Aurora Solar has released its fourth annual Solar Snapshot report, highlighting trends in the U.S. residential solar market during a particularly tumultuous period, marked by the loss of the Section 25D tax credit at the end of 2025.
The report, which contains data based on surveys of more than 1,100 homeowners and 600 solar sales professionals, outlines how changes to policy, financing availability and solar sales practices have affected the deployment of residential solar around the country.
The data indicates that while U.S. homeowners remain highly interested in solar, large proportions of the buying public still find it is more expensive than they can afford and have concerns about installer trustworthiness when it comes to accurate representations of potential savings and return on investment.
Further findings indicate that 65% of installers expect third-party ownership to account for the majority of their sales volume in 2026, and around half of all solar companies offered prepaid power purchase agreements (PPAs) as of the beginning of 2026.
Solar popularity among homeowners
The survey found that 71% of homeowners said they have at least some interest in solar, with fairly even splits when divided by political affiliation. In addition, the top two motivating factors for homeowners of all political parties remain utility bill savings and energy independence (i.e. backup power during outages).
The report notes that interest in solar is particularly high among younger homeowners, with 39% of Gen Z homeowners and 31% of Millennial homeowners reporting they had either installed solar in the past year or were currently in the process of purchasing a system.
However, the report notes that the rate of home ownership among the younger generations remains low. Data from Redfin indicates that only 30% of 25 year-olds owned their home as of 2022.
Aurora’s report also noted that interest in solar is lowest among Baby Boomers — the generation most likely to own their home. The report authors call this concentration of homeownership among demographics less likely to adopt solar presents a “real estate trap,” a bottleneck that suggests the industry may need to rely on community solar, subscriptions and alternative models to maintain growth.
Policy shifts affect solar interest
The report also highlights the impact of expiring homeowner tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Aurora Solar says 68% of homeowners who installed solar in the past year accelerated their timelines to secure these credits before they expired.
The report details how the residential solar industry saw a huge surge in solar interested homeowners through Q2 and Q3 2025, with a steep dropoff in Q4, during which project volume fell by as much as 62% in some areas.
When it comes to 2026, 49% of surveyed homeowners interested in solar said they don’t believe they will be able to afford a system without the tax credits. However, Aurora says awareness of the savings still possible with TPO financing is low, presenting an opportunity for solar companies to educate homeowners about the ways they can still benefit from tax credits available to TPO providers.
A key way to do so, say the report authors, is for companies to provide multiple financing options and clearly explain potential savings over time to timid homeowners, while at the same time employing AI and automation to lower the overall cost to install the systems in the first place.
The full report is available now on the Aurora website.
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