Who buys from residential solar installers?
Most residential solar installers sell to homeowners who want lower electric bills, and those homeowners are now as likely to sign a lease or power purchase agreement as to buy outright. Around them sit a few business buyers that matter just as much: companies that own and finance systems on homeowners' roofs, home builders in states that require solar on new homes, and owners of small rental properties.
Who buys from residential solar installers
| Buyer group | Why they buy |
|---|---|
| Homeowners paying cash or using a loan | They want lower utility bills and ownership of the system. Contractors in an EnergySage survey said saving money is the main reason most customers go solar. |
| Homeowners choosing a lease or PPA | They want savings without a large upfront payment. EnergySage found these arrangements rose to roughly 41% of quotes on its marketplace in the first half of 2026. |
| Third-party owners and solar financiers | Companies that own systems on homeowners' roofs need local crews to sell, install and service them, and some rely on independent installers to do that work. |
| Home builders | In California, the state energy code requires solar on new homes, so builders there need a dependable installation partner for every project. |
| Homeowners adding batteries | Rising rates, time-of-use pricing and changes to net metering have made backup power and storing daytime solar more attractive. |
| Small landlords and rental property owners | They own the roof and the building, and some look at solar as a way to manage common-area power costs or make a property more appealing. |
The short answer: homeowners first, businesses close behind
Residential solar is one of the few home services where the buyer is almost always the person who lives in the house. The homeowner signs the contract, pays the bill or the monthly payment, and lives with the result for decades. That is the core of an installer's market.
But a growing share of residential installers' work now runs through businesses: the companies that own and finance systems, the builders putting up new homes, and owners of rental property. For an installer, those business relationships can bring steady work that does not depend on winning one household at a time.
Who the homeowner buyer is today
A Berkeley Lab study of about 3.4 million rooftop systems found that the median household that installed solar in 2022 had an income of about $117,000, well above the national median of about $69,000. The gap was much smaller when the researchers compared solar adopters with other homeowners in the same state.
The same study found the market slowly widening. About 45% of 2022 adopters earned less than 120% of their area's median income, and the median income of adopters had fallen from about $140,000 in 2010. Adopters still tended to own single-family homes with higher home values.
Lower-income households in that study were about twice as likely to use third-party ownership as the highest-income group (34% versus 17%), and much less likely to add a battery. In practice, the way you offer financing shapes which homeowners can say yes.
Why homeowners buy, and why the reasons are shifting
Saving money is still the main reason. In EnergySage's report covering the first half of 2026, 70% of surveyed contractors said their customers buy solar mainly to save money. The report points to rising utility rates, fixed charges, time-of-use pricing and net metering cutbacks as the forces pushing homeowners toward solar and batteries.
Batteries are a growing part of the conversation. EnergySage reported that 76% of shoppers on its marketplace said they were interested in storage, but only 31% of quotes actually included a battery, a gap the report attributes to upfront cost.
The biggest recent change is federal policy. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association's 2025 year-in-review report, the homeowner tax credit for solar ended after 2025, which led installers to push hard on cash and loan sales late in the year. The same report says systems owned by third parties remain eligible for a federal credit, and it expected the residential market to shrink in 2026 before recovering.
- Lower bills: the reason most often given, and the one to explain in plain numbers for each home.
- Protection from rate increases: homeowners in high-rate states feel this most.
- Backup power: a common reason to add a battery, especially where outages are frequent.
- No upfront cost: the pull of leases and PPAs, now that the homeowner credit is gone.
The business buyers residential installers often overlook
Third-party owners and financiers. EnergySage found that leases and PPAs grew from about 14% to about 41% of quotes on its marketplace within six months. The companies that offer those products own the equipment, but they still need someone local to design, install and maintain it. Some independent installers work as dealers or installation partners for these companies. The decision maker is usually a channel, partnerships or regional operations manager.
Home builders. The California Energy Commission's guide to its 2019 building standards states that the standards require solar systems on new homes, starting with the 2020 code. For builders in that state, solar is a line item on every project, so they look for an installer who can keep pace with construction schedules. The buyer is often a purchasing manager or a project manager at the builder.
Owners of rental property. Small landlords and property managers control the roof, the meter and the budget. They tend to care about payback, tenant appeal and how little the system will need from them after it is installed.
When buyers switch or come back
Homeowners rarely buy solar twice, so most of an installer's repeat business comes from add-ons and service: a battery added a few years later, panels moved during a roof replacement, or a monitoring problem that the original installer no longer answers. Installers that have closed or stopped servicing their customers leave owners looking for a new company to support their systems.
Business buyers switch for familiar reasons: missed timelines, inspections that fail, poor paperwork or slow responses. A builder or financing partner that is unhappy with its current installer is often the best prospect there is, because it already has a steady pipeline of work.
How to reach these buyers respectfully
For homeowners, local referrals, clear quotes and honest savings estimates do more than pressure. Show the assumptions behind any savings number, explain the difference between owning, leasing and a PPA, and suggest that homeowners talk to their own tax or financial adviser about their situation.
For business buyers, a short, specific note works best: the area you cover, how many crews you have, your permitting and inspection record, and one easy next step. If you use Glorp to find decision makers at builders, financiers or property companies, take the time to tailor each message to the company you are writing to. If you email prospects, follow the US CAN-SPAM rules: use your real name and business address, keep the message honest, and stop contacting anyone who asks you to.
Sources
- Berkeley Lab: New report on solar-adopter income and demographic trends
- EnergySage Marketplace Report: Utility rate hikes and expanding financing keep solar and storage within reach for homeowners (PR Newswire)
- Solar Energy Industries Association: Solar Market Insight Report 2025 Year in Review
- California Energy Commission: 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards FAQ
This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. It describes kinds of businesses, not any specific company or person. If something here is wrong, reply to @tineessanelson on X and it will be corrected.