Jan Scott, a lead installer and service technician at Independent Power, works on a residential solar installation project on a roof in Boulder, Colorado. Photo by Joe DelNero / NREL
Today, EnergySage, a marketplace for consumers to shop, compare, and save on clean home energy solutions, released the results of its eighth annual Electrification Contractor Survey, the first to expand to include professionals operating in solar-adjacent, whole-home electrification fields, from energy storage and heat pump systems to electric vehicle charger installations and main panel upgrades.
Several hundred contractors across the electrification industry and throughout the country participated in this year’s survey, which sheds light on the challenges faced by contractors today, barriers to growing their businesses, and contractors’ predictions on how electrification installations will evolve in the coming years.
This report captures key observations about the U.S. residential solar industry, the heat pump industry and home electrification over a wide cross-section of local, regional, and national contractors. It provides a detailed look at the current state of the industry, as well as the outlook of contractors going forward and their plans for growth.
Notable insights from the 2024 Electrification Contractor Survey include:
The majority of solar installers and other clean energy contractors predict growth
Over 80% of contractors surveyed expect their annual solar installations to increase over the next three years. Most respondents who predict solar sales staying flat or decreasing are based in California, underscoring the regulatory challenges in that state. 90% of the respondents surveyed predict growth in solar battery storage, and 94% expect growth in heat pump installations.
Consumer interest in diversifying clean energy products is emerging
For the first time, survey respondents stated that their most significant business goal over the next three years is to expand into new products and markets to meet the growing consumer interest in renewable energy products beyond solar panels. Nearly half of all solar installations include a secondary product (such as solar battery storage, smart thermostats, heat pumps, energy monitoring, etc.), which accounts for 30% of all revenue for these businesses.
Financing options became the biggest barrier to growing business
This year, a quarter of respondents identified a lack of desirable financing options as the primary challenge to growing their business. 82% say increasing interest rates have decreased interest in solar, and three-fifths of contractors anticipate the interest rate impacts will continue for a year or more.
“The clean energy industry navigated challenging interest rates and incentive changes in 2023, yet set a new record as the best year ever for residential solar installations, “ said Charlie Hadlow, President and chief operating officer of EnergySage. “These realities remind me of how proud I am to be part of an industry and company that continue to overcome such hurdles to address climate change, help millions of Americans save money with renewable energy, and enable contractors to grow their businesses.”
EnergySage conducted this survey in Q4 of 2023. In total, nearly 400 solar installers participated across 40 states and two territories: Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
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