Qcells has announced the launch of “Qcells New Homes,” a new business division designed to serve as a direct partner for the U.S. residential building industry.
The program provides builders with a turnkey solution for integrating solar and battery storage into new construction projects.
Homeowners can choose cash purchase or leasing options through the program, and solar systems can be paired with energy storage to provide additional savings and backup power. The company says these options address homeowner concerns about energy affordability and grid reliability.
“With the official launch of our Qcells New Homes solar and storage platform, Qcells is raising the bar for convenience, compliance, and quality — offering homebuilders a reliable, single-source partner to deliver clean, affordable energy in new communities” said David Shin, president of Qcells North America. “As energy demands evolve, we are helping builders integrate advanced energy solutions seamlessly into new construction while improving long-term value for homeowners.”
By managing the process directly, Qcells says it aims to offer builders more stable pricing, a simplified supply chain, and a single point of contact for installation and warranty support.
Heading up the new division is Qcells New Homes president Phil Narodick, a seasoned industry veteran with experience leading financial products divisions at both the former SunPower Corporation and Mosaic lending company.
With loans and leases provided by Enfin — another Qcells subsidiary — the New Homes program brings together the company’s domestically-manufactured products, installation support, financing and long-term monitoring together into a single offering.
“We are cutting out the intermediary to deliver solar panels assembled in America directly to new communities,” said Narodick in a statement, adding that the Qcells New Homes offering provides “an integrated solar and storage solution designed to maximize system performance and homeowner value under evolving net metering programs.”
While new homes divisions from other large solar companies like Sunrun, Palmetto and a newly re-vamped SunPower all handle some parts of the installation and ongoing operation of solar systems for home builders, Qcells says its unique vertically-integrated footprint makes it the industry’s “only direct-from-manufacturer solar and storage partner.”
The widespread nature of new homes programs makes sense given the size of the potentially-addressable market for new home solar installations. Though California remains the only state to mandate solar on new homes, home buyers in many other places can benefit from the efficiency of getting solar installed at the same time their home is built.
A 2022 study by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicated the new homes market could serve a large portion of the 1 million homes built in the U.S. every year, and reduce the cost to install the systems by as much as 22%, driven by huge reductions in so-called “soft costs” like permitting and sales commissions, which have proven difficult to bring down in the broader market.
More information on the Qcells New Homes program is available on the Qcells North America website.
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