OneRoof Energy is just the latest in a number of companies to offer homeowners photovoltaic arrays with little or no upfront costs. It established a $50 million fund with a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), Black Coral Capital. The company is now offering its SolarSelect Lease to homeowners starting in California.

The company works with roofers to install photovoltaics into new roofs as they’re being put on, according to OneRoof CEO David Field.

“What we do is drive down that cost [of solar] by partnering with contractors already on the house, so we can piggy back onto that sale and support it with ours sales platform,” he said.

The company uses photovoltaics that blend in with different types of roofs, unlike most leasing companies, which generally offer flat-plate photovoltaic modules for rooftops. However, they can install regular flat-plate modules when it’s the best option, Field said.

The company is technology and product agnostic and is working with CertainTeed Corp., a subsidiary of Paris-based Saint-Gobain to bring more roofing-integrated photovoltaic products to market in the U.S.

However, it prefers to use silicon-based photovoltaic technologies, which despite the form factors are more economically competitive with other photovoltaics, Field said.

The solar installation is done by a roofer.

“That installer makes an additional 50 percent margin dollars on the same roof and integrates the warranties on the roof,” Field said.

By installing the solar array at the same time as the roof is installed, it eliminates the need for any roof penetrations required for most other systems, which can complicate warranty issues between solar and roof installers, he said.

By having the solar installation done at the same time and by the same installer, it also reduces the cost of installation, according to Field.

“You’re not paying the cost for a solar integrator to get on the roof. We wouldn’t write a lease that doesn’t save the homeowner at least 5 percent a month,” he said.

The company launched the solar leases in California, and Field said he expected that the fund will allow the company to offer about 1,000 leases.

Moving forward it plans to offer leases in Hawaii, Arizona and New Jersey.

OneRoof is already working on its second round of funding to support even more solar leases.

At the same time the company announced that Hanwha International, a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate, Hanwha Group—which owns solar manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne—purchased a non-controlling stake in the company for an undisclosed sum.

The Hanwha investment will support the company’s corporate growth and is separate from the tax-equity financing to support the residential solar leases.

Image courtesy of OneRoof.