2026 Solar Trends Report
Real proposal data from 1,000+ solar companies. Find out where your market stands.
We analyzed proposal activity from more than 1,000 solar companies across all 50 states. The result is the most detailed view of how homeowners are actually buying solar and how contractors are pricing, bundling, and closing deals in every market. No form. No gate. Just the data.
What the data covers
Inside the 2026 Solar Trends Report, you'll find state-by-state breakdowns across every metric that affects how your business prices, closes, and scales.
Price per watt by state
Cash and financed PPW for every state, benchmarked against the national average of $3.88 cash and $4.00 financed.
Average loan value
What financed deals are actually worth in your state, with year-over-year comparison to show where deal size grew and where it compressed.
TPO proposal share
What percentage of total deals in each state used lease or PPA structures in 2025, and how that shifted year over year.
Cash deal percentage
The share of deals paid in cash versus financed or TPO — varies from 6% in some states to over 90% in others.
Battery attach rates
The percentage of closed proposals that included a battery — not just offer rates. Broken out by state.
State vs. national benchmarks
Every state page shows your market's numbers alongside the national average so you can see exactly where you stand.
Average system size
How system sizing shifted in each state in 2025, and what that means for average deal value.
All 50 states covered
From Alaska to Hawaii, every state has its own dedicated page with the full data set and national comparison charts.
Questions about the data
The 2026 Solar Trends Report is built on live proposal activity, not surveys or third-party estimates. Here is what that means for how you use it.
Where does this data come from?
Every data point in the report comes from live proposal activity on Solo's platform during 2025. We are not aggregating survey responses or pulling from third-party databases. These are actual proposals submitted by more than 1,000 solar companies operating across all 50 states — what they quoted, how homeowners bought, what systems were sized at, and how financing patterns played out in real sales environments.
How is price per watt calculated in this report?
We measure PPW as the total proposal price divided by system size in watts. This captures the full proposal value — panels, inverters, installation, and any included adders — not just equipment cost. We report cash PPW and financed PPW separately because the financing structure affects how proposals are priced and presented.
What counts as a TPO deal?
TPO (third-party ownership) includes lease and PPA structures where the homeowner does not own the system. In our data, TPO share reflects the percentage of total proposals in a state that used a TPO structure. Several states prohibit TPO entirely — those are noted on the relevant state pages.
What is a battery attach rate, and how is it different from an offer rate?
A battery attach rate reflects the percentage of closed proposals that included a battery adder — meaning the homeowner agreed to add storage as part of the deal. This is different from how often reps are offering batteries in conversation, which we do not measure. Attach rate is a cleaner signal of whether the proposal is actually closing the storage conversation.
Can I use this data to benchmark my own business?
Yes — that is the primary intended use. Find your state's page and compare your PPW, deal type mix, and battery attach rate against the state average and the national benchmark. If you would like to talk through what the data means for your specific operation, our team is happy to do that. You can book a time at gosolo.io/book-demo.
Ready to put the data to work?
The report tells you where your market stands. Solo helps you build proposals that beat that benchmark. If you want to see how Solo's proposal workflow performs against what we're seeing in your state's data, we're happy to show you.