Aurora Solar’s 2nd Annual Residential Solar Trends Report Finds Homeowners Want Solar, But Trust in the Industry Declined

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurora Solar, the leading platform for solar sales and design, today announced its second annual “Solar Industry Snapshot.” This report examines early 2024 U.S. residential solar trends through three unique data sources: Aurora’s solar projects database of more than nine million projects over the past two years; a survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners about their solar adoption behaviors and motivations; and, a survey of 500 U.S. solar professionals on the state of the industry.

Key findings include:

Interest in solar is high, but homeowners are stuck in the planning stage

• More than half of homeowners said they believe solar is a good investment. However, 75% of homeowners who do not have solar (but are interested) said overall system and installation costs are a big concern.
• Notably, 15% of homeowners said they were paying for their PV system through a leasing program. In the current high-interest rate environment, we anticipate this percentage will increase as demand for leasing goes up. Education around third-party ownership could open doors for homeowners and installers to move out of the “interest stage.”

Homeowner trust has declined, but hope remains in the power of education

• In 2023, 22% of homeowners said they were unable to find a trustworthy solar company. In 2024, the numbers doubled: 44% of respondents said it is hard to determine which solar companies are trustworthy.
• Solar professionals backed this up — by far, the main problem they face in 2024 is homeowners being reluctant to commit to quotes (38%). It's more important than ever for solar sales professionals to educate homeowners.

Homeowners find solar more valuable when paired with storage and other energy efficiency products

• Only 10% of homeowners had battery storage, and they overwhelmingly did not understand net energy metering (only 16% were familiar with the term). We expect these numbers to increase in future years as net metering policies are examined across the U.S. and electricity rates continue to rise.
• In fact, nearly three-quarters of solar professionals reported seeing increased interest in energy storage plus solar. Moreover, 38% of homeowners felt solar panels are more valuable when paired with whole home electrification.

For all of the insights from the Aurora Solar Industry Snapshot: Early 2024 U.S. Residential Trends, see here.

About Aurora Solar

Aurora Solar is creating a future of solar for all. The company is putting the power of data and technology into the hands of every solar professional to make solar adoption simple and predictable. The cloud-based platform uses data, automation, and AI to streamline workflows and grow solar businesses faster. More than 7,000 of the industry's top organizations rely on Aurora and 20 million solar projects have been designed with the platform globally. The San Francisco-based company was: ranked on TIME’s 2024 Top U.S. GreenTech Companies; the only climate tech business named to the 2022 Forbes AI 50; listed on the 2022 Deloitte Fast 500; and, named to Solar Power World’s 2023 Top Solar Software & Monitoring Products. For more information, visit www.aurorasolar.com and follow on X @AuroraSolarInc.