This recent thread is about everything about home solar. With plenty of experts weighing in. You might learn a lot reading that.
Everything that is, except Powur, an outfit at least I’ve never heard of. Although I will say that most solar power-related companies are local or regional, not national. Powur might be huge in MO where you are and not available at all in KS or IL.
The general shape of the business arrangements you’re talking about are not uncommon. But like any other deal aimed at consumers in an as-yet unregulated industry, there are at least as many abusive deals as there are honest deals.
And that’s before we get to the outright scams like MLMs where there’s no honest intention to deliver the product as promised.