Most of us with smartphones know the rules: Unknown phone number? Let it go to voicemail. There’s a good chance it’s a telemarketer or some other spam call.
That’s not always actually the case; sometimes it’s a doctor’s office or a business contact. But when you’re being bombarded with sales calls from companies, including many you’ve never contacted before, it’s easier to just decline the call and check your messages later.
This is why the Federal Communication Commission’s new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations set to take effect in January are actually good news for the solar industry. Specifically, the new “1:1 consent rule” will install a missing layer of consumer protection and, we believe, actually result in a better, smoother sales experience for both the homeowner and the installer.
The commission’s new rules apply to any company that engages in telemarketing calls or interacts with customers by phone, whether via calls or text. The rules are also simple and reasonable.
The biggest change is that consumers must expressly consent in writing to receive sales-related phone calls and texts from a company. In addition, the so-called “1:1 consent rule” says that lead generation firms can no longer apply a single consent agreement across all sales partners; that consumers must give permission to each individual company.
Other changes include prohibiting companies from requiring call consent to complete a sales transaction, requiring that company information be clearly displayed on Caller ID functions, disallowing the practice of finding consumer phone numbers online without their knowledge, and mandating that companies disclose where they found the phone number to the homeowner/client. These regulations will take effect across all industries starting January 27, 2025.
At their core, the new regulations, particularly the 1:1 consent rule, means we have to do right by each homeowner that we encounter. Like door-knocking and promises of free solar panels, unwanted calls and texts are currently another shady sales practice that gives our industry a black eye. Not only do homeowners hate being bombarded with multiple phone calls from companies they haven’t heard of, it’s not an efficient tactic from the installer’s point of view. Even if you get a homeowner to pick up a cold call, now you have to convince them to stay on the phone long enough to make a sales pitch.
Although EnergySage isn’t technically in B2C (business to consumer) sales, our Energy Advisors consult directly with homeowners looking to go solar, and we partner with hundreds of installers across the country. EnergySage has always placed the customer first, and our data collection practices already resembled those required by the TCPA. For example, when we collect a phone number from a homeowner, we currently ask if it’s OK to share their number with installers. To meet TCPA rules, once a homeowner receives a quote from an installer, they will be explicitly asked if they want to share their phone number with that installer.
EnergySage believes that the TCPA is a step in the right direction for both consumers and the industry. Good installers are looking for high-quality leads and referrals, and want to avoid dodged calls and hang-ups. Imagine homeowners knowing exactly why your company is calling, picking up right away, and being ready to discuss solar–how does that change the conversation?
Consumers should also feel they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to buying solar panels. They shouldn’t be bombarded with multiple sales calls every day from companies they haven’t heard of, selling them products they don’t know if they need. We are not saying that everyone who calls a homeowner is trying to take advantage of them. However, time and time again we have seen the impacts bad actors have on the rest of us–to the point now where federal regulators feel the need to step in on behalf of homeowners who are fed up.
We’re also seeing officials at the state level get involved. On top of the TCPA, installers in Nevada face a number of new rules come January. That state passed a new law requiring anyone who sells solar installments to be licensed through the State Contractors Board. If that person does not hold a license, they need to have a W-2 showing they are an employee of a person who does hold the state license.
What happened in Nevada has the potential to spread across the country rapidly. But if you pair requiring a W-2 for sales and the 1:1 consent rule, it starts to move the solar industry into a better light. Rules like these will require solar sellers to think ethically and act responsibly, placing a priority on long-term success rather than a short, quick win that does not prioritize the homeowner.
The TCPA rules set to take effect in a few weeks are going to drastically impact how lead generation and marketing companies operate, and many may not be able to continue operating; their business models just weren’t built with a consumer-first mindset. Those that do survive will have to change how they conduct business to properly identify to consumers who they are selling their data to, and provide explicit one-to-one opt-in controls. They will also have to create auditable opt-in records for installers, who will be on the hook for compliance. Homeowners will know who is calling them. Installers will know that the leads they receive want to talk to them. It will be an overall better sales experience for both parties.
This is another reason why EnergySage intentionally formed as an online marketplace not a lead gen or marketing company. Both parties–those looking to buy and those looking to sell– come into a marketplace willingly. Marketplaces put the power in the hands of consumers. More than 50,000 homeowners have electrified their homes with solar installers through the EnergySage Marketplace; we know that when we do right by the homeowner, our installers’ businesses grow through high trust and transparent sales.
Overall, there are changes happening on the federal and state level to protect homeowners from unscrupulous lead providers. Our hope is that this continues to happen. The solar industry needs some form of regulation to make sure the needs of homeowners–and all consumers–are prioritized, as they are the ones making the purchase. That’s an easy call to make.
By: Erik Holvik, Director of Business Development at EnergySage
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.