. Ask your tax adviser.
See the fuller Section 12B explainer, with worked context, on finance and project enablement.
Know your numbers before you sign
Our finance calculator lets you enter a system cost and see the VAT and the total amount financed, so you walk into a finance conversation with a clear number, not a guess. It is an estimate only, not a final quote: your real number comes after a free energy assessment and a credit assessment with the funder.
What you can expect from ZenSolar's solar finance
Less capital to start
Rent to own, lease and PPA (for businesses) all need less capital to start than buying outright, which means your cash stays free for stock, staff or growth.
Backed by a 10-year swap-out warranty
Every inverter and battery we fit carries ZenSolar's 10-year swap-out warranty, whichever way you choose to pay, which means the warranty does not depend on your finance route.
Maintenance that suits you
Maintenance depends on the options you choose, which means you are not locked into one plan you did not ask for.
Paperwork handled for you
CoC and SSEG application handled for you, with fees and meter costs already included in your quote, which means no surprise compliance bill after installation.
Designed in house, signed off properly
Every system is designed around your real use, and every job gets a structural engineer's sign-off, so your installation is checked before it goes ahead.
Installed to SANS standards
Every system is installed to SANS standards, which means the same quality bar whichever finance route you choose.
Pop-up alerts, not guesswork
Once your system is running, you get pop-up notifications in the app, which means you know what your system is doing without having to check it yourself.
From assessment to switch-on
1
Book your free energy assessment
We review your bill and your usage, including demand charges, so we understand your site before anything is sized. For bigger sites, we can log your actual usage on site; the logger stays 1 to 2 weeks.
2
Get your report and choose how to pay
You get your report in about 1 to 2 weeks: a PDF plus a walk-through with your recommended system size, equipment list and payback time. From there, you choose cash, rent to own, lease or a PPA if you are a business, and the funder checks and approves your application. We then design your system, and every job gets a structural engineer's sign-off.
3
Switch on and enjoy the savings
We install and maintain your solar system with swap-out warranties and smart automation so you can swap your bill and keep more cash in your pocket. Your system is installed by our team and preferred, vetted installers approved by the brands, and we handle your CoC and SSEG application, with SSEG fees and meter costs already in your quote. First call to switch-on is about 1 to 3 weeks, depending on approvals, your paperwork, and the size of your system.
Finance available through South Africa’s leading banks
Questions to ask before you sign
A good funder or installer should be able to answer every one of these plainly. If they cannot, ask again before you commit.
Some of these are ZenSolar's own answers, whichever way you pay: maintenance depends on the options you choose, and the warranty is a 10-year swap-out warranty on the inverter and battery. CoC and SSEG application is handled for you, with fees and meter costs already in your quote. The rest depend on the funder and the agreement you sign, so ask before you commit.
A real result: EFJS Printing
EFJS Printing fitted a 30 kW FoxESS inverter, a 12 kWh battery, and 27 x 550 W panels (14.85 kWp). The system paid for itself in about 2.5 years.
Read what EFJS Printing's director said about the job in the testimonials below.
Testimonial
ZenSolar was excellent in all that they did. The installation at my Printing Shop and home was done to the highest standard.
Bernard Synman
Director of EFJS printing
ZenSolar did an amazing job for us at Hoërskool Dinamika. The work was done promptly and very neat. We are very happy.
Jaco Pretorius
Vice Principal, Dinamika Hoërskool
The perfect solution for not being troubled by outages anymore I had a tailor made solution for my Business…..
Cyrielle Malaval
Owner of Stone Castle
How are we different?
With us
- A real four-way comparison table before you choose
- A plain answer on who claims Section 12B
- Real timelines, from first call to switch-on
- CoC and SSEG handled, fees and meter costs already in your quote
- One real result, EFJS Printing, not a projection
With them
- One finance product pushed, whether it fits or not
- Ownership and tax questions left for you to work out later
- No real side by side comparison
- Compliance costs that turn up after you have signed
- Marketing numbers instead of a real result
Still have questions?
A PPA means you pay only for the electricity the system produces, and you never own it. Rent to own means you make agreed payments over an agreed term, and you own the system once the final payment is made. A lease means you pay for the use of the system for the length of the agreement; owning it at the end, or buying it out, depends on the funder. Wheeling means you buy solar power made at a different site and delivered to you over the existing grid, with no equipment on your own property at all. All four avoid paying the full cost upfront.
Four ways: cash, rent to own, lease, or a PPA if you are a business. Wheeling is a further option if you would rather buy solar power from another site than install your own system. A free energy assessment shows which routes suit your bill and your site.
It depends on the deal. Rent to own, lease and PPA agreements are usually built around less upfront cost than buying outright, but the amount, if any, depends on the funder and the size of the deal. Ask about the upfront amount before you sign.
Yes. The funder runs its own check before it approves a PPA, lease or rent to own agreement, the same as most finance.
A Power Purchase Agreement is for businesses only. Instead of buying or financing equipment, you pay for the solar power the system produces. The funder owns the system, usually for 10 years or more, though a shorter term is possible.
You never own the system, so you do not claim Section 12B, the funder normally does. The price you pay per unit goes up each year, by an amount set out in your agreement. Buying the system out early, or owning it at the end, depends on the funder, so ask before you sign.
You make agreed payments over an agreed term, from 3 years up to 15 years, depending on the size of the deal and your company's history. The funder holds the system as security until the final payment, then it is yours.
VAT at the standard rate of 15% normally applies. If your business is a registered VAT vendor, ask your accountant about claiming it back.
Under Section 12B, the owner of a solar system, who brings it into use in their own business, can normally write off the cost. Only the owner can claim it, not a tenant or a customer who is simply using someone else's equipment. Ask your tax adviser how this applies to your contract.
Not quite the same way. With wheeling you pay for solar power delivered to you over the grid, plus your utility's own fee, with no equipment installed on your own site at all. See wheeling for how it works.
Yes. Buying outright is always available if you would rather pay the full cost upfront, and you can normally claim the Section 12B write-off yourself, if your business owns and uses the system. Finance simply keeps more of your cash free, if that matters more to you.
Still have a question? Get in touch and we will answer it directly, or see everything ZenSolar offers on Services.
Request a solar quote
Tell us about your home or business and your electricity use. We will size a system and finance option, then confirm a real quote after a short site check.