As the residential solar sector shifts into the post-incentive era, many installers are repositioning their strategies and sales tactics to align with the new market dynamics. With the 30% federal residential solar tax credit set to expire on December 31, 2025, the industry faces a critical transition period. At the same time, the country's growing energy demand has added another variable to the mix — one that may actually prove beneficial for residential solar, according to a recent Sunrun survey showing homeowners' growing energy anxieties.

Below, we unpack the survey results and explore how residential solar installers can translate this data into actionable business practices to drive new sales in the post-incentive era.

Homeowners Growing Energy Anxiety and Reliability Concerns

A recent Sunrun survey of 1,000 homeowners found that a resounding 80% were worried that data centers would drive up their electricity costs. Meanwhile, 68% of respondents don’t think their utility can keep pace with the country’s increasing energy demand. These sentiments are a prime example of how current energy consumption patterns and utility rate trends are becoming more acute for homeowners. After all, electricity prices rose 5.1% from September 2024 to September 2025, with residential electricity costs, in particular, surging 32% over the past decade.

Additionally, reliability concerns are now front and center, with 81% of homeowners reporting at least one power outage in the past year, and 60% reporting up to three. The survey also revealed that 71% expect more outages in the year ahead, underscoring that their anxiety extends into future planning and decision-making.

The impact of these outages extends far beyond momentary inconvenience. Nearly 9 in 10 homeowners reported experiencing real consequences from grid failures, including spoiled food, work disruptions, and, in vulnerable populations, interruptions to medical equipment. Approximately 2.9 million households (8.4% of the nation) reported staying away from home overnight due to a power outage. Over 673,000 housing units suffered frozen pipes from outages, and approximately 343,000 households reported water damage to basements or crawl spaces because their sump pumps stopped working during blackouts.

Perhaps most telling, only 11% of surveyed homeowners felt "very prepared" for their most recent outage, revealing a massive preparedness gap that installers can address. This preparedness gap represents a prime sales opportunity in 2026 and beyond.

Rooftop Solar as a Salve for Homeowner Energy Anxiety

This convergence of rising electricity costs, grid unreliability, and widespread preparedness gaps is creating a unique market dynamic that should benefit the residential solar sector. Equipped with this data, installers should leverage these critical insights to revisit value propositions, customer persona profiles, and sales strategies to find success in the post-incentive era.

Reframing Solar Value Propositions

Position homeowners’ energy anxiety front and center in solar value propositions. For example, create educational sales materials that emphasize how homeowners are essentially at the mercy of utilities already struggling with unprecedented energy demand. Use the discussion to show that solar with storage helps protect against rising rates, price swings, and outages. This makes your product a necessary safeguard, not just an upgrade.

Sales teams should consider incorporating local outage data and regional grid vulnerability assessments into their discovery process and use that to include more scenario-based examples in the materials. The survey provides concrete examples of outage impacts: 29% of respondents said they’ve had to turn to a neighbor with backup power just to charge a phone or access necessities. These specific scenarios are far more persuasive than generic claims about "energy independence."

Frame solar installations as critical home infrastructure investments, on par with HVAC, plumbing, or roofing. In other words, systems that protect families and property value, rather than discretionary purchases. This tactic can also help overcome price objections from customers and even potentially increase storage attachment rates.

The most effective sales approach positions solar offerings as solutions to specific, documented problems rather than as optional environmental upgrades or discretionary home improvements. 

Revisiting Solar Customer Personas

In addition to reframing solar value props, this is the perfect time to revisit your solar customer persona profiles to ensure they align with these shifts in homeowner motivations and anxieties. And if you’re not already doing so, consider crafting a more personalized discovery process that uncovers each prospect's more pressing concerns.

As noted above, a powerful sales strategy includes scenario-based questioning that helps customers visualize their own vulnerabilities and enables installers to tailor their pitches better. Train sales teams to ask targeted questions that uncover which situations resonate most with each prospect, for example:

• Have you had recent outage experiences, and if so, what were their specific impacts?

• Do you have concerns about future utility rate increases?

• Do you have work-from-home arrangements that require reliable power?

• Do you or a family member rely on medical equipment, or do you need to consider safety?

• Are you aware of your local exposure to extreme weather?

• Are you worried about your utility provider’s performance?

• Do you have a significant amount of food storage?

This information lets you draft highly personalized pitches that connect with a prospect's specific situation.

Solar Gives Homeowners the Power of Peace of Mind

This latest market research makes one thing clear: homeowners aren’t waiting for someone to sell them on solar. They’re looking for answers. They’re already actively concerned about energy costs and grid reliability and are seeking advisors to help them navigate this complex landscape.

With the high-power, high-efficiency, and highly reliable Vertex S+ modules and the industry-leading TrinaProtect 25-year power and 25-year performance warranty, all backed by one of the bankable brands in solar, installers can alleviate homeowner energy anxiety while positioning their companies for success in the post-incentive world.

Now is the time to turn concern into action and provide homeowners with the tools to weather whatever the grid throws their way.

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