[Cajundaddy]

Late to the party but from the above numbers I see no way a $40k solar system pencils out as a win in NYC. A lease offers zero benefit and reduces the property value in a future sale. It is slight of hand. Mike's current electric bill looks eye watering to me and no mention of LED lighting which reduces lighting costs by 90%. This would be/was the first move I made to control energy costs. Average sunny days in NYC are 105, further suggesting solar is a losing proposition.

For comparison- My 1965 home in SoCal with ancient and inefficient 1985 HVAC @ 2350 sq ft averaged $200/mo electric with peak summer around $300/month @ $0.28kwh. Average summer high temps of 95*F. Average sunny days were 227, 34* N lat. No pool, no solar. Some of the "Beige Box" recent build homes near us in SoCal @ 3500 sq ft with high ceilings, no LED, no shade, and a pool often see a summer electric bill of $1600/mo. They are massive energy hogs with the highest energy cost/kwh in the US due to the tier system.

Our current downsized modern 2021 home in Idaho, 1900 sq ft with efficient heating/cooling, average elect cost $0.10Kwh. Average elect. bill was $60/mo with max summer around $120. 100% LED lighting. We are at 44N lat. but average 220 sunny days per year. Average summer high temp is 90*F but days are long. We didn't really "need" solar but our son in law is a solar distributor and had some panels that were last year models, no longer in high demand so we picked them up for a song @ deep employee discount and had them professionally installed. Total cost was less than 1/2 a similar solar install in the area and we have not seen an electric bill for 3 years. We paid outright and took advantage of the 30% tax credit so our break even point is likely under 5 years. We plan to stay in the house for 15 years.

Takeaways- If you have more than 200 annual days of sunshine and can get solar installed for less than $2.00/watt all in, solar might make sense. Otherwise, sharpen your pencil and really go after efficiency with LED lighting, modern inverter HVAC, attic ventilation in summer, shaded south and west facing exterior in summer.
Power companies are greatly reducing the buyback credit rate for excess generation so don't count on this for reducing your energy bill much. Use energy when your solar panels are fully producing which means south and west facing exposure to cover HVAC in summer. A battery might double the cost of your system so be sure it makes sense and pencils out. In TX and CA the answer may be yes.