A recent study has revealed that the wild popularity of the rooftop solar leasing model isn’t just a trend.

Sunrun sponsored a major national study asking Americans of all ages and demographics how they felt about leasing, renting or borrowing items that people used to own. One in four Americans said they were more likely to engage in “disownership” now than they were five years ago.

“The main reason we wanted to look into this – we feel that this is more than a trend,” said Sunrun spokeswoman Susan Wise. “It’s a cultural shift.”

More than half of respondents said they would rent rather than buy vacation rental and heavy equipment. Another 41 percent they would rent books and textbooks. Other popular items to rent, included household tools and appliances, cars and trucks and high-end luxury-brand apparel and accessories.

“The really interesting thing is that we looked at every demographic and this is a lot more mainstream than people would think,” Wise said. “It’s not just young people in urban hubs. It’s people of all ages all over the country.”

When California-based Sunrun started out, Wise said the founders were just looking for a way to make solar more affordable and accessible to more people. The leasing model proved to be a good way to finance solar energy without any upfront payments and it has taken off. Other companies have entered the leasing space and it’s now the most common way for homeowners to go solar.

Still, Wise said, solar is not something that comes to mind when people think about the things they can rent instead of buying.

“Education is still a big barrier,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize they have the option.”

That was part of Sunrun’s motivation for conducting the study. Leaders in the company felt like the trend they were seeing in solar was bigger than solar, that it was part of change in the way Americans live. There’s a greater awareness and interest in getting more for less  and renting or leasing is a way for people to get what they want without a big financial commitment or collecting items they don’t always need.