SA’s solar revolution is unfolding at pace. Households and businesses, eager to escape unreliable power, are installing systems at record levels. But beneath this booming market lies a growing and largely unpoliced problem — one that has nothing to do with panels or inverters, and everything to do with the contracts that finance them.
According to Rein Snoeck Henkemans, co-founder of solar providerAlumo Energy, the biggest threat facing consumers is contract confusion. Competitors, driven by aggressive customer acquisition, have begun marketing subscription and rental products in ways that blur critical distinctions around ownership. Many South Africans believe they are buying solar assets, only to discover years later that they own nothing.
A central misconception involves subscription-based solar, often presented as a flexible, low-commitment way to go green. The model is typically month-to-month, with enticing early pricing. But Henkemans says marketing language often obscures a crucial reality: ownership never transfers.
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Even after years of payments — often thousands of rand more than the cost of a new system — the customer walks away empty-handed. Confusion grows when comparing these products to bank-financed solar. Many assume bank loans resemble third-party ownership.
They do not. Homeowners in these cases own the equipment outright; the bank simply provides the capital. Henkemans says: “The problem is that the terminology used by different providers isn’t standardised.
Consumers think they’re comparing like-for-like, when the models are entirely different.” The key distinction lies between rent-to-own and subscription. Rent-to-own agreements work like vehicle finance: structured over three to seven years, predictable, and ending in full ownership. Once paid off, the system’s energy is effectively free, and the home or business gains a permanent asset.Alumo Energyincorporates maintenance and insurance into these contracts, a point Henkemans says is non-negotiable for genuine long-term value.
Subscription models, by contrast, often exclude maintenance, omit insurance, and rely on escalating annual fees. Over a decade, these increases can turn an initially affordable option into a financial burden. Consumers frequently underestimate the risk because true costs are buried in escalation formulas tied to consumer price index (CPI), prime, or fixed rates — each producing dramatically different totals over time.
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