Each year, EnergySage, an independent solar comparison-shopping website for rooftop solar, conducts a survey with its network of residential and commercial solar installers. For the 2016 report, more than 360 installers from 42 states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey.
The full report contains some great insights and detailed data, so we encourage you to download it and see how the findings mirror your experiences in 2016. After reading through the report, we wanted to summarize five important takeaways that our own Inovateus network of partner installers should keep in mind as we enter 2017.
Customers are increasingly asking for energy storage.
We highlighted this same solar-plus-battery trend in our “Three Trends to Watch for Solar in 2017” post, so it’s good to see that EnergySage’s national network is confirming how a majority of installers will be growing their businesses with energy storage.
Another new service that integrators can offer is EV charger installation. As electric vehicles become more popular in the U.S., EV chargers are well-positioned to be a great companion for home solar and batteries.
More residential customers are using traditional loan financing and unsecured equipment loans than solar leases and PPAs.
You could say that the modern solar industry was jumpstarted with solar lease and power purchase agreement (PPA) financing, which allowed consumers to go solar with no money down and still save money on their electric bills. However, EnergySage’s survey reveals that this trend is declining, with nearly three-quarters of respondents not offering third-party financing; for those who do, they see less than 25% of residential customers using this option. In terms of popularity, installers across the board were least satisfied with leases compared to other options.
If you’re going to offer or refer financing choices for your customers in 2017, be sure to have options that include mortgage- and equipment-backed loans. Of course, as a wise man once said, cash is just as good as money: Cash sales also remain the most popular option as the price of installed solar continues to fall.
Solar consumers are shopping around.
EnergySage’s annual survey shows that consumers are increasingly making sure that they’re getting the best deal for their solar installation. The survey shows that a growing number of consumers are likely to get three or four quotes, not just two quotes.
Installer competition is increasing.
Why are consumers getting picky? It may be because there’s a lot more competition than there used to be. Most significantly, 21% of survey respondents said that there were 21 to 40 installers in the same territory, up from 13% of respondents in 2015. Areas with 80 or more installers in the same territory have also slightly increased, according to respondents. Installers continue to cite high-quality installations as their top competitive advantage.
Installer confidence rising, especially in Texas and California.
This one is arguably the most important. Although there was more competition in 2016, solar installers largely remain optimistic about their businesses. Nationally, EnergySage reports that 33% of survey respondents are slightly more confident and 14% are much more confident, while 25% have maintained their same level of confidence. Only 29% of installers feel slightly less or much less confident than they were last year.
Do you agree with these survey results? Check out the full report and let us know if these findings are similar to the trends in your part of the country. We’d love to hear how well they match.
By Tim Powers, strategic research administrator, Inovateus Solar
