Five Sure-Fire Traits of a Solar Installation Prospect

By Haines|Published On: July 13, 2016|

There’s no other way to say it…solar installation is going up! (up on roofs that is)

People are realizing that it makes sense financially to pay upfront for solar energy capabilities than it is to continuously pay your energy bill.

According to reports, the average energy bill in Ann Arbor, MI is $85.21/mo and the average energy bill in Waco, TX is $176.58/mo.

The average electric usage per household is around 911 kWh per month. For a complete solar panel system that has this much output, it would cost about $17,000.

For someone in Ann Arbor, it would take 199.5 months, or 16.6 years to break even. For someone in Waco, it would take 96.3 months, or 8.02 years.

So $17,000 is a lot of money to put up front, and 16.6 years is a long time to get your money back, so certainly solar installation isn’t for everyone…let’s look at some of the traits of a good solar prospect.

1. High Property Value

A study shows that properties worth more than $500,000 have a higher likelihood of using solar, than property values under $500,000.

Interesting enough, income showed no increase in popularity in solar usage.

Homes in higher property value areas (think LA, Miami) usually have excessive amounts of heat and sunshine…perfect elements to maximize the usage of solar energy.

2. Living Area

Bigger homes use more energy, which increase energy costs. From the example above, higher energy bills enable the homeowner to breakeven on their investment sooner than a home using less energy.

From this study, solar power is utilized most when properties exceed 2,000 square feet.

3. Equity %

Having a list of people who own, or who are very close to completely owning their home, should have the expendable income to invest in their homes.

If a project is going to increase the value of a home, plus eliminate your energy bill, why not invest?

Though not as drastic as the other criterias, studies show that solar companies will have more success selling products to entities with more than 50% CLTV (combined loan to value ratio)

4. Air Conditioning

You would think people with air conditioning would be prime candidates to upgrade to solar panels.

And you’re right.

I was talking about the fact that people without air conditioning are extremely sub-par candidates for solar. In the same study of 22 million people, 19% of them did not have AC, and only represented 3% of solar purchases.

On the other side, 97% of solar purchases were made by the 81% who had AC.

5. Lot Size

I know that the study claims that the larger the home, the more incentive to use solar, but the study shows that smaller lot sizes represent more solar purchases.

67% (2/3) of homes have less than .25 acres, but they accounted for 78% of solar purchases.

33% (1/3) of homes have more than .25 acres, but accounted for only 22% of solar purchases.

In Conclusion

If you’re selling solar panel additions to homes, you need to target the right prospects. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a product that can provide prospects with: