Want to install geothermal heating and cooling but… without the big price tag. Welcome to the Geothermal lease to own option.
How does it work? We install a brand new WaterFurnace geothermal heating and cooling system in your home including equipment and loops in the ground. Your heating and cooling costs get cut in half, and you enjoy the comfort and piece of mind of a new system. UpStream Lease pays Ground Loop for the installation cost and is the owner of the system installed on your property. As the owner of the system, UpStream Lease can claim any available incentives including the 40% commercial tax credit which dramatically reduces your lease payment. You make a fix low monthly payment to UpStream Lease based on a 20 year term. After year 5 and again at year 12 you have the option to buyout the lease and take full ownership of the system. In most cases the lease payment and the buyout combined are 40-50% less than the cost of a traditional purchase. Or enjoy the low fixed monthly payments for the full life of the system. In most cases those payments are offset by energy savings.
Key Take Aways
- In most cases lease payments plus year 5 buyout is 40-50% less than traditional purchase. Saving you tens of thousands of dollars over a purchase.
- A Geothermal Lease to Own Option allows you to take advantage of the 40% commercial federal tax credit; that is not available for a traditional purchase.
- Year 5 Buyout is similar in scale to the cost of a traditional heating cooling system.
- Service, and maintenance is the responsibility of the homeowner.
- UpStream Lease becomes the system Owner claiming most available incentives.
Lease Similarity Purchase
| - Total cost is 30-50% less than a purchase
- Zero large upfront cost
- Fixed low monthly payments
- Take advantage of 40% Federal Tax Credit
- Flexible buyout options
- Zero risk on tax credits or incentives
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- High efficient WaterFurnace geothermal installation
- WaterFurnace 10/5 year limited warranty
- Lifetime Workmanship Warranty
- 2 Year Ground Loop Warranty
- Up to 50% savings on heating/cooling costs
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- Customer receives full ownership at the beginning
- No payments
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Financial Comparison: (1) 4 ton WaterFurnace with Vertical Loop and Desuperheater
| Purchase Price in 2026 – 0$
Lease Payments (60) $244
Buyout after 5 years $13,360
Total Dollars Paid - $28,000
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Traditional Purchase Price in 2026 -$49,900
Total REC value over 20 yrs - $8,000
Property Tax Credit - $2,500
Utility Credit - $6,500
Net total investment after full system life approx. 20 years $33,150
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Frequently Asked questions:
Why should I lease vs purchase my system?
Who is UpStream Lease? Upstream Lease is a third party lease company specifically for geothermal in states like Maryland, Virginia, and Illinois.
Is Leasing a geothermal even legal? Yes, new legislation written in Trump’s BBB specifically states geothermal as a leasable asset.
Will UpStream Lease repossess my geothermal if I stop making payments? UpStream Lease will not repossess your equipment if you are in default. They do have the ability to file a lien on the property.
Since this is a lease, is the cost of service and maintenance covered by the lease payment? The lease payment provides you with a warranty from both the manufacturer and from Ground Loop. Any service or maintenance that is not covered by your warranty, is the responsibility of the homeowner and not covered under your lease. We have chosen to structure the lease so it is similar to a traditional purchase in this manner.
What happens if I sell my house? If you decide to sell your home the lease can be either transferred to the new owner, who would resume the lease payments, or you could buy out the lease at that time.
What happens if I sell my house within 5 years of the installation? The IRS has a 5 year recapture period for the 40% federal tax credit. That means if you sell the house and try to buyout the lease within 5 years the IRS will take the credit back from UpStream Lease. So, you are only allowed to buyout the lease within 5 years if you agree to payback the tax credit amount. We recommend not using the lease option if you know you are going to sell the house within 5 years.
Can I put make a deposit? While you can not make a deposit, you can prepay money on your lease, up to 19%.
If I have the money set aside to purchase does it still make sense to lease? If you have the money set aside already, a lease with a year 5 buyout, and 19% pre-payment is the lowest cost option available. Because of the commercial federal tax credit, and other commercial depreciation incentives the lease payments and buyout is still significantly less money than a purchase.
How do I make lease payments? Lease payments are made through automatic payment setup electronically with UpStream Lease’s online portal.