Thoughts on Solar

Almost a year ago, Run on Sun agreed to participate in a study sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - the premier lab looking into all aspects of renewables generally, including solar.  The study, known as SEEDS - Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies - is a Department of Energy-funded, industry-wide effort to “identify the drivers and barriers to the adoption of residential solar power."  To achieve their goal, the research team, led by Principal Investigator Benjamin Sigrin, asked residential solar installation companies to provide them with lists of both clients who went forward, and contact information for people who, for whatever reason, did not. 

We now have some results and they are fascinating. (One caveat - we do not know from the report provided to us the sample size for the industry as a whole or even the number of our clients who responded.  If we get that data we will update this post.)

In this first of two parts we will look at what the data has to say about those consumers who chose to become Run on Sun clients.  In Part Two we will see what the data says about “those who got away.”

Pain Point

There can be lots of reasons for choosing to go solar, but for almost everyone the high cost of energy is a major driver - especially during the summer.  So one of the interesting charts that we are able to share with you shows just how high that cost is for most of our clients:

(In all of these charts, the red bars represent the results from Run on Sun clients, while the grey bars are the overall averages for the survey as a whole.)

The largest segment of our clients are spending in the $100-200/month range during the summer, with a median of $235, compared to the national average of $183.50.  (If your bills are lower than $100/month, a solar system will take a long time to pay-off economically.)  But another 50% or so are seeing bills well above that, with some over $800/month!  Ouch!  If your bills are anywhere near that high, you need solar NOW!

Run on Sun’s Clients are Younger (better looking, too!) than the Norm

While support for solar is overwhelming among Millennials, very few of them own homes where they could be installing solar.  So what is the age of most solar adopters?

Not surprisingly, the bands between 45 and 65 are the most heavily populated, with the median age of Run on Sun clients coming in at 55 - just slightly younger than the overall median age of 58.  While the survey didn’t evaluate attractiveness, we are quite confident that not only are they younger, but Run on Sun clients are way better looking, too!

Income

Run on Sun’s clients tend to be more affluent than most…

Part of that is no doubt due to where we operate - Pasadena and the surrounding cities tend to be more affluent than many other parts of the country. Another factor would be that since we have been in business now for 10 years, some of our earlier clients were purchasing systems when the installed price was twice what it is today, thus requiring a greater household income! 

Going forward, as growing numbers of people with more modest means realize how much solar costs have declined - and how high their energy bills are going - we would expect to see more participation on the lower end of the economic scale.

A final point regarding the rest of the market.  Much of the industry is built around leasing - which we don’t do for a host of reasons - and that has historically been viewed as the way for people with lower household incomes to get into solar.  But today, with PACE financing and solar-specific loans (as well as the return of home equity lines of credit) becoming more broadly available, we will be able to help folks with lower incomes get into solar without getting stuck with a lousy lease.

Politics

We have argued in this blog that you don’t have to be a liberal to go solar, such as here, here, and here - but what do the data show?

Ok, didn’t see that coming!  Again, part of this might be where we do business as the Pasadena area is pretty progressive these days.  That being said, we welcome prospective clients of all political persuasions!  Really!

You don’t have to be Smart to Go Solar - but maybe it helps!

We know that going solar is a bright idea but does it follow that the smarter you are the more likely you are to do so?

This is my favorite graph of the bunch! 

While the overall market is centered around folks with a bachelor’s degree, the majority of Run on Sun’s clients have professional degrees (e.g., lawyers) or Ph.D.’s!  As a recovering lawyer myself I find this result gratifying.  Part of the motivation for founding Run on Sun arose from when I was looking to have solar installed at my own home and was dismayed by the lack of knowledge from the people who were trying to sell me a system.  I figured then that there would be a niche for a company that could answer a potential client’s questions in a sophisticated fashion that wasn’t tied to a sales script.  Ten years later and it looks like we have filled that niche!

Looking Closely

Given all that education, it should come as no surprise that our clients really do their homework before deciding to go solar…

This is a very telling chart, both as to Run on Sun and to the overall industry.  The majority of our clients have spoken to at least 3 companies before deciding (something we always advise them to do), with more than 20% contacting 5 or more!  That is a lot of research!  Which suggests to us that the more research you do - the more likely you are to choose Run on Sun!

But it is a bit startling to realize that over 40% of the general market only speaks to one company.  We suspect that means that some pushy salesperson shows up at the door and they don’t leave until the hapless homeowner has signed on the dotted line - most likely to some no-money-down, lousy lease! 

In contrast, we don’t do business that way, which is why none of our clients come from that segment.  That probably means we are leaving money on the table, but we like the fact that our clients know exactly what they are doing when they choose Run on Sun!

Happy Together

Of course the most important question you could ask of folks who have gone solar is: Would you recommend going solar to your friends, and beyond that would you recommend the company that you chose.  So how did we do?

* The net promoter score measures the percentage of respondents that were considered promoters (responses greater than or equal to 8) minus the percentage that were considered detractors (responses less than or equal to 7). The net promoter score is useful for assessing market performance compared to other installers.

On that first question we did amazingly well!  Over 92% of our clients would recommend going solar to their friends and neighbors as compared to just 63% for the market overall. 

But what about Run on Sun specifically?

That result is also terrific with 85% of our clients saying that they would recommend us, compared to just 52% of the overall market.  That being said, we constantly strive to improve, and we would really like to get that “would recommend score” up to 100%!  (And the industry as a whole needs to do quite a bit better at meeting expectations.)

So that is what we know about our clients who responded to the survey.  In Part Two we will take a look at those that got away.  Watch this space!