EnergySage announced it has released its fifteenth Solar Marketplace Intel Report. This semiannual report analyzes millions of transaction-level data points generated by quotes sent to homeowners shopping on EnergySage.com throughout the past twelve months for solar panels and batteries from solar companies in 39 states and Washington, D.C.
For eight years the Solar Marketplace Intel Report has provided an unprecedented look into the dynamic pricing, equipment, and consumer preference trends shaping today’s U.S. residential solar and energy storage industries. Below are three key insights from this latest report, which can be downloaded for free in its entirety at energysage.com/data.
Solar prices increase for the second straight report
Amid continuing supply chain constraints, for the second half year in a row, solar prices increased on the EnergySage Marketplace, this time jumping 3.4% to $2.77 per Watt — a price not seen since 2020. Accordingly, the solar payback period increased from an average of 8.7 years to 9.1 years.
Significant shifts in equipment market share continued
In the first half of 2022, REC overtook Panasonic as the most quoted solar panel brand on EnergySage, while Q CELLS surpassed Silfab Solar for spot number three. Overall, market share consolidation decreased slightly as the top three panel brands dropped from a combined share of 66% of quotes in H2 2021 to 59% in H1 2022. On the inverter front, Enphase remained the most quoted brand despite losing 4% of its market share. As for battery storage, Enphase was again the most frequently quoted option — offered in 45% of all storage quotes — while Generac’s market share grew the largest at 7% from the second half of 2021 to the first half of 2022. Within that same time period, LG Energy Solution’s Marketplace share fell 10% on EnergySage.
Storage attachment rate reaches an all-time high
Although storage prices have increased since 2020, solar shoppers are more interested than ever in adding storage to their systems. The storage attachment rate rose in the first half of 2022, with a little over 17% of shoppers installing a battery with their solar system, compared to 15.5% in the second half of 2021.
“The activity within our Marketplace continues to be an excellent source of information for anyone looking to benchmark the fast-paced, ever-changing U.S. solar and storage industries,” said EnergySage CEO and founder Vikram Aggarwal. “It’s why so many, from analysts and investors to utilities, journalists, and everyday homeowners, continue to turn to this report for a better understanding of market trends today and going forward.”
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