Enter your loan amount, APR, and term to see your monthly payment and total interest paid over the life of the loan.
A lower APR or shorter term both reduce total interest, but a shorter term raises the monthly payment — compare a few combinations to find your comfortable balance.
Two loans with the same monthly payment can have very different total costs depending on term length — a longer term lowers the monthly bill but stretches out interest payments substantially. This is standard loan amortization math, the same used for a mortgage or auto loan; compare the result against your expected monthly solar savings to see if the loan is cash-flow positive from day one.
Often the dealer fee is baked into the equipment price to subsidize a 0% rate, so it's worth comparing the all-in equipment price against a cash or standard-loan quote to see if it's genuinely cheaper.
Generally the shortest term with a manageable monthly payment minimizes total interest paid — just make sure the payment stays comfortably below your expected monthly electricity savings.